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Old 02-05-2004, 11:56 PM   #15 (permalink)
Johnny Rotten
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Location: Berkeley
I wouldn't recommend Monster. These days, it tends to be nothing more than a hunting ground for email addresses to spam, and a haven for headhunters.

Let me tell you about headhunters. These are people who work on commission for an independent company. In some cases, you can expect to see them take your resume and spam it to everyone whose address they can get ahold of, which can turn your name to mud. Often you don't even need to contact a headhunter. All you have to do is post the resume, they grab it, and next thing you know you're getting an angry call from someone telling you to stop faxing them your res. And if you don't watch the fine print, headhunters can garnish your wages. For years. From job to job. Monster is not the best place to go.

In my experience, a good way to break in is by getting an internship, striking up a rapport with several of your superiors during the internship, and picking a company large enough to absorb you in the first place. Also, it doesn't have to be 40 hours a week. You can do 20 and split your time with an hourly job. It might be just working the counter at a coffeeshop or working at a phone bank, but I can't stress how important it is to put one's ego in neutral for just a little while. I've known people who've just about been thrown out onto the street peniless because they refused to do something "below their station" while looking for real work. Or they were just self-destructively unmotivated and not experienced enough to appreciate the long-term ramifications of such a decision.

So, networking is everything. Starting an internship now or immediately after college has worked wonders for many. In fact, the overwhelming majority of internships do not accept someone who is not a student. Find out if the companies you want to work for offer internships. That's your best bet, in my opinion. It gives them a chance to sound you out, and gives you the chance to see the company from the inside with no strings attached and no long-term obligations.
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