[quote=AK]These days I’d say networking and people skills are key to getting even the first job out of college … not to mention prestigious internships.
Test scores, GPA, education, etc., give you a better chance of establishing those essential connections and recommendations. But they’re not enough in and of themselves.[/quote]
My kid in SF who just finished all their credits at SFSU last month for a Bachelor of Science Degree has already landed a FT position in their field with a well-known large firm (1000-2000 emps) five minutes away. Starts today but it will be 6 mos before benefits kick in. This is NOT the same firm that they interned in last semester. They had just applied for the job on 12/28, was interviewed last week (and at that time introduced to everyone they would work with). If this job works out, I have no doubt my kid could make $100K annually in five years or less.
My kid didn’t graduate anywhere near the top of their class in HS or college but has great people skills.
In my long working career, selection for positions and promotions was all about “like,” nothing else. If the interviewers didn’t like you, you wouldn’t be hired/promoted. Even in civil service positions that an applicant had to take a written examination for, the hiring managers would find a loophole in order to reach a lower scorer and bypass the higher scorers if the lower scorer was someone they liked more and wanted to hire.
Edit: It helped that my kid WORKED throughout college. Having work experience when trying to get your first FT job out of college helps A LOT.
