Guest Post: Nithin Betegeri

Nithin is one of Chris' Summer 2010 Professional Speaking students. Here he writes about getting the job you want.

Riding the Job Search Boat

“You can describe Michelangelo in detail but do you know what it smells like in the Sistine Chapel? You can describe a Shakespeare’s sonnet about love but do you know what it is to look in a woman’s eye and be totally vulnerable?” When Robin Williams asked these questions to Matt Damon in Good Will Hunting, I wondered how will it be to work at #1, Infinite Loop, Cupertino; the place where Apple Inc. is located. We all know that the story of one person, one computer, changing the world is an inspiring read. But does it quench the thirst to create the next best innovation after bread came sliced?

It does not matter what books or others say until we experience this beautiful world ourselves. The same philosophy is true with a job search as well. A job review site may highly rank a company for its work culture but can you really be sure until you work there? Of course, you can’t be. I believe that one’s search for a job should begin from oneself. We question our interests and passion. The answers to those questions should indicate the company that we should look for.

I am an artist who likes experimenting with colors on a palette. I love technology for the wonders we can create out of it. Combine both of them, and you will know what I am passionate about. I do not like Apple because of the ratings in the latest Wired magazine but because it works on products that I am passionate about, products that I would love to develop as an engineer. From my experience, introspection is always the first step of one’s job search.

Once we have a list of companies, we should research on their work culture, products and history. We should understand what it takes to work 9 to 5, five days a week for them. We should understand their value system, and know what makes someone a best employee at that company. These analyses will not only help us in our interview, but stoke our passions further. It will help us refine our choices as well. Last but not the least; we should research the recent trends in those industries and companies that are available ubiquitously over the internet.

Once our background work is done, we should apply to these companies in every possible medium. Apply over their websites, call them, mail them, and finally, contact friends and alumni working in those companies. No medium is bad enough for us to give opportunities to express our interests and passion. We should express our interests and talk about benefits to the company from hiring us. We can match our skill sets to those required with that of the job posted. That’s what it takes to follow our passion. We should repeat this entire process until we land interviews. It does not matter if it’s a recession or a honeymoon period for the market, persistence and hard work will surely bring results. After all, as Adidas puts it, “Impossible is nothing.” Isn’t it?