How many jobs did you apply to before you got your first real job?

Hey guys, remember when you first graduated college and was looking for that first real job?
How many different jobs did you apply to before you got the job? 100? 500?

Real answers please.

 
Best Response

Four.

I only applied to jobs where I had strong connections through networking or previous relationships. I believed (possibly foolishly) that random online applications were black holes and never yielded results. The jobs were in IB, Risk, and Consulting. In the end I obviously chose Risk after receiving three offers. I am likely an anomaly on this forum.

This being said - the answer to your question is not something I believe brings you any value. Everyone will have a different story, resume, and ability to relate to interviewers. No one path is the right one. There have been stories on this forum telling of hundreds of applications and finally obtaining that one sacred offer. I'm sure there have also been experiences that only took one half-assed application to secure a dream job.

In the end it all comes down to the simple equation: prepare, network, close. If you are polished (sure of yourself and your knowledge), know the right people, and are able to sell yourself and your value to the company - then a few interviews is all that it will take.

 

Similar situation (though worse graduate school), and I applied to ~100 out of graduate school and ~25 for the second job, though neither of those were IB.

"There's nothing you can do if you're too scared to try." - Nickel Creek
 

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