At Walmart we arrived, giddy with joy, and eager to find a gift for each girl and boy.

Santa hats on our heads and carts at hand, to scour the store for the best toys in the land.

Matt skipped down the aisles, Tom frolicked close behind.  “Did you see the Easy Bake Ovens?” “I already grabbed nine!”

Sarah picked puzzles and gushed over a Justin Bieber doll. She attends his concerts to this day, hoping her name he will call.

Brandon stocked up on hockey sticks and plastic trucks. Mike found out you shouldn’t bounce balls in the store – oh shucks.

One cart full, brimming to the top. Another we’d quickly grab and continue to shop.

A basketball, some board games and a few books. You should have seen our mountainous carts, boy, we had some jealous looks.

The staff cleared a path for our train of goodies when it came time to pay.  Ten carts full of toys, move out of the way!

We even had a personal lane come checkout time, to help us avoid all the arduous holiday lines.

No, our sleigh wasn’t red and we were short a few elves. But the rented Uhaul truck worked fine for the toys we swept off the shelves.

It was certainly fun for us, the shopping spree of the season, and when the children’s faces lit up, we knew the true reason.

I hope you enjoyed our poem, it’s just a bit sappy. To our friends who made this happen, we wish you a holiday most happy.

More info about the adventure!

I can’t think of a better time to try starting up a company than when you’re still in school.  You have the fewest financial responsibilities and most free time you will ever have.  You also have lots of access, and everyone loves helping out a young entrepreneur.

In order to have a successful recruiting season, you must be willing to talk about your internship.  Don’t think that your internship is boring.  Maybe the work seems mundane to you, but you may be surprised by what eager college students find interesting.  Share with potential interns what they will be doing and who they will be working with.  Don’t keep it a secret.  Be proud of what you have to offer.  Here are a few ways to show off:

• Have a page or two on your website dedicated to your internship (place a link on your front page for easy access).  Interview previous interns and post their testimonials detailing their internship experience.  Offer insight on what a typical day is like, students want to know what they are getting into.  We have created countless job descriptions and one thing we always avoid is making something sound better than it really is.
  • (Ex. If you are hiring a sales rep then tell them exactly how they will generate business, you can see how we did it for our ROCS Biz Finder Internship.)
• Constantly promote the internship.  Speak not only to college students about your program, but also share with vendors and clients.
• Send emails.  Keep an email list of possible interns to stay organized.  Maybe a few candidates who weren’t quite ready for full-time could make a good intern.

Get Your Name Out There

Alright, your website is up and running for your internship, but how do you create some buzz?

Unless your company has a household name like GE or an established reputation at a school, you will have to do more than the conventional recruiting….. like attending job fairs.  Here are a few other ways to get your name out there:

• Get to know the professors!  Find the professors that teach courses which relate to your company.  Email them, attend functions at the school, get out there!  The professors can be a gateway to top talent, and they always know which students stick out above the rest.
• Sponsor student organizations.  Most organizations are required and/or strongly encouraged to have philanthropic events throughout the year.  What a positive way to not only get your name out there, but to also see which students are active on campus.  (This relates to another topic I’ll touch on down the road:  How students can make up for a lack of work experience through extracurricular activities).
• Hold special events for students.  Some companies looking to hire programmers have been creating “hack-offs” – events where they invite students to hack into a secured program.  It’s a cool and unique way to get your name out there and provides an exclusive way to identify top hackers….Maybe “hack-offs” don’t apply to your business, but be creative!

PS.  Make a goal not to hire your boss’s daughters and sons.  They already know all about your company, probably more then they would like to know.

About the Author: Tom Moore is a co-ceo/founder at ROCS. A staffing and recruiting services company which helps companies find the top college student and recent graduate talent.

You're hired!

It’s a good thing I got that e-mail because my self-esteem was taking a hit.

We received your resume and will be scheduling interviews with appropriate candidates.  (Never heard back.)  Unfortunately you do not meet the requirements for this position.  (Nice and blunt.)  After reviewing your resume, we don’t want to meet with you.  Ever.  (OK that last one was made up.)

Mike, we want to invite you to an interview at our office to discuss your potential with our company.  Wait, what?!

The Craigslist ad promised unlimited opportunities and earning potential with the ability to gain valuable experience in marketing, public relations, management and sales all without describing exactly what it was I would be doing.

Vague and sketchy?  Yes.  But I’m excited (at the prospect of making money) nonetheless.

I’ll need to buy some new dress slacks for the interview.  Nothing impresses an employer more than a shapely buttocks in stylish Dockers.

Since I’m out of cash, my credit card will have to help me out on that purchase.

Student debt, I know thee well.

To be continued…

This is the fifth installment in a series of posts called “Finding a Job is Tough, so Keep Your Chin Up (a memoir).” Check out the previous posts in the series:

1. Job Search, Week 1: Unemployed but Feeling Good
2. Job Search, Week 2: Unemployed and I Need a Job
3. Job Search, Week 3: Unemployed & I Really Need a Job
4. Job Search, Week 4: Unemployed, but Productive

About the Author: Mike McGurk is a Student Finder at ROCS and a current student at George Mason University. The worst job he ever had was a brief stint as a door-to-door salesman. He  lasted six hours.

Angry drizzling.

That doesn’t mean we (and other employers, hopefully) can’t appreciate the lessons learned from a tour of duty in the hospitality industry.  A busy restaurant is rarely the ideal work environment (Where’s the break room anyway?) and if you’re able to stick it out and do your job well, that’s something to be proud of.

Lessons from my time as a waiter:

• Longest day ever
• A hostile work environment
• Double-check for success
• Ask the boss
• Don’t let it get to you

So let’s face it:

Your previous employment history might not accurately reflect your long-term goals and the last four years of your expensive education.  Even if your GPA, relevant course work, and extracurricular activities were enough to get you in the door for an interview, you still want to be prepared to discuss a position you were paid to do in the past.  Yes, even a position as glamorous and glorious as waiting tables.

1.  I’m not scared of long hours.

Thirty-five hour work week?  No chance, especially not in this economy.  And what does a student know about putting in long hours on the job anyway?  Actually, they might know a little something.  I used to dread working a double-shift.  The lunch shift began at 11 in the morning, and after prepping the dining room for the next day, the dinner shift typically ended around midnight.  That’s about THIRTEEN HOURS I would spend hustling on my feet, catering to rude people, and performing repetitive tasks sometimes in a noisy, cramped, muggy, swear-filled, obstacle-laden and slippery kitchen.  Ten hours a day in an office seated at a desk with adequate time to use the bathroom would have been heaven.

2.  I can handle job stress.

Conflict is inevitable at any job.  In most job environments, you have the opportunity to calmly discuss the issue at some later time in a frank and professional manner if, after some thoughtful consideration, you still decide the matter is worth addressing.  Not the case in a restaurant.  Drunk twenty-something’s getting snippy about how long the food took to come out is not worth crying about and using as an excuse to do your job poorly.  Of course, there are appropriate situations when it’s acceptable to refuse to serve a table – if you feel insulted or threatened, for instance.  The point is that you’re not going to be that guy in the office who complains about not having an ergonomic mouse or overreacts in a rage when Larry’s music in the cubicle across the hall gets a little loud.

3.  I don’t forget the details.

Does this sound familiar: “Hi uh, yeah can I get the tortellini please.  But can I have tomato sauce instead of alfredo sauce?  And I’m not really into mushrooms.  Can I have zucchini instead of the mushrooms?  Ok great, thanks.  OH AND WAIT, sorry, does it have garlic in it?  Oh really?  I’m allergic.  Can you ask the chef to make it without garlic?”  And you just know that if you forget even one of those requests, you can kiss your tip goodbye.  He will almost certainly refuse to eat it and you will be forced to send the order through again.  His dinner companions, starving as they are and unwilling to let their food get cold, will decide to begin eating without him as he grows more pissed off with each passing minute.  As annoying as these customers may be, it does teach you the importance of double and triple checking even the most minor of details before you submit a finished product.

4.  If I don’t know, I will ask someone who does.

Not sure if the ravioli is stuffed with imitation crab meat or the real thing?  Well the dude at table five claims he might keel over and die if it’s full of the fake stuff.  While I’m almost certain he’s lying about his “allergy” and really just won’t admit he’s not willing to pay that much for imitation, I should ask the chef anyway.  The customer almost never minds the extra time it takes if they know they will receive a correct answer or a better experience.    It’s good to defer to a more knowledgeable person in situation where you’re unsure or don’t feel comfortable tackling a problem.  If you try to guess your way through something you’re not properly trained for, it will come back and bite you in the ass.

5.   I can learn a lesson and move on.

Get a crappy tip from the last four-top?  Did junior ask you for ketchup twice before dad had to angrily chime in?  Mental note: Pay more attention to the brats.  They might not be footing the bill, but their comments won’t go unnoticed when the credit card gets whipped out.  Remember your mistake, don’t repeat it and move on.  If you don’t drop it, you’ll dwell on it.  Your attitude and service – and subsequently, your tip – will suck for every other table for the rest of the night.  Sometimes people screw up.  But you know how to learn from it and get on with doing your job as best as you can.

Students and grads:

Keep these thoughts in mind when trying to explain why you’re a good fit for the accounting internship after three years at the Olive Garden.  Some of these points may sound like a reach, or sometimes even obvious, but you can’t expect employers to draw parallels on their own.  You need to spell it out for them clearly and confidently.

Recruiters and HR personnel:

Here are some areas to explore with a candidate when Timmy’s resume from the Olive Garden only tells you that he “financed 75% of education” with his tip money and that he had to “memorize an extensive menu and interact favorably with diners.”

That’s sort of like preparing an income statement, right?

About the Author: Mike McGurk is a Student Finder at ROCS and a current student at George Mason University. The worst job he ever had was a brief stint as a door-to-door salesman. He lasted six hours.

I think cover letters are silly.  Consider this:

I’m supposed to explain to a company why I am the best match for their esteemed position.  I’m supposed to show how my skill set and goals are suited perfectly to their unique industry practices and long-term direction.

Then I do that again 20 more times for 20 different positions at 20 different organizations.  By cover letter number ten, at least half of my pitch for the position is almost certainly a fabrication.  I could try a more honest approach:  “You know what, I’m probably not the best guy for this position.  But here are some vague reasons why I might do OK at your company…”

And the last few cover letters I write should probably just read:  “I’m applying for this opening because the places I really wanted to work for never got back to me.”

It’s hard to tie corporate philosophies and mission statements to my past of inappropriate dorm room posters and sleeping until noon.

But I managed to do just that on ten applications today!  The ball is in motion!  This team-playing self-starting hard-working guy is generic applicant number 54 somewhere.

It’s good to be productive.

Continue to the next post:  Unemployed: Week 5 (Interview!)

This is the fourth installment in a series of posts called “Finding a Job is Tough, so Keep Your Chin Up (a memoir).” Check out the previous posts in the series:

1. Job Search, Week 1: Unemployed but Feeling Good
2. Job Search, Week 2: Unemployed and I Need a Job
3. Job Search, Week 3: Unemployed & I Really Need a Job

About the Author: Mike McGurk is a Student Finder at ROCS and a current student at George Mason University. The worst job he ever had was a brief stint as a door-to-door salesman. He  lasted six hours.

Ahhh Craigslist.

My go-to website for free couches, missed connections and fulfilling entry-level job opportunities.

But with some of the vague postings on here, you’d think these employers have never drafted up a job description before. Mommy and daddy aren’t paying my bills or giving me cash to take a date out anytime soon, and I’d like to know what the position pays – if anything.

Include details about the pay, please! Students with financial obligations need to be able to figure out if the job will provide enough for them to cover their expenses.

Not all of us have rich parents and can afford to take low or no paying internships.

I see a couple of part-time positions at public relations firms that look fairly legitimate. (Sometimes it’s hard to read between the canvassing jobs.) Now to begin the strenuous cover letter crafting process…

The last paycheck from my old job was deposited into my account yesterday. T-minus $308.45 until broke.

Let’s see how long I can make that last…

Continue to the next post:  Unemployed: Week 4 (Productive!)

This is the third installment in a series of posts called “Finding a Job is Tough, so Keep Your Chin Up (a memoir).” Check out the previous posts in the series:

1. Job Search, Week 1: Unemployed but Feeling Good
2. Job Search, Week 2: Unemployed and I Need a Job

About the Author: Mike McGurk is a Student Finder at ROCS and a current student at George Mason University. The worst job he ever had was a brief stint as a door-to-door salesman. He  lasted six hours.

Career services advised me to ditch the Old English Text font on my resume.

“Use your past experiences to stand out,” they said.

Oh yes, that mythical experience every employer wants you to have, but doesn’t seem to want to give out.

I wonder if “directly responsible for ultimate success or failure of entire sales department” is a stretch. If I didn’t slap the stamps on those 900 direct mail pieces, who’s to say where that company would be right now.

I still need to come up with a mission statement before I hustle to class. Is requesting a position that pays minimum wage too ambitious?

Cheerios and ramen noodles are getting old, and my phone bill is due at the end of the month.

Geeze…

Continue to the next post:  Unemployed: Week 3 (I really need a job)

This is the second installment in a series of posts called “Finding a Job is Tough, so Keep Your Chin Up (a memoir).” Check out the previous posts in the series:

1. Job Search, Week 1: Unemployed but Feeling Good

About the Author: Mike McGurk is a Student Finder at ROCS and a current student at George Mason University. The worst job he ever had was a brief stint as a door-to-door salesman. He  lasted six hours.

I just had to get out of there.  I don’t like to leave one job without having something else ready, but a brilliant mind like mine can only take so much data-entry and copying.

My fingertips are raw. My eyes are glassy from starring at a screen for 8 straight hours. The commute takes over an hour each morning.

I’m better than this, damnit.

I’ll just slightly embellish my resume with all the “experience” I gleaned from this mundane position, draft up a couple new cover letters and see who’s looking to bring on a talented stud like me.

Yeah… I’m glad I left…

Continue to the next post:  Unemployed: Week 2 (I need a job)

This is the first installment in a series of posts called “Finding a Job is Tough, so Keep Your Chin Up (a memoir).”

About the Author: Mike McGurk is a Student Finder at ROCS and a current student at George Mason University. The worst job he ever had was a brief stint as a door-to-door salesman. He  lasted six hours.

There are enough roadblocks and setbacks throughout the application process without having to worry about getting to class on time or your parents nagging you for rent money just to live at home (so why was it free for 22 years huh?).

Hell, after so many “No’s” and carefully constructed cover letters apparently fated for a trashcan in some recruiter’s office, you can even get a little depressed.

Before, you considered yourself a worthy candidate for Booze.  Now, you’re a tad jealous of your little sister’s babysitting gig.

Well before Tom and Brandon here at ROCS decided I was worthy enough to grace them with my presence, I was a desperate mess like you.

This is my story…

Continue to the first post:  Job Search, Week 1: Unemployed but Feeling Good

The Story of Mike’s Job Search.

1. Job Search, Week 1: Unemployed but Feeling Good
2. Job Search, Week 2: Unemployed and I Need a Job
3. Job Search, Week 3: Unemployed & I Really Need a Job
4. Job Search, Week 4: Unemployed, but Productive
5. Job Search, Week 5: Unemployed, but Not for Long!
6. more to come soon…

About the Author: Mike McGurk is a Student Finder at ROCS and a current student at George Mason University. The worst job he ever had was a brief stint as a door-to-door salesman. He  lasted six hours.