Conclusions on the Job Search

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5 interviews scheduled as of 1/12
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So I was looking for the answer to the question "Is shotgunning your resume more effective than spending time networking at a relatively small number of companies?". As you may recall, I chose to merge these two approaches by networking at a select few companies, then blast my resume out to the remainder.

Fortunately, classmates at JGSM aren't so competitive or secretive or whatever to the point of not discussing this stuff, so I have been able to collect some data from my classmates as well. That is, I have no actual numbers, but I have spoken with several friends and some basic patterns have emerged:

-The more networking, the better. So far, the companies that applicants have really worked for have shown love. There are exceptions, however. Too much networking or simply saying/doing something stupid has dq'd some people. The more networking you do, the more opportunity you have to put you foot in your mouth. An example of this is two people golfing with a recruiter in the JGSM golf tourney, and showing up with zero rounds under their belt. The recruiter wasn't happy about it, and was even overheard by other students bitching extensively about it!!! While this isn't grounds for dismissal, it certainly didn't help when HR asked the recruiter who he likes and doesn't like.

-Prior experience does matter. Recruiters will tell you it doesn't, but the data says otherwise. Essentially, the more closely your past experience resembles your target field, the more interviews you will get. This seems somewhat independent of networking. There are people on both ends of the spectrum...some with 0-1 interviews, and some with almost every company in their field.

-Shotgunning can be valuable. Many people picked up a few extra interviews by submitting resumes for companies that they never talked to. However, these companies are almost never in the students' top-5 list. Good backup, but a bad way to get interviews at the top companies.

So...I guess the bottom line is...network with your favorite companies like there is no tomorrow, don't do anything stupid, make sure your resume makes you look experienced in your chosen field, and make sure you submit a sufficient volume of resumes to land a few surprise interviews.

Easy enough, eh? Not really. When y'all get here and realize that the events conflict with each other, group meetings, classes, etc. and that you have to juggle like 7 or 8 favorite companies with everything else in your life, send countless emails, and possibly go to informationals two or three times per week, you'll see where I'm coming from.

As our friend bskewl would not want me to say, business school truly is like drinking champagne from a fire hydrant.