Finding Your First Job
I have a lot of friends who are graduating or recently graduated looking for jobs. One thing I’ve noticed is that my peers seem to have highly inflated expectations about what a degree at UCLA means. On occasion, we’ve all read those “how-to” guides on getting jobs. Well, most of them suck. Today, I came across one that really hit the nail on the head.
There was minor point made that I did not agree with.
Salary.com is a horrible place to go figure out what you’re worth, at least according to how the article frames it. I don’t know if it’s just my experience, but the numbers on that site seem to be randomly inflated for many positions I’ve ever looked up for various fields. Also, I believe they use some self-reporting to hone their numbers, which tends to skew their salaries upwards.
But most important is your interview skills. Know what you want when you walk in their office. I’m not just talking about how much you want to make. What do you want to do with your life? What makes you happy at work? What aspects are deal breakers for you? Why this job? Why hire you over the more qualified guy? Know yourself, before you go in.
