Undergraduate Blog / Career Development

Summer 2019 Recruiting Update: It’s May. Let’s Get Organized!

By now you know that recruiting has officially begun at some companies for Summer 2019 (yes, that’s right, Summer 2019).  If you didn’t know, take a look here.

The Hoffman Undergraduate Center for Career Development is reaching out to help you get organized and prepared to submit applications this summer.  Taking the time now to get organized will allow you to stay ahead of early deadlines and not miss out on any recruiting processes.

What do I mean by “get organized”?

Determine your goals for Summer 2019: Think about what you want to accomplish and experience next summer.  What type of skills do you want to gain?  Also, take time to reflect on the skills and qualities you already have based on prior experience.  You want to make sure that you apply for positions that match your skillset.

Create a target list of companies:  Identify companies that you are interested in applying to for next year.  There are many ways to generate a company list within a particular industry.  Leverage resources such as Vault Career Insider, LinkedIn, and simple online searches (don’t underestimate a google search!) which will all provide you with industry specific company lists.  Take advantage of resources directly through Horn Library – there are 3 sites available specifically for generating company lists for job searches.  Spend time researching the companies you have identified, gain an understanding of what they do and what is their culture.

Research job details and take note of application deadlines:  Once you have a list of companies, you will want to go to each individual company website and review all of the information on the recruiting process.  Take a look at the open positions and thoroughly read the job description.  This is where you need to take ownership of this process.  Take note of the application deadlines!

Make Connections – Network!: This is by far the most important part of any recruiting process.  Making meaningful connections now will only help you as you move along the career development process.  Now that you have identified companies and positions that you would like to apply to for Summer 2019, it is critical that you begin to connect with people working at those companies or in the industry you are targeting.  Leverage your Babson alumni network!  You can look up alumni through LinkedIn – go to the Babson College school page and click on the link called “see Alumni” (www.linkedin.com/school/babson-college/alumni).  Use LinkedIn to generate a list of contacts that you are interested in making a connection to.  Do not simply “connect” through LinkedIn, but rather take time to write an email to introduce yourself and provide some context as to why you are reaching out.  Connecting with people from the industry will allow you to learn more about the career path you are seeking.  The more knowledge you gain about the industry, company, position will only make you a stronger candidate through the process.

Stay Organized: Put all of this information into a tracking sheet for yourself.  Most students that I work with track all of this in an excel sheet (excel sheet would include information such as: company, position, application deadline, alumni, outreach date, date of call, etc).  It will help you to stay organized, stay ahead of applications deadlines and on top of your networking outreach.

CCD is here for you all summer!  If you would like some additional guidance and help with this process, please schedule an appointment through Handshake.

Stay tuned as you will hear from us again in June with tips on making sure your networking connections are working for you.