You Won’t Find a Job Watching Netflix
During quarantine, it can be very tempting to binge-watch on Netflix (or spend countless hours on other screens.) What will you have to show for it when life resumes under our new normal? Wouldn't it be great if a job opportunity magically popped-up on your favorite device? Unfortunately, it won't. In reality, securing an internship or permanent position takes a lot of time and effort.
Angela Duckworth, Penn professor and a recipient of a MacArthur Genius Grant, recently published a post about a high school student who asked her for an internship. You can read the full post here. The gist is that Angela's first reaction was that she wasn't planning to hire any interns. One student's pitch was so compelling that she took the candidate up on her offer.
The student's pitch had three key elements that made it get noticed:
It demonstrated knowledge of Professor Duckworth's work.
The student was clearly high-achieving, and it highlighted accomplishments relevant to the work being done by Prof. Duckworth.
The student suggested what she could do for Angela in specific ways.
So many of the cover letters I see suffer from an inward perspective instead of an outward focus. Rather than focus on your interests and objectives, a successful cover letter appeals to the needs of the recipient. What are their pain points? What are their objectives? How can you help them and their business be more successful?
For example, you can showcase their business in new social media channels. Help them attract more prospects that turn into clients. Develop workflow processes and implement new tools that make their people more efficient.
The message needs to be what you can do for the company. You also need to contact many potential employers to increase your chances that one of them bites.
The two takeaways from this particular story are the quality of the candidate's pitch and the initiative taken to reach out. That initiative talks to the title of this post -- that Netflix (or any other screen pursuit) isn't going to get you a job. I'm not saying there isn't a place for downtime, fun with friends and family, sports, fitness, etc., but landing that internship or permanent job takes effort. But, as evidenced by the high schooler now working for Professor Duckworth, it can be worth it!
I offer individualized career coaching and advising (remote and in-person) along with text, email, and phone support to help job seekers succeed. I've hired more than 100 people and interviewed over 500 candidates. I've worked at large global companies like Morgan Stanley and a company that is now part of Bank of America Private Bank and founded/worked at six startups. I welcome you to contact me and join my mailing list and receive my free guide, "Top 5 Young Adult Job Search Myths."