Author: Kema Christian-Taylor

Day 14: Sit Back, Relax, and Respond to Employers

Our Back to School 14 Day Get Hired Challenge will get you in career shape this January. Your next challenge is…

Day 14: Sit Back, Relax, and Respond to Employers

Congratulations – you made it. You have now reached the final and fourteenth challenge and you can now say that you’re WayUp – approved career ready.

By now, you’ve hopefully heard from interviewers – whether from a job application or from the cold emails you sent to HR managers. The first rule of thumb is to be as responsive as possible – we recommend getting back to employers within 24 hours to show that you are interested in the position and indicates that you will be a responsive, responsible employee. Make sure your email is typo-free and comes across professionally – and most importantly that your excitement about this potential new opportunity shows in your email.

Here are a few helpful tips you can use to for when employers contact you:

If you don’t have any luck yet, don’t worry – WayUp is dedicated to finding you a great position. Keep at it and you’ll will get hired – after all, anyone who had the endurance to make it through all 14 of these challenges will make one heck of a dedicated employee. We can’t wait to see where you end up…although we hope it’s here. Great job!!

Day 13: Apply to 5 More Jobs Today

Our Back to School 14 Day Get Hired Challenge will get you in career shape this January. Your next challenge is…

Day 13: Apply to 5 More Jobs Today

This isn’t your first rodeo: it’s time for you to apply to 5 more jobs today. But there’s a twist: your challenge is to apply for a job outside your major.

Ask the recent and older alumni of your school and you’ll find that many end up in professions that are completely unrelated to their field of study. That’s why it’s a good idea to start reminding yourself early on that your major doesn’t limit you to one specific career. You have transferable skills that you’ve learned in school and outside the classroom that can help you excel at a variety of roles: all you have to do is open yourself up to new interests in order to figure out what you like and don’t like in a job– and what you’re good at doing.

With hundreds of jobs posted each week — from the Capital One’s of the world to the startups that give recent grads incredible responsibilities, you’ll have a variety of positions to apply for on WayUp. So go ahead, login and apply to 5 jobs today – the world is your oyster!

Day 12: Sign Up for Something New at Your Activities Fair

Our Back to School 14 Day Get Hired Challenge will get you in career shape this January. Your next challenge is…

Day 12: Sign Up for Something New at Your Activities Fair

Employers love to see that you’ve made the most of your college experience. They want students who, in addition to taking on a busy class schedule, are well-rounded, active students outside of the classroom.

Within a few days of setting foot back on campus, you’ll be flooded by sights, sounds…and sign up tables. Every organization on campus will be vying for your attention, encouraging you to join this group, that club: “It’s really fun, hardly a commitment!”

If you’ve already got a full plate of extracurriculars for the semester, then that’s great – don’t bite off more than you can chew for the semester. But if you’ve been itching to try something new, it can help your personal and career development. By taking on a new challenge, you’re opening yourself up to new experiences and interests, which can help to give you a better idea of what you’re passionate about. Joining a new group can also teach you to learn new skills and adapt to a new environment, which is essential to any new career. A new group also may serve as a great conversation piece in your interview – trust us, employers love to take a look at your interests and extracurriculars and find something new and pleasantly surprising that they can learn about you.

So check out your activities fair on campus and sign up for at least one new thing. You might be surprised by just how much it will benefit you.

Viacom Is Hiring Recent Grads

Disney and Capital One are also hiring college students and recent grads. Are you on your WayUp?

Imagine how cool it would be to say that you’re just out of college and you help to manage mobile apps and websites for leading brands like MTV, BET, Comedy Central, VH1, and Nickelodeon. Sounds pretty great, right? Well, Viacom just posted an entry-level position for an Associate Software Engineer on WayUp.

As an Associate Software Engineer for Viacom, you’ll be a creative and technical problem-solver, working with a highly capable team of engineers to build rapid and reliable apps, sites and services. From mobile app engineering to back-end engineering to web front-end engineering, you’ll be asked to own your projects — but not without the necessary training: Viacom will walk you through the technologies and business challenges the company faces each day so that you will learn quickly and are set up for success. This is such an incredible and unique opportunity to run with the big dogs: a tech team that has been the catalyst for the technologies behind MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and BET.

Associate Software Engineer for Viacom candidates must also be comfortable introducing new ideas and in fact, Viacom’s company culture encourages it. Just check out the job description: “Do we have a problem that could be solved in some other way? Pitch it. We will listen.” Kudos to Viacom’s open-minded culture; as a recent grad, your ideas will be heard.

To apply you must have B.S. or M.S. in Computer Science or a related field, and you must have experience with at least two of the following languages: Java, Javascript/Node.js, Python, Objective-C, Swift, C, C++, Ruby, Perl, PHP, Scala.

This entry-level job is based in New York City – apply on WayUp today to be Viacom’s next Associate Software Engineer!

Day 11: Schedule a Meeting With Your Career Center

Our Back to School 14 Day Get Hired Challenge will get you in career shape this January. Your next challenge is…

Day 11: Schedule a Meeting With Your Career Center

Your career center can be a huge resource in college. Career advisors at your school are willing to take the time to edit the mistakes on your resume, guide you towards the right career path, and connect you to a wide range of alumni who can answer all of your job search questions.

Unfortunately, because your career center is so helpful, appointments fill up very quickly! That’s why it’s important to request a meeting early on so that you can get career advice for the start of your semester.

Go online and see if there are any openings available, or find the contact info of one of the career advisors and shoot him or her a quick note. Make sure that you prepare a list of questions so that you go into the meeting ready to address your top concerns.

We hope this helps! You can also always contact us here at WayUp, or keep coming back to our blog…word on the street is, we give some pretty helpful advice :D.

Day 10: It’s Mock Interview Time

Our Back to School 14 Day Get Hired Challenge will get you in career shape this January. Your next challenge is…

Day 10: It’s Mock Interview Time

Now that you’re fully briefed on the tough interview questions that will come your way, it’s time to grab a friend and practice in person! Practicing by yourself is one thing, but putting yourself in an interviewing scenario will help you to be even more self-assured when you finally meet with employers.

Make sure to give your friends a list of the questions you’ve practiced so far and ask them to throw in a few unexpected questions as well to practice your ability to stay cool under pressure. Ask them to go through the interview at least twice, and encourage them to give you feedback on your responses and your mannerisms (in fact, before you do your mock interview, read up on the 3 interviewing habits that make you seem inexperienced and the worst body language for an interview). Put yourself in interview mode and pretend that you’re really speaking to an employer so that you can get the most out of the mock interview.

If you don’t feel like you can practice seriously with a friend, you can ask a professor or an advisor to test you as well, or check in with your career center to see if any career counselors are available to test your interviewing skills. Go get ‘em!

All About That Bass: 3 Music Internships for College Students

Breaking into the music industry isn’t easy, but at WayUp, we’re all about that bass. That’s why we’ve hustled hard to find opportunities that will help college students get their foot in the door so that they can combine their passion and their career. For all the aspiring DJs, album promoters, musicians, and even those of you who just love singing in the shower: we have jobs just for you. Here are 3 music internships for college students on WayUp – these companies are hiring now, so make sure to apply today!  

Music Marketing and Album Promotions Rep for Zak Downtown Music

Zak Downtown Music is a boutique record label based in NYC that works with up-and-coming artists. As Music Marketing and Album Promotions Rep, you will create marketing plans that target the 18-24 demographic to ensure that artists’ releases and tour dates are well promoted. You will also assist with in-store signings, merchandising venues, and store promotions, as well as form and manage event partnerships with third party lifestyle brands. This music internship is perfect for college students who are creative, outgoing hustlers who live and breathe music!

The best part about this music internship? You’ll not only be paid (up to $100/week), but you’ll also receive free swag and concert tickets.

Live Music Curation Intern for Gigzolo

Gigzolo is transforming the way that event planners book musicians. As a Live Music Curation Intern, your job is to be the eyes and ears of the music scene. You will identify and vet hundreds of musicians, DJs and bands to separate the good from the great and fight for the artists you believe in.

As the job description says, you’ll be spending “99% of your time doing what you would hopefully be doing anyway”: listening to music. If you’re passionate about scouting out talented artists, this is the music internship for you!

Artists & Repertoire Intern for Mom + Pop Music

An independent record label based in NYC, Mom + Pop Music has artists like Flume, Courtney Barnett, Neon Indian, and many, many more. As an A&R intern, you will be responsible for staying up to date with music trends, sending daily reports of exciting new changes in the industry and up-and-coming artists to the rest of the team. You will also manage Mom + Pop Music social accounts, keeping a close eye on SoundCloud plays, YouTube views, and Instagram and Twitter posts.

We hope these music internships create the perfect opportunity to spark your music career – just make sure you apply quickly before these jobs fill up! Good luck, students – and remember us when you’re famous!

Day 9: Tough Interview Questions 101

Our Back to School 14 Day Get Hired Challenge will get you in career shape this January. Your first challenge is…

Day 9: Tough Interview Questions 101

Up until now, every challenge has prepared you to look good on paper – but in order to come across well in person, you’ll need to prep for your interview. Our next challenge? Study up on those tough interview questions.  

Luckily, we’ve already put together a cheat sheet that will help you tackle interview questions so that you won’t be giving the employer a deer-in-the-headlights look. Start off with a few of these:

Questions about you that might make you squirm:

Questions about why you’re worthy of the job:

And to throw in a wild card, see if you can answer a few of these real, off-the-wall interview questions that have been asked in interviews – coming up with answers to these will help you to practice your ability to think on your feet!

Once you’ve studied up on your interview strategy, write down your answers and practice so that you can focus on being confident in your response – just make sure you don’t sound too rehearsed! Remember that for questions related to the job itself, your answer should change each time to address the skills and qualifications the employer is looking for. Good luck and we’ll see you back here tomorrow for the next challenge!

Day 8: Apply to 5 Jobs Today

Great job so far! You’ve made it through 7 of our challenges so far, and at this point in the game, you’re absolutely, 100% ready to apply for some jobs. Get excited.

Set aside time to apply to at least 5 jobs today (if not more!). The more you apply, the more you’ll increase your chances of getting hired. On WayUp, the application process is simple and quick, but don’t mistake simplicity for a chance to be careless! You should still give your application time and energy, especially if the employer is requiring you to answer a few questions before you submit. For example, if an employer asks why you’re a good fit for the position, does your answer allude to the skills and qualifications the employer wants?

Check out a few of the amazing opportunities on our site, like a Marketing & Business Development Associate for Piggyback Technologies, Live Music Curation Internship for Gigzolo — you can even join the WayUp team and rep our brand on your campus!

Log into your WayUp dashboard today and start applying. Ready, set, get hired!

BTS 14 Day Get Hired Challenge Day 7

As a student, one of the best things you can do for your career is cold email someone with your dream profession and ask them to discuss your career path. Their success can teach you about how to go about achieving your career goals, and their insights can help you to determine what skill you need to develop and how you should go about getting where you need to go.  

Reaching out to people you don’t know is intimidating, but trust us: more people do this than you think. Do a quick Google search or take a look at a few company websites to see if you can find contact info. Once you’ve gotten a hold of the person’s email, it’s time for you to write!

  1. In your subject line, make sure to mention that you’re a student. For example, your subject line could read “Penn Student Looking for Advice on the Finance Industry.” Make it clear exactly what you want – but nowhere in your email should it say “I want a job” or “Can you hire me?” You should show a genuine interest in learning more, not in getting this person to give you a role that second.
  2. Ask for a small amount of their time: it’s very likely that if you’re going for the big guns in terms of who’s who in your industry, this person has a jam-packed schedule! Request a quick 15-minute call or meeting up for coffee.
  3. Follow up! Again, people are busy, so if you don’t receive a response after a week or so, it doesn’t mean the person isn’t interested! Remind them that you’re still interested in learning from them and would love to meet up if they find time in their schedule.

Fun fact: Adam Feldman, now the Senior Product Manager at Twitter, interned at Forbes.com during his freshman year of college. He told us that he once cold-called the office of Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the U.N., who ended up writing and he who wrote a featured piece for the magazine. 

The motto? Shoot for the stars! The worst that can happen is that the person says “no” or doesn’t answer. So reach out to 5 people today, and let us know how it goes! :D