“In a Forbes survey answered by more than 380 C-suite inhabitants, vice presidents and other managers, 37% said they are less likely to hire an Ivy League graduate than they were five years ago—up from 33% who said the same last year. Another 12% said they would never hire an Ivy League graduate. Survey respondents pointed to graduates’ attitudes and lack of humility as sticking points. 

“I believe Ivy League candidates are over valued, and they frequently have a higher than real opinion of themselves,” one C-suite-level respondent wrote. “Entry-level job candidates should be “eager to learn, have no ego or be ‘stuck-up’ because of the school they attended,” said another.

Read more at this link.

See a job you like? Don’t apply. 

First things first: Research, Network, Connect.

Research

I recently tried this prompt in ChatGPT and it worked wonders:

“I'm a senior in college and I'd like a job in sales at [X], and was wondering who is the best person to approach to get a job as an entry level salesperson (for example, a sales manager who hires entry level salespeople, as opposed to a an internal recruiter).”

Chat GPT gave a great, thorough answer; here’s the first sentence:

“Here’s how you can strategically target the right people at [X] to improve your chances of getting hired into an entry-level sales role — especially as a senior in college (without just going through a recruiter):”

You can also do this research in a slower, manual way by going into the employer company’s LinkedIn page, scrolling down to People, and finding out:

For smaller companies, this manual approach is OK. For larger ones, you’ll probably get better information, much faster, using AI such as ChatGPT.

Network

Try these things before you apply:

Sometimes you can find people who were interns at these companies before they got full time jobs.  

Connect 

Send that alum a LinkedIn Connection request. 

After they accept, send a DM that is slightly different than this first note, and ask for a meeting.

With a note or without, Do Not Say You Are Looking For A Job. Save that for the end of your meeting.

For what to say during your online chat, see the next issue….

I hear this sometimes from students preparing for interviews:

“Is it OK to use ChatGPT?”

The answer is: Yes.

In fact, after you get the job, your employer will probably want you to use these kinds of tools in doing your work.  

Using AI is an important skill. Start now by asking ChatGPT to help you understand the company you want to work for (background research).

(You can also ask it to tell you how much of a salary you should ask for, but that’s another post…)

Still don’t believe me? Here’s a recent Gallup Poll on the subject:

“45 percent of U.S. employees reported using AI to complete tasks at work last quarter, up from 40 percent in quarter two. More than 2 in 10 respondents said they used AI at least a few times per week, while 10 percent said they use it daily.”

Read more at this link.

Practice makes perfect. 

But don’t just rehearse questions and answers in your head.  Try these:

-Record yourself answering questions (Google Meet, Zoom, FaceTime, etc.), and play it back.

-Ask a friend or a mentor to act as the interviewer (and record that session).

-If you want more sophisticated practice, find a role playing app. 

(ChatGPT can do mock interviews) 

(I tried one prompt, it was pretty good; but I wished it had more followups and interactivity. So you may need to tweak a base prompt to suit you). 

(I now have a second one I haven’t yet tried. Yes, I’m a prompt collector).

Nothing looks worse to an employer than missing words, missing punctuation, and awkward grammar.

Here’s one I got recently in a LinkedIn DM (really): 

“Would you open to connecting?”

And one from a post I saw in a Slack channel:

“2 opportunities I can students with:”

The good news is, you don’t have to be an English major to make it perfect.

Try ChatGPT, or one of its competitors. Or Grammarly. There are many tools out there. 

Paste your words intoChatGPT and ask it to check for usage, spelling, and anything else you can think of (maybe leave out any names or personal data lest your personal message become part of OpenAI’s database).

(though I’m not a security expert; use your best judgment)

One technique I use: read your message aloud before you send it. It’s easier to catch some errors that way.

(I once had to read aloud an entire book I published, 307 pages, I am not kidding).

Whatever tech you use, human or AI, please proofread every outgoing message. 

An interesting notion. I’ve spent over 20 years in sales. So did my grandfather.

But other than a formal sales internship, how can you get your first sales experience, while still in school?

Here’s a few ideas for you:

Any of these could require as little as a one to five hour commitment per week.

No experience is needed. Most will teach you what to say, and how to say it.  

It’s also good for your resume.