[ale] Since we're on the subject of jobs lately

[Ed L. Cashin]

2008/7/15 James Sumners <james.sumners at gmail.com>:
> I'm going to be graduating with a B.S. in mathematics in a week or so.
> So far I've only sent off one application, but I'm not really sure how
> to look for a job. And when I do get an interview, I'm not sure how
> that process works. What should a person fresh out of college, who has
> only ever worked on campus, be asking for in terms of compensation?
> Any suggestions for a newbie to the job hunt?

Wow!  Where to start!?  Without knowing specifics I can
only be general.

Assuming you have no kids or other huge responsibilities,
then you have a great opportunity to follow your bliss,
since as long as you avoid debt and keep honest, you
can weather almost any storm in your career right now.

And it should be *strategic* bliss following.  If you're
lucky, then you can gain satisfaction from doing work
that fulfills some need, e.g., businesses need XYZ for their
deliveries to be reliable, so you get excited about providing
XYZ.  In that case, you can see what excites you among the
many real world problems that you observe and tackle
those problems.

If you work it right, your employer will be pleased to
have XYZ, you'll get a good reputation, and since you
have demonstrated your ability to solve real world
problems, lots of people will want you as an employee.
At that point, you can earn a lot.  Before that point,
it's experience that you need more than money.

To that end, being open minded, friendly, honest,
and intelligent in the interview will help your potential
employers to see that you're humble but with a lot
of potential.  Try to help them feel confident that they
can rely on you.  (Then make it happen so that at your
next interview you have fantastic references.)

-- 
 Ed Cashin <ecashin at noserose.net>