Graduate to Greatness
As a newly(ish) graduated student, I’ve learned that the job-hunting process can be a real rollercoaster ride. One moment you’re feeling confident and excited about a job opportunity, and the next you’re refreshing your email inbox every five seconds, anxiously waiting for a response.
I know first-hand how challenging it can be to find a job that aligns with your values and offers a healthy workplace culture, not only that, but when the majority of entry-level positions essentially require you to have 5+ years of experience. The job market can be competitive, and it’s easy to feel discouraged when faced with rejection or a lack of response from potential employers.
There have been times when I’ve felt like I’ve been rejected more than I’ve been accepted. At this point, I’m pretty sure my resume has been circulated more than a cat video on the internet.
Despite these struggles, I’ve learned that taking the time to consider what matters most to me in a job has been invaluable. By identifying what motivates me, what I’m interested in, and what type of work I’m willing to put in extra effort for, I’ve been able to target job opportunities that align with my values and interests.
Additionally, I’ve also come to understand what it means to be able to serve in a workplace. I know that many students may not like the idea of having to serve or cater to an establishment, especially after working so hard to achieve that GPA that they had worked their blood, sweat and tears into. But having a good GPA is only one layer of the onion; it’s what allowed you to be able to become an applicant in the first place.
What I’ve learned what’s more impressive to employers is what you choose to do during hardships. It may be a cliche, but it’s true. If you are the type to always thirst to learn, to keep growing after surpassing a goal, and to find experiment with different strategies to get to the outcome you want, then you’re golden. This is how you prove you have value. This is how you prove competency and not just stating a skill.
“The creative process is fuelled by divergent thinking — a breaking away from familiar or established ways of seeing and doing.”
The Innovator’s Toolkit, Harvard Business Essentials
Let’s break competencies and skills in a different way:
A skill is having a knack for picking up languages
A competency is understanding cultural mannerisms and differences, and being able to communicate with international clients to help them solve a problem.
Still with me? Let me give you another example:
A skill is understanding how to correctly balance a balance sheet
A competency is understanding the balance sheet well enough that one is able to get the balance sheet to balance after your intern has been booking only credits all quarter.
Another crucial consideration for me has understanding what a company does, how they do it, what their values are and what problems do they solve.
From past experiences such as internships and seasonal gigs, I found that it is extremely important to understand what the company that you are interviewing for does, how they do it, what their values are and what problems do they solve. The more research you do prior to the interview, the stronger your first impression will be.
On the flip side within a workplace, I heavily value open communication, mutual respect, and supportive relationships among colleagues, and I’ve made a point to research companies that prioritize these qualities. It’s important to me that the companies I work for value their employees and invest in their professional development.
In the end, the struggles of finding a job are worth it when you find a job that is fulfilling and rewarding. I’ve learned that one of the most important aspects when job hunting is doing your research on what problem does the company need to be resolved, and what value can you provide for them.
“[Marketing] should enlighten your customers about how your product works to solve their problem.”
“Marketing made simple” by Donald Miller
What I found at WFSI, is that we are adamant to make sure that we don’t trap potential in a box, but rather encourage growth and learning.
In the end, the struggles of finding a job are worth it when you find a job that is fulfilling and rewarding. I’ve learned that one of the most important aspects when job hunting is doing your research on what problem does the company need to be resolved, and what value can you provide for them.
I know that in my field of work I’ll continue to face challenges, setbacks, and failures, but I’m optimistic that because I’m now in a much healthier work environment, surrounded by people who continuously learn, encourage, uplift, and push for success, I will be able to flourish and hone my skills as a marketer. Because of this environment I have become much more confident in what values (competencies) I can bring to the table in order to help clients and prospects to provide a solution!
Because EVERYONE deserves to do work that matters and adds value to the world!
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