I mentioned in my last blog that I have been rejected by at least 50 jobs/internships. It is probably more if you include all of the resume screens I didn't pass or the jobs I applied to and just never heard anything back. This was not because I am an idiot (at least I don't think so), but more a combination of several factors.

First, the majority of the jobs that I applied to were bulge bracket/middle market i-banking and sales & trading jobs, as well as jobs in management and investment consulting. These jobs are extremely competitive to begin with, and I was applying for these positions in '09-'10 which didn't make it any easier. Additionally, my 3.0 GPA was anything but stellar, and I often had to network my way to an interview (otherwise my resume didn't pass the initial screen and ended up in the trash). I'd also like to throw out there that I have no family connections, I couldn't afford to take an unpaid internship, and none of the big corporations recruited from my college (mainly because it is a liberal arts college). I'm not trying to make excuses - I would do a lot of things differently if I could do it again. However, I just want to set the stage by saying that unless you were well-connected and wise beyond your years, the jobs I was applying to were not easy to get.

I did have one major leg-up on other students - I worked 10 hrs/wk in the Career Center for all 4 of my undergraduate years. This allowed me to watch many students fail and succeed in finding a job. It also gave me a chance to learn what a great resume looks like, how to write a cover letter, prepare for interviews, and network with alumni (alumni are one of the best resources for help/advice in finding a job).

Despite the fact that I was paid to give other students career-advice, at the end of the day finding a job/internship was not an easy process for me. It was physically demanding, as going through the "job search process" on top of playing varsity baseball, working 10 hrs/wk, and staying on top of my schoolwork took a lot of hard work. It was also emotionally challenging, as getting rejected over-and-over again is not the easiest thing to deal with. While I was fortunate that my parents were paying the majority of my tuition, I was still on the hook for a significant amount, and the thought of graduating college without a job was pretty scary for me.

As a result, I'd like to give some career advice. While I know this is a forum for people that want anything BUT a 9AM-7PM office grind (I think the 9AM-5PM day very rarely exists for entry level employees in business/finance), I'm guessing there are several of you out there who can't make it on poker alone, and could benefit from reading my thoughts. I'm not sure what the most effective way to do this is, but over the next several blog posts I will be writing various pieces of advice on finding a job/internship. If there is anything in particular you want me to cover, feel free to comment on this blog. I'm not sure if my thoughts will be helpful for everyone (i.e. I won't write about how to get into med-school), but I hope that some people find this useful.