
Ask HN: Job application season for college grad with prior work experience - shinji97
Hi HN,<p>I&#x27;m currently a college student and I&#x27;ll be completing my master&#x27;s program in May of 2018. Before starting the program, I have 2 years of full-time experience working as a software engineer, plus close to 2 years of co-op experience while I was completing my undergrad.<p>I know a lot of my classmates are already looking and applying for new-grad or junior positions at various tech companies. My question is that, for someone in my position, should I go down the same path and apply to new-grad openings now just like the others, or should I shoot for mid-level&#x2F;experienced positions? If the latter, when is it a good time to start reaching out to employers and recruiters if I won&#x27;t be able to start until the summer of 2018.<p>Thanks.
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muzuq
In my opinion - Shoot as high as you feel reasonable. Do you feel competent
enough to work at a mid-level position? If so, apply to those positions. Often
times job postings are "over posted" to weed out people who feel themselves
underneath the job. If a posting asks for 5 years of experience, most
companies would be happy with 1-2 years of quality, proven experience.

As for timing, I would say it's never too early to start networking. Get your
feet wet with recruiters, make yourself known to companies. You might not
necessarily want to go through a complete application process, but now is
definitely the time to start researching and talking.

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shinji97
thanks for the advice, appreciated.

As for reaching out to recruiters, while I can definitely ask some friends for
referrals, do you mind sharing the best way to reach out to companies that I
have no connections to?

~~~
muzuq
LinkedIn would be my first choice for this.

Follow company pages, look at company employee lists and reach out to HR
people with (a more professionally written version of) what you've written
here.

I wouldn't use exactly the following, but along the lines of... "Good
morning/afternoon <name>, I am an <descriptor> studying <field> at <school>,
with experience in <stuff> and a strong knowledge of <other stuff>. In
preparation of my graduation, I'm reaching out to potential employers to
expand my network and, ideally, find a position which suits me at a company
where I can use my skills, expertise, and knowledge of <field>. Your company
interests me because of <stuff>, and I would love to further discuss what your
company is in need of.

Looking forward to hearing back from you,

Regards, <name>"

Depending on the responses, you may be able to eek out some additional
networking contacts by following up with something along the lines of... (in
the case that the company is not hiring, or not interested)

"Thank-you for the swift reply <name>,

I appreciate the time you've taken to read and reply to my previous message.

It is regretful that you are not hiring, but I am thankful for your candid
response. With your permission, I would like to follow up with you in a few
months time on the chance that a position opens up.

With how tight-knit the <field> community is, I was hoping you may be able to
introduce me to another <company, person, etc.> which may be looking for an
up-and-coming <desired job position>.

Regards, <name>".

Keep in mind, this is spitballing with no context and may not be appropriate
in all circumstances or with all companies.

