In Landing Internships and Your First Job, Jerome Wong offers valuable career preparation advice for college students about to enter the world of work. The subheading, Why Qualifications Are Not Enough, reveals that hiring managers look for more than just academic success and so-called “hard skills” when evaluating candidates.
Wong has spent many years on both sides of the hiring process. He has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University, has had a career in technology, received another degree from Columbia Business School, and then entered the banking world, eventually starting his own company, Real World ExpertsTM, to advise students throughout the career preparation process. In addition to having interviewed many times for jobs, Wong frequently interviewed prospective employees, participated in campus recruiting teams, and worked with the human resources departments of the companies he worked for to hire the best available college talent. Today, through his company, Wong coaches students on the entire job search process, including interview techniques and proper business etiquette. He now shares all of his experiences, thoughtful ideas and practical strategies in his new book.
Landing Internships and Your First Job goes far beyond the usual job search books on interview techniques and how to write a resume. This book is specifically for students and explains how they can use their academic experience to translate it into the key components that employers want in their respective fields. As Wong says in the introduction:
“Unlike seasoned professionals who can point to their relevant work experience as qualifications for future success, students have the more challenging task of convincing potential employers that their academic and extracurricular experiences can translate into career success. They also have the additional burden of convincing companies that they are genuinely interested in and committed to the industry.”
Wong relieves students of much of that burden by showing them how to value their experiences. But this book is much more than how to improve your resume to look good in front of an employer or what to say in an interview. Wong talks about all the things students should be doing long before they start looking for a job. He instructs on how to determine which courses to take to establish a compelling academic profile, how to use your school’s career services office to help you, and most importantly, how to tell your true story to convince the company to hire you.
Just as important, Wong asks readers to think about what career is right for them. Students must determine what their values are and how they will translate into the workplace. It’s not enough to want to earn a six-figure salary, and you certainly can’t tell potential employers why you want to work for them. You also don’t want to take a job just for the money if it will cause you more stress than you can handle or if it doesn’t ethically align with your values.
One of the most important chapters in the book deals with building your personal brand. Success in the job market begins with being personal success, and that means not just academic achievement but also moral success and coming up with your own personal definition of success that will align with your goals, personality, and ethics. You have to brand yourself to reflect in every way who you are. Wong helps students not only determine what their brands are, but how to effectively communicate those brands to employers so they “buy” the brand.
Wong also focuses on the importance of treating the career preparation process as a sales process. While you’re in class, you’re in a sales situation because you have to cultivate relationships to get recommendations from teachers. Summer internships should also be treated like long, exhausting job interviews. Plus, Wong gives interview advice, adding this surprising nugget of truth: “Hiring managers are often more impressed by the questions candidates ask them than the answers to their questions.”
There is much more valuable information in this book: tips on networking, attending career fairs, having the right attitude, building self-confidence, and having a sales mindset to sell yourself. But perhaps most important is what Wong has to say about when and how often to prepare to find a job. Wong declares the harsh truth by saying:
“Students often tell me that they are too busy with their courses to spend time on career preparation. Unfortunately, attending job fairs or interviews on campus isn’t necessarily enough to find a job; you’ll have to work much harder if you want to.” you want to maximize your chances of landing a great first job or an internship…People often say that job hunting is a full-time job Set aside consistent time each week for career preparation Ideally, you should start thinking about the career preparation efforts as a freshman, although at this stage, your focus should only be becoming familiar with the career services available on campus, exploring your academic interests, and thinking about establishing attractive academic credentials for potential employers.”
Hopefully, you’re one of the smart ones ahead of the game and will read this book early in your college career, but if not, there’s still plenty to help you set yourself apart from all other job seekers. I wish someone had given me this book when I was in college. It will make the perfect gift for high school or college students, anyone about to enter the job market, or even someone who wants to prepare themselves to find a better job.
