Ask the Experts: No Interest Because You Do Not Attend a Core School
Question:
I am graduating with good grades and great career related work experience, including numerous internships related to my majors in marketing and management. I have not been able to find a job. Potential employers have told me that I should submit my resume to them, but that they do not have any openings at this time because I do not attend one of their core schools. How do I get them to pay attention to me when they acknowledge that the only strike against me is the name of the school on my transcript?
First Answer:
Based on comments I read recently in an online discussion group for
recruiters, you probably CANNOT get recruiters to pay attention to
you if they are fixated on recruiting from target schools. Some of these
recruiters, the discussion group noted, do encourage all grads to
submit resumes but in reality pretty much ignore those not from the
targeted colleges. The recruiters noted that the practice is just one
of those unfair aspects of life. Here are some suggestions, however,
for getting around the unfairness:
- Research employers thoroughly. Talk to a company’s college recruiter(s) so you can distinguish which companies recruit only from targeted schools
and which are more open minded. You might also find that while one recruiter
at a company will consider only target-school grads, others at the same
company might be more flexible. - Set your sights on smaller companies. The employers that focus on grads from target schools are likely to be large companies. Smaller firms are
more likely to embrace grads from other schools. - Look into companies located near your college. The university I’m affiliated with, for example, doesn’t yet have a national reputation, but it
it is highly regarded regionally, and a number of employers know they
can find the right kind of employees among the school’s grads. - Ask at your college’s career services office which employers recruit grads from your school. Obviously, the employers who visit your
campus for on-campus recruiting would be good bets.
— Katharine Hansen, former speechwriter and college instructor who provides content for the Web site, Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and prepares job-search correspondence as chief writer for Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters
Second Answer:
I am really unclear on what a “core school” is. If you are graduating from an accredited college or university, I fail to understand the difference. If your degree is from a correspondence school (usually an Associates degree) or one that is not accredited or known as a “paper mill” then that is another story.
You say that potential employers say that they don’t have openings because of the school you attend. This does not make sense. An employer either has a need to hire someone or they don’t. You talked about numerous internships–but what did you accomplish? Did you make a difference in quantifiable terms? How many people can vouch for your abilities as a result from this service? Write these points out.
In most cases, success in a career depends more upon your own abilities and accomplishments than the name of the school you attended. You may find more opportunity in smaller companies, because they are more focused on finding someone who can produce results, where hiring professionals in larger companies focus more on adhering to hiring protocols–many of which are rather arbitrary.
— Keith F. Luscher, Creative Director with Goettler Associates, Inc., a fund-raising consulting firm serving non-profit organizations nationwide, and author of Don’t Wait Until You Graduate!
