Hi! Thank you so much for your advice, and I definitely don't mind if you post it publicly. That was great advice!
Hi! I saw your comment recently on that post about applying to “entry level” tech jobs and I just wanted to reach out for some advice. My hope is to one day (as in 2 yrs from now) work in marketing/branding for a tech company and you said you have experience in the industry so I thought it was worth at least saying hi :) I’m Chi, I’m almost 20, and I go to Business school in Boston. I guess I’m just interested in knowing what you’d suggest, or how to get my foot in the door.
Hi! From what I understand, you’re in a good place for tech work. Boston may not be as tech heavy as the Bay area or Seattle, but it’s got quite the tech presence. I know that Microsoft, Google, and Amazon have satellite offices out there, among others.
My experience is on the technical side so I don’t know as much about the marketing and branding side of things, but I can offer some advice that I think applies universally. As a lot of people have noticed, one thing companies are always interested in is experience. While you are still a student, I strongly recommend finding a summer internship position in your field. You will get real, hands-on experience, you will get a chance to really see if this is the right job for you, and you get paid for your time (usually; unpaid internships are becoming a thing in some fields, which I personally find disgusting). You also get to demonstrate your ability in front of people who make hiring decisions. At my company, at the end of every internship we evaluate the intern and decide whether or not we want to make them an offer (or invite them back for another internship, if they aren’t graduating soon). I believe this is pretty standard practice, at least for technical positions.
If you can’t find an internship in your field, or you’re too early in your program for that to be realistic, it’s not the end of the world. But you should try to get some work experience on your resume before you graduate. Employers like to see evidence that a candidate can hold down a job - something that really is quite different from being in school. Part-time retail or food service work might not have anything to do with your field, but it does demonstrate that you can function in a workplace. If you can find something better, great, but college + McDonald’s job still looks better on a resume than college with no job at all. Do not ever let someone tell you that “you don’t need a job right now” or that “you should just focus on your studies.” That person is remembering a job market several generations out of date.
