[Chicago] Pro-forma introductory post

Sat Feb 27 21:42:11 CET 2010

I graduated this past May, and I've actually been pretty successful at finding work.  I had some false starts with two companies who weren't who they said they were during the interview process, but I've now landed a job as a Python programmer at a good company for a good wage.  For what it's worth, here are my tips for what has worked for me as a recent college graduate:

As a recent grad you probably don't have a huge resume to stand on, so you need to really make the other parts count.  Research the companies you are looking at, and write a good cover letter that shows you really know something about the place you are applying to.  A good cover letter shows that you've done your research and should explain exactly how you would be a good fit for the company.  Once I started writing cover letters that explained exactly how and why I would  be a good fit for the position I was applying for, I started getting a much better response rate.

Same goes for interviews.  Without a big resume, you've really got to get an interview to show your prospective employer how smart you are.  If I haven't heard back from a company within a week of sending my resume and cover letter, I always write a follow-up email stressing that I would really like an interview.  Don't worry about bugging these places.  Out of the four companies I've received offers from since I graduated, only one of these responded to my first email -- I had to follow up with the other three to get an interview.

As for how to handle interviews, one thing I've learned (especially after working for two companies that were duds) is that you should be interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.  If you interview them seriously, they'll take you seriously.  For example, I always ask if they do version control and unit tests, and I try to get as specific an idea as possible about exactly what my role would be and what projects I would be working on as well as an idea of what the culture is like.

It's also a good idea to request an interview with a developer -- you should be able to get the straight story from programmers who work there about what the company is really like.  As long as you are a big enough nerd, the programmer will probably end up having nice things to say about you as well.  If you ask serious questions of the company that's interviewing you, they'll see you as a serious applicant and you will also get a better idea of whether the job would be a good fit or not.  

This is probably the most important thing I've learned.  You should really be looking for a good fit when you interview and should treat the interview process as an opportunity to find out how good of a match you and the company would make.  Employers definitely appreciate this sort of attitude as well -- there's no point in getting a job if you realize a few months later you shouldn't have taken the offer and you and the company have just wasted each other's time.

As far as places to look for jobs, I don't really have any fancy tips.  The Python job board and Craigslist have worked out pretty well for me.  Also, if you are open to telecommuting then that will open up the job market for you a bit.  My current job is a telecommute gig and I love working from home, but it's definitely not for everyone.

I don't think any of these tips are ground breaking or brilliant, but it's stuff I really wish I knew in June.

On Feb 27, 2010, at 12:41 PM, Jon Sudlow wrote:

> Yeah,
> 
> I've been trying to get interviews at tons of places, people are hiring I guess, but with so much uncertainty in the market, companies are really looking hard at the new blood they bring into their businesses. At NIU, out of all the people that attended the career and intership fairs, they only pick the best of the best of the best and when your competing against 3k kids or more that window gets really small. Motorola told us they were packing up and thinking about downsizing the schaumburg HQ which sucks... 
> 
> 
> One things for sure, everyone told me at the fair their is basically a hiring freeze until 2011  at the earliest and that major companies are waiting for the drama of Obama and the recession to play out before they engage in hiring new peeps. What a jackass. Anyways, good luck man, Recently I've been working on personal projects that I get when I meet people who need my skills. Other than that, all the biz's that I talk to tell me they will call me back... but never do. 
> 
> Just wanted to give you an update from a new grad on the ground in chi-town
> 
> -your freshly graduated competition,
> Jon Sudlow
> 
> On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 7:18 PM, John Stoner <johnstoner2 at gmail.com> wrote:
> The biggest growth I've seen recently is on the Linkedin group. Again, not much Chicago stuff, but it's moving in an encouraging direction.
> 
> 
> On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 4:42 PM, <skip at pobox.com> wrote:
>    Alan> I'm watching all the obvious RSS feeds, e.g. Craigslist,
>    Alan> Djangogigs.com, etc.
> 
> You probably want to watch the Python Job Board as well.  I believe it's
> available as an RSS feed (maybe done by an interested party, not part of
> python.org proper.)  Also, there are links to a couple external job sites on
> python.org.  We've tried hard to limit those links to sites which actually
> do have the occasional Python posting, tossing out requests from search
> firms who seem to be just trying to get free publicity for their service
> without really offering anything to the Python community.
> 
> I have rejected a couple job postings sent to the list in the past month
> because they were obviously not for the Chicago area, however if companies
> post Chicago-area jobs the tendency is to let them through.  So far there
> haven't been that many, but you still might want to peruse the list archives
> to see what's turned up here before.
> 
> All the best...
> 
> --
> Skip Montanaro - skip at pobox.com - http://www.smontanaro.net/
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> blogs:
> http://www.generosity.org/stoner/
> http://boogiepants.typepad.com/
> 'In knowledge is power; in  wisdom, humility.' 
> 
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> 
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