A Perfect Match

A recent college grad discovers 
what matters most when looking for your first job.

Looking through the campus interview listings on my school's career website one day, I saw the name of a company that I had already researched. The position the company offered seemed people-oriented and challenging, but the industry and job type threw me off. "This isn't my major or what I've studied," I thought. Still, I hit the button and electronically dropped my resume. I wasn't committing myself to a job just yet, but I wanted to take advantage of every opportunity.

A week later, I interviewed. I knew right away that something was drawing me to this job. It was an inner instinct - a gut feeling that told me this was more than just another job; this was the company I should work for. The people I interviewed with made the job very appealing. They were outgoing, funny and smart - just the type of people I wanted to deal with in the workplace. My preliminary research already completed, I now knew this was the company for me.

For some graduates, a job is a short-term stepping-stone; for others, it is an entrance point into a long-term career. But for graduates like me, unsure of what they want to do after four years of college, a job is an opportunity to develop new skills and relationships. I considered traveling; I considered teaching abroad; but I decided on job searching. I networked with family, friends, teachers, parents, advisors and former employers. What could they tell me about job searching? Who did they know? What were the good companies to work for? What should I look for or avoid?

I browsed the Internet several times a day, searching career and company websites. The more I talked with people and scanned the web, the more I began to realize that I shouldn't be picky about a job title or industry but rather about what a company could offer me in terms of benefits and experience.

I researched salaries, insurance coverage and investment options. And when I saw a position that offered a great benefits package, I submitted my resume. I also made note of a benefit that specifically appealed to a young woman of my age: college tuition reimbursement. To find a company that would actually pay my tuition and fees - there couldn't be a better way to finance an education and develop a career at the same time. 
The deciding point, however, came in the interview process. Skills, education and previous experience - the company could see all of that from my resume, but they didn't know who I was as a person. And I couldn't tell from websites and job descriptions what kind of people my potential coworkers would be, either. 

When you have little more experience than writing papers, taking tests, brief internships and occasional summer employment, some of the best advice I can offer is to look for a personality match. Personality types shape decisions, including where and with whom we want to work. The interview process was the chance for both me and my prospective employer to see if we were the right personality match. 
Luckily for me, it turned out we were. I got the job.