Finding a job straight out of college, is like watching Inception for the first time, it makes no sense, and it takes a few times before you get it. You would think after spending four years at a University, that your place in the job market is quick and painless. Well you thought wrong, or in this case I thought wrong. The job search after college is no walk in the park it’s a lot of long hours of research and many rejection emails (which brings upon the binging of Netflix for distraction from the thought that you may not be good enough). Then again binging shows on Neflix isn’t that bad right?? Although the job search can seem aggravating (especially at times when you get a phone interview and tell your friends, then a week later they ask you if you got the job and you say no, then insert some excuse as to why you weren’t picked but should’ve been picked), you can always learn from it. And I’ve learned a few valuable lessons myself.
To start, not every job that you apply for is meant for you. For example, not every tech guru needs to work at Google, and not every designer like me has to work at Viacom or R/GA. Don’t be disappointed because a big name company didn’t pick you. Have you ever thought to yourself, “Hmmmmm maybe I’m not the right fit there”? Sure, I know, It’s not something easy to admit, but you have to consider the culture of the company and how you would fit there, which brings me to my next lesson.
It would be trivial to think that when you are interviewing for a job that’s all that it is: The interviewer (the company) interviewing the interviewee(you). But as their potential employee, you are also conducting your own interview with the company. Make sure you’re a right fit, and MAKE SURE they genuinely care for their employees. You don’t want to be just another employee, you want to matter and make a difference. This is the exact reason I picked SEP.
SEP is a phenomenal product design and development company that takes pride in their employees. Their collaborative culture, feeds my hunger to learn not only as a designer, but also an employee. I could tell during my interview they genuinely cared about me as an employee, and valued me. Ever since then it’s been a perfect pair and I couldn’t be happier!
