May and June are closing in on ol' Si. Working for a turnaround, hoping that it will make it to July. The significance of the upcoming months are, of course, weddings and college graduations. I have survived one of each. The graduation one was forgotten after my first job. Yes, in the Valley, the shelf life of the paper from your college graduation is one job.
Someone hires you because you went to Impressive U, got a degree in Impressive Engineering, and rushed Impressive Phi Sigma fraternity. You do something at that first job; you meet other new grads doing something. You drink beer with them, bitch about bosses, stare in amazement a life of a salesperson, yell at the marketing department, and generally grow up with your peers.
Then, one of the guys you went to Impressive U leaves the job. WHAT? Your leaving? How? Why? They are paying you HOW much? Wow. Should I look around?" The magic of internet job sites and a wayward frat brother get an interview for you soon after.
You must be hot! They don't even ask for a resume. The say they need my skills now. You decide that the interviewer is right... you are in a dead end. Come here where you are appreciated! Stock options (sounds impressive)! Free food! No old guy managers! Life is good.
About three months into your new dream job, warts appear. Daily bagels turn into weekly donuts, and stale at that. Well, hey, at least I have 'stock'. Until the recapitalization.... then you don't. President fires your boss. Board tosses out the President. A guy who looks like the accountant in Hell comes in, wielding a machete. You walk out of the company on a Friday with your career in a cardboard box.
Well, you are a hot commodity! Your last boss said so. Now, you create your first LinkedIn profile. This should be easy. I didn't do much at my first job, and the second job was blown out from under me in a few months. But, no problem. I am an A student from Impressive U! Wait until they see my grades in math!
OK, I need to get serious here... setting up LinkedIn now and... oh, why is my degree and college at the BOTTOM of the LinkedIn page? Where is the section for 'Awards and Recommendations' from Impressive High School? The skills at company A and B are front and center on the LinkedIn page. If they are not a match for a specific job, then everything below it, such as that fancy college, may never make the hiring eyeballs.
You get a LinkedIn followup. Job description looks promising. Reality comes with the first set of interviews. You realize that the decision makers either went to colleges that were too low to make your list of 'safety schools', or didn't even bother to attend at all. There was no small talk about drinking at the Dutch Goose, or bar hopping in Boston. All the hiring manager said he knows about frats is what he saw in 'Animal House'. "Great about your special project as a college junior... how many Agile scrums did you manage at your last job?" You'll be fine, just play the college card carefully.
Si never mentions attending Mediocre State U during an interview. Doesn't dwell on the three years at Community College while I was tuning up cars, trying to save some money. Not having been a grad of CMU or Cal killed me when I talked to Sun in the 90s, and kept me from even getting a rejection notice from Google a few years back. Hope that Google can control the rampant egos and in-fighting from hiring only at big name schools. Sun couldn't.
Enjoy the friendships, frats, pictures of you doing stupid things on your Facebook page, but move on when you graduate. Easy for old Si and his sheepskin from Mediocre State U. Might be tougher for you, as you did go to Impressive U.
Make no mistake, your top notch education is a good thing. You made the top of the heap just getting into Impressive U. You are smart, so be proud!
OK that was my lecture on college graduation. What about weddings? Need several more gin and tonics before I can write about that.
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