Interview Confidence Part I: Companies & Networking

Exactly how I found companies that I was actually interested in working for and found people at those companies who would actually talk to me, The Maddie Way approach.

Photo Credit: Mason Polk

So you’ve graduated in a pandemic. It’s bleak, unnerving, and uncertain. It’s frustrating to have graduated and (literally) invested so much into your brain, only to have unemployment reach record highs. But as a friend of mine shared, this pandemic is teaching them not to worry about what things out of their control and to work hard at what is.

For as many times as I’ve heard someone discuss unemployment, I’ve heard more people talk about how quarantine has led to connecting over the phone with those they wouldn’t have talked to otherwise. Relationships are no longer prioritized only if in-person. So, one thing students and post-grads can do is coincidentally what I've found to be the most essential part of getting a job: the informational interview.

When I graduated from Pitzer College, I made it my mission to talk to as many people as possible about the entertainment industry. Here, I’m sharing exactly how I found companies that I was actually interested in working for and found people at those companies who would actually talk to me. This is Part I. Part II is How to Ask Good Questions, coming next.

Let’s get into some tangible takeaways.

First, I had to find some companies.

I used Google by searching in this format:

COMPANY TYPE + CITY + "CLIENT" such as ‘best advertising agencies in los angeles "Disney"’

Use lists and news from industry-relevant publications, such as TheWrap for entertainment, Billboard for music, or Geekwire for tech.

A little hack for my creatives, too: Instagram is a great way for creatives to find cool companies making money (read: hiring). What's a cool company and who are they following / going Live with / featuring? Also, there are lots of Instagrams that are niched down to a certain component of an industry, like black female executives or Los Angeles artists collectives, etc. I used @AdvertisingsNotDead to learn about the advertising agencies behind stylish brands.

Use podcasts to find cool people and the companies they run. I recommend TheSkimm, How I Built This, The Skinny Confidential, Foundr Magazine's podcast, TED Talks Business, etc. . . This is your insider scoop to who they are hiring and what their company values are. If I felt energized by their work or found it relevant to what I want to do, this was a green light.

At this point, I had a list of companies doing things I found interesting, had values I aligned with, and clients I was excited to work for. Now, I had to find someone to talk to there, since just submitting a resume holds zero water. Instead, LinkedIn and my alma mater were crucial.

Pleeeaase talk to me

Time to put all that tuition to good use! I would Google search "LinkedIn Pitzer COMPANY" or "LinkedIn Claremont McKenna COMPANY" and reach out to them. The alum card is worth its weight in tuition.

I used Google by searching this format:

COMPANY + CITY of job + [the department you've applied for or interested in]

I asked my friends and family if they knew anyone at these companies, or the industry in general. As I eloquently advised my friend, “X may not know someone at Nike but their best friends' cousin may f*cking work there, so you never know!”

Sneak Preview to Part II

Though I go into excruciating detail about this in Part II, here’s a sneak preview to what I actually talked about with these folks. Remember to learn about the company so your emails aren't trash. Do they have podcasts? Has the CEO been interviewed in Forbes? What do you ACTUALLY resonate with there?

When asking questions, I always keep in mind that everyone knows something I don't. So, I make each conversation valuable for what I’m trying to accomplish, whether learning more about the industry or the job itself. I’ve often asked, "How has someone you worked with in an entry level role made your life easier?” Is this a skill you have? Next time, lead with that. Not so much? How can you practice it?

Mental Health Realness

Last but not least, this is fun but time-consuming and stressful.

Give yourself time to discover.
Allow yourself to get excited about a company. Geeking is encouraged.
Also, make sure you're actually finishing sh*t, whether a cover letter first draft or sending email to HMs.
Make sure you're having intentional on-screen and off-screen time. I would set my phone timer to 20 minute countdowns, then do 40 min on then 20 min off. If you hit a flow on screen, then do an hour or an hour-20, etc. . . This helps with procrastination.
As always, do it here, do it now.

See you in Part II!