This summer, I went through the career search process for first time since my senior year of college three years ago. I knew that I’d have to send out plenty of resumes, reach out to some connections, and follow up relentlessly on opportunities that I wanted. But I also knew that I was a smart person so once I got my foot in the door, I could make an impression. I think almost all smart people can get a job, even in this market.
Of course nobody is going to come knocking down your door if you show some intelligence . But once you get to that first screening call or first online test, you have the tools to get a job. While it may seem like employers are weeding out good candidates and only hiring overqualified individuals, the truth is that if you are smart, there’s probably a place for you in the company.
A COUPLE EXAMPLES
I’ll give two examples. The first came during my senior year of college. I must have gone to a career fair and handed out my application to this company, because I had no recollection of actually applying to the company. So I was pleasantly surprised to receive an email asking me if I’d like to move forward with their interview process. After asking for some basic information, they invited me to take an online test, consisting of one technical section and one reasoning section.
This test was designed to weed out the unqualified candidates. I don’t know what my actual scores were but I didn’t feel like the test was terribly hard. A few days later I was asked to come in for an interview, which I was late to (I was given confusing directions using public transportation) and almost fell asleep during one of my three interviews. I didn’t expect to get the job but I ended up working for this company for two years. It all started because I did well on a reasoning test.
Fast forward two years to this summer, when I moved to California. After realizing that the self-employed lifestyle wasn’t for me, I sent out about 30 resumes to different companies and got one email asking me to come in to take a series of tests. I expected it to be something similar to what I had done 2 years earlier. What I didn’t expect was to take a marketing test, a PowerPoint test, an English test, and an IQ test. People test for IQ nowadays?
Employers sure have gotten crazy lately. I took the test, barely passed the marketing and PowerPoint tests (I got about a 50% on them, which somehow constituted passing), but aced the English and did very well on the IQ test. I probably got an IQ score above my natural capabilities, but with a short test anything can happen.
I got a call the same day asking me to come in for an interview the following day and about an hour after the interview (which made me feel unqualified for the position because of my lack of industry knowledge) I was sent an offer letter and I started the following day.
In neither of these cases was I better than other candidates. I certainly wasn’t a great programmer before my first job, and I had to catch up to others and what was expected of someone in my position. In my current job, it is clear that I am not a natural salesman and that anyone can do what I do.
So why was I chosen over others? It’s because I did well on my tests. In my most recent interview, it was clear that the reason I was being considered was that they were impressed with my test scores, NOT that I was a perfect fit for the position.
TIPS ON HOW TO GET AHEAD
I am not special. Here are a few ways you can prepare and whether you’re brilliant or not, you can use these tips to gain an advantage in your next job opportunity:
- Just like your SAT or GREs, you can study! Do a lot of reasoning problems for practice. Take out an LSAT book from your library as the types of problems on those tests involve both reasoning and analysis skills.
- Highlight your outside the box thinking. If you’ve got a side job, list it. Employers love to see people take initiative!
- The key is to get your foot in the door and make an impression. Don’t just send a resume. Follow up and if possible, say that you’d like to set up a meeting to discuss some ways you would be able to help improve the business.
Employers are still looking for bright employees who will help them innovate and lead, not for yes men who may have skills but lack the analysis that are so valuable.
Readers, do you have any other tips that can help ace that all important test?
How is the job market in your area? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about 2012?
Photo: Delos Ruins, Greece. 2011. Sam
I agree – the key is making a great impression. I think most people who interview and do hiring get a gut feeling within 10 seconds of meeting you. If they like you, it is basically yours to lose in the interview. If you screw up that first meeting, you really better be amazing to overcome that first impression.
Thanks. For some reason I’m a good interviewee. I don’t let the nerves or pressure get to me, and I think everyone can be a little more relaxed and they’ll see great results!
I really enjoyed the story. Clearly you are bright and make a good impression. Yet, you also are in a highly marketable technical field. It’s a bit tougher for those liberal arts college grads. Those folks need to do a really good job of defining their career goals and get some career related internships and experience.
That’s what I thought for awhile, but my current job doesn’t utilize any of my technical skills. It’s a little sad because problem solving and analysis are my strong suits, but with sales, I don’t think you need a technical degree. It DEFINITELY helps coming out of college though, the is never a shortage of programming and engineering jobs. This morning I read something about majors with 0% unemployment, they were basically actuary and science degrees.
I also believe having a great personality is a major plus as well. All the skills at any jobs can be learned. School only teaches you the basics, but all the fine tuning happens at the work place. Having a great attitude and personality is something you really can’t teach.
Great post daniel – I’m somewhat of a good test taker myself, so I dont mind doing that stuff at all. I think there’s a lot of things they look at, but knowing your stuff trumps just about all else. Congrats on the job.
Great post! Sometimes I get the feeling that the job market is looking up but then I still have friends looking for jobs. It is getting pretty crazy with how picky employers are being these days but I agree that getting that first interview is really all you need.
It’s funny, though, a few years ago I applied to a job that I knew I was qualified for because the job description was pretty much line for line what I had done previously (and been very good at). But, then they sent over this weird personality test with all these crazy “What would you do in this scenario” type questions, and they nixed me because of the results for that. Without even a face-to-face interview (which I would think would give them a lot more information about someone’s personality than a multiple-choice test). I was actually pretty pissed about that for quite some time.
I had an interview like that in person and I was totally unprepared for it. If you had a project due in the afternoon and it was just assigned to you what would you do? “Um, I’d just do it.” That was my answer lol. Then I got prodded into saying I’d skip lunch, but in reality if there’s work to do, I just do it. I felt bad after that but I got good feedback and was thisclose to a job offer with them, the timing just didn’t work out well.
I agree 100% with you. If you are bright and work hard, you can do anything you want. There is nothing holding you back but yourself.
Great post – It’s definitely true, but I feel like you also have an upper hand if you know someone. Hands down, my experience has taught me that you have to know people.
I agree with 20’s Finances. It’s more about your social skills and who you know. However, you’re spot on about the ease of finding a job when you’re smart. Yale graduates are not having a hard time finding jobs at places like Google paying 100k, and for good reason! Some of the brightest people I know are well off and easily find new jobs. I think a combination of smarts and people skills is what will set you apart from the crowd at the end of the day.
If you were hiring, which would you rather have? A guy who has technical skills? Or someone who could lead and interact with people? One is great short-term, the other could be in the company for years and years.
Exactly, anyone can learn technical skills, you can’t teach people skills.
Personally, I would want a guy (or gal) with both… Of course, it would depend what your business is too…
It’s so true. Many companies want to hire smart and creative people. And I agree with them. As a hiring manager, I also try my best to weed out the best and smartest engineers and not specifically look for qualified engineers with lots of related experience. For me, if you are smart person you can always pick up most types of work quickly. The drawback is that it is very hard to find these smart engineers out there. Asking technical questions really can help hiring managers in hiring smart people.
All depends on what the role calls for. If it’s technical and back-office, than a winsome personality is not all that necessary — some techies I know are more than a little lacking in people skills .
As for the constant training tests we’re required to take, I admit I always skip ahead and see if I can take the test based on what I know/remember. About half the time I manage to pass, and save myself anywhere from a half-hour to an hour of redundant training.
Some of the firms I applied to straight up asked for my SAT scores when I applied out of school. Every follow up I did had a technical aspect (I am a Software Engineer, but I applied to finance firms as well) – either financial knowledge or programming and algorithm questions.
Usually, there was a ‘personality’ interview, but all of the places I applied got the technical part out of the way first – almost out of necessity with the number of new graduates applying. Definitely agree with your assessment.
Haha how irrelevant is that? I know my scores but if they wanted verification it would take a lot of work! This maybe applied to college internships, but after college SAT scores are totally useless. Take the GREs if you want a more relevant score
I learned a lot here as I haven’t applied for a job in 30 years. When I hire someone, it is usually just with a resume, then an interview. Interesting stuff!
Do people stick around for awhile? I’d love to know what things you look for in prospective employees!
I think you’re right STBS, if you’re intelligent and you can get past that first interview, there’s always a job out there for you. For myself, I have never gone too long before I was able to land a solid paying job. I think it’s all attributed toward intelligent answers and the ability to communicate well.
I think impressions and networking are the most important. If you can sell yourself well with the right people, you can get a job in the field you want- even when times are tough. I have always found that investing in your image and skills and keeping in touch with potential leads works really well.
Thanks for sharing your story. Very interesting.
great post. the good news is that both smarts and social skills can be trained for….in other words, everyone (or a majority) should be able to do it…but then again i wonder sometimes?
This is a great story, Daniel.
I had an interview like this where I felt that I knew enough to understand it, but maybe didn’t entirely understand how the business itself operated. But, because I showed an interest in learning more about it and trying to unravel how the whole thing works, it actually turned out really well.
At the end of the day, people want an employee who is going to get things done, but also do it in the most productive way. Employers want people to have an interest in self-education, and the capacity to do it. If you can solve a problem on your own, all the better, I think. It’s also good for the employee, who can learn a lot more about the business and grow with it.
Congratulations on the job. After seeing the post on STBS (turning $1 into $5), I’m really curious as to what company this is.
When interviewing people I expect them to ask questions about the company, it’s philosophy and culture. I’m surprised when it doesn’t happen (even when I ask them if they have any questions). If they expect to stay around I don’t want any surprises after the first week!
With my first company, they always asked what I knew about the company. I was surprised by the question the first time but then practiced and nailed it the other times. Asking questions is a MUST in any interview.
There were a series of tests for the 2 year internship I ended up taking, which really launched my career with the public service. When they receive 2500 applications for 30 jobs the employer really does need to weed out the posers.
Yup, there needs to be a way to get to the cream of the crop without wasting tons of hours speaking to each one. It’s definitely effective, and it’s a luxury you have when you have that many applicants. Congrats on making it in to such a prestigious program!
As a former financial person (CFO), I do not encounter tests. Your resume must be good to even get the call. I am little surprised that a company would rely on a test versus your work experience from your previous employer.
I’ve been tested on numbers- SALES numbers. Granted, I’m about to finish up with my MA degree (which required an undergraduate education and solid GRE scores which..well, for me weren’t so solid but they took me anyway!) but I haven’t had anything like this come.
I wish there was more of an opportunity to highlight the education I’ve given myself outside of schooling (You know like reading books on stuff that matter in business, not the sometimes silly junk they make you read for class) but I’ve rarely had the opportunity to highlight my other skills beyond what’s encompassed with my degrees.
There is a serious skill gap in this country, if you have it in your you’ll get any job you want. In order to grow up the ladder you’ll need a degree on your back.
Leadership skills are really important these days as are analytical skills. Following up is a good tactic as employers can really get overwhelmed with all their candidates and putting in a little extra effort to get your resume to the top of the pile is worth it.
[…] I posted on Yakezie this week about my job search and why I think that if you’re smart, you can get a job. […]
I am not pessimistic at all — there is a ton of demand for software developers, especially in the city where I live, even if the salaries are not like they are in San Francisco/San Jose. As a fellow colleague once put it, you can throw a stone out the window and hit a potential job opportunity.
At the same time, one still needs to be prepared and seek out the good companies, and also know what they are talking about. Being relaxed during an interview is also important — something I’m not that great at, myself.
The tests cost money so my company only tests applicants that we’re seriously considering. They can really help point out an applicant’s fit for the role based on strengths and weaknesses.
I’ve often taken “editing” tests for various magazine editing job positions …. I find it helpful and stress-reducing not to think of it as a test but rather as a chance to show how awesome you are!
You didn’t like the self-employed lifestyle? Gotta read the post on that! It’s the one thing so many strive for, but presumably the grass is always greener…
I’m optimistic about 2012, but I’m generally optimistic anyway. I do think test taking is a great skill to have. I had to take an exam for my latest job transition. It’s weird, but that’s the market we’re in.