Finding the right company

Where do you want to work? It’s a hard question. And for most people, that answer evolves through the years too. So it’s okay to not know or get it wrong. Chances are, your career will look very different from your starting new grad job. Exactly how it will be different will depend on what you value.

That may have sounded like a bunch of empty words, but the truth is finding the right company is very un-quantitative, non-concrete, un-formulaic. It’ll take a lot of “feeling out” who you are (professionally and personally) and how you’ll fit within that company’s pace of growth and band of people.

But let’s try to nail down some heuristics. Consider these questions (for the rest of your career):

Do I care more about shaping the company, or being shaped by the company?

Do I like mentorship from a couple people close to me, or from a big group of people?

Do I prefer a role with more freedom or more structure?

Do I want to build my career path on hard skills or soft skills?

Do I enjoy solving technical problems or people-related problems?

Answering these questions can “shape” the ideal career path for you. They are important but often hidden characteristics of a company. It’s not gonna be listed on the career page or job description, but make sure you dig deep by asking recruiters, alums, current employees, etc.

It is a good idea to have an up-to-date LinkedIn profile while recruiting because a lot of recruiters use it to find possible candidates and some companies ask for it when applying. Here are some general tips when creating a profile:

Add a profile picture (shouldn’t have anyone else in it, and professional attire is recommended)

Add a background to stand out (a lot Dartmouth students use a picture of Baker Library!)

Not everything has to be relevant to your job! Use this as an opportunity to show recruiters more about yourself beyond your 1-page resume

Below are some notes for each section of your profile

Biography - Keep it short and simple (Dartmouth ‘YOG and anything else relevant)

About - Should be a sentence or two introducing yourself. It can be as simple as “I am a (first-year/sophomore/junior/senior) at Dartmouth College, majoring in ____ and minoring in ____.”

Experience - Mainly just an expanded version of your resume. You can add more details/projects rather than your highlights (e.g. volunteer experience, clubs, high school involvements

Honors & Awards - Don’t be shy! Include citations, awards, etc.

Other notes:

With 500+ connections on LinkedIn, you have a greater chance of appearing in search results and improves your overall profile, reach, presence and influence. While it is not necessary, it can help get you noticed by recruiters

Follow companies you are interested in

Keep up with the technology news you are interested in!

Set up a job alert so that you get notified when jobs you are interested in get posted. See

Job Alerts on LinkedIn | LinkedIn Help⁠

⁠

Non-Internship Experience

Don’t have any internships? Don’t worry! Check out

Portfolio⁠

for some tips on other ways to gain experience.

Non-Internship Experience

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