That's right, save your time and energy and put your efforts toward a strategy that will actually work for you. The Niche Movement is going to share some tactics and things you can do to avoid a crowded gym or student center with a hundred of employers who are probably there for the free lunch and day out of the office.
Let's face it, companies are at career fairs because their competitors are. They are also set up a table because no one ever told them to seek talent elsewhere. But let's be real: resume, after resume, after resume get piled on their table and put into their car when they leave...and its a shame because companies pay sometimes more than $500-$600 just for a table and to talk to hundreds, if not thousands of college students so desperately looking for a job.
But student leaders, you shouldn’t be desperate. You worked hard while in college, you got involved, you built your leadership skills and are crossing off some pretty amazing things on your “before I grow up list.” What I want to tell you is don’t be one of the hundreds or thousands at your next career fair. Depending on what you want to do here is our first suggestion:
You want to look for intimate settings that aren’t crowded with other college students. Here is one:
Creative Mornings take place once a month in over 40 cities worldwide (listen up to all of you studying abroad). Even if you live within a 90 minute commute to one of these cities it is worth it. Every month they have a theme anywhere from design to marketing to money. Then, their chapter organizes and finds a well known or up and coming figurehead that has found their niche.
The best part, is they provided breakfast, its free and they host them at some unique places. When I went in July to NYC I heard Kellie Anderson
talk about design and I got to network with more than 100 artists, graphic designers, programmers and even the founder SwissMiss. Oh yeah and it was held in one of the most creative offices I've ever seen called the X/O group who started theknot, thebump and thenest.
The only thing I observed though is I saw no college students. If I am a college student interested in getting into design, photography, videography, web design, marketing, event planning, etc I would be DROOLING. Here’s the thing, unless you are digging deep, trolling twitter (not for #mantisGF) and networking like crazy, you will never hear about opportunities like this.
Now, getting a ticket for a Creative Morning meet ups is not easy because they are free and go quick on the Monday they are released, so you need to be quick. However, most hosts are very accessible and when I emailed them to try and get 2 more tickets they at least gave me a response (from a live human).
Tip: Here’s our advice if you get shut out - hunt down the organizer and contact them. If you have a skill such as videography or photography they are always looking for help to document their events. If you have your own blog or doing an assignment for a course, use that as an excuse to get in- depending on the person you contact they may have a soft spot to let you in. Last, (and we don’t suggest this) just show up and explain you are a student. Worst case you don't get in and you go explore the town or stumble upon some other company.
Kevin O’Connell, Founder - The Niche Movement
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I'm a student leader graduating soon.
If you are reading this and are a college student or a recent graduate within the last two years think about the type of company culture you want to be a part of. Apply to be part of the first Niche Movement Cohort where we will work with your niche and discover employers that have jobs that you want. Applications due March 3rd.
I work with student leaders.
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I already found my niche and want to tell my story.
And if you happen to stumble upon The Niche Movement and you already found your niche then share your story. Or we can help you recruit top, talented college who by helping you create appealing job description, screen candidates and host internships or jobs on our website.