Guest Blogger: Neal Beshears, Purdue Basketball (’11-15)

Coming out of college you have this common misconception that you are going to find a job right away. You think with your newly acquired diploma from your Alma Mater will take you wherever you want to go.

For any of you that have recently graduated, you know that this is far from the truth. If you haven’t made up your mind about what you want to do before the end of your junior year and done something to pursue that, then chances are you are in the same spot I was. And even if you have made up your mind, you better not change it or you’re going to be behind.

The pressure of finding a job these days is daunting and it makes you feel helpless. After all, you are doing all that you can to make yourself presentable and marketable so that someone will take the chance on you. You might find a potential employer that likes you and you like them, but they just don’t have any jobs to offer you. This is probably one of the most frustrating things about searching for employment.

As you get further along in the process, you lower your standards for employment. You’re thinking that you can make a certain amount of money, but then you feel like you have to give up a bunch of ground so that someone will take you on. You end up thinking that you’ll take whatever money will pay the bills, even if that means living off Ramen Noodles like you did in college. You start off thinking you’ll find a job close to where you want to live, or where some of your college buddies live. After a while you just think to yourself, “heck, I’ll work anywhere that has a stop light.” As the time goes on you become more and more discouraged; worried that you might not get the chance to achieve your dreams.

As I continued to look for a job I thought to myself that I’ll land something soon, but soon seems so darn far away.

During my process of scouring over LinkedIn and other job posting sites, I started to become more and more curious about recruiting. It had always been there amongst the other job postings, but I never gave it serious consideration. Desperate to find something, after searching for so long, I applied to the posting for an internal recruiter at Aerotek. Up until this point I hadn’t heard of staffing and recruiting, but I soon came to realize that it could be a very good entry-level opportunity.

The thing that set Aerotek apart from other companies was how quickly they operated.

Within a couple hours of applying to the job posting, I was contacted by an internal recruiter. I spoke with the recruiter over the phone before lunch that day and I had a phone interview the next day. I was brought in for an interview two days later and I came back for my half-day the following day.  I received an offer within two days of my half-day and started working there two weeks later. Starting out, I didn’t really know what I was getting into, but I knew two things for certain. The company that I was working for was an industry leader and I really felt like I fit in with the culture. I am very pleased with the decision I made and now I can help people find a career they’re looking for.

In my short time with Aerotek I have learned a lot, grown as a person, picked up valuable skills, and enjoyed it much more than I ever thought possible. I have even earned recruiter of the month after only being here for three months. I get to work with Boilermakers every day, but I also have to work with you know who. Good luck getting away from them in the state of Indiana!

I am very grateful for everything and every door opened simply due to being a Boilermaker. Being in the position that I am currently in, I feel like I can help a lot of our businesses achieve their goals. With that being said, I would love to be a resource for anyone that is looking for a career or would benefit from using me or Aerotek.