As you may have read in a previous post, I started a new job this week.  The education I earned online (this is the A.A.S. in Information Systems, the B.S. in Management from Kaplan University and the MBA from Norwich) really paid off.

I do have a lot of experience in my particular job function that the new company looked highly upon.  I had the education to show that my drive and initiative was strong.  But at the end of the day, I had to sell myself.  If I didn’t sell myself well, the degrees and experience makes me nothing more than the wrong person for the job that happens to be wrapped in a nice package.

Here are the three things I did that landed me this job:

(1)    Focus on what you can do for the company – Use prior experience and things learned in your distance education program and tell the potential employer how those things relate to what you can do for them.

(2)    Think outside the box – One thing I did in this interview that I never did before was to assemble a 10-page Power Point presentation that showed elements of a long-term strategy for the department I would be responsible for.

(3)    Keep in touch, but don’t overdo it – Throughout the entire process, I was in contact with them about once a week.  That’s just enough to remain viable and to show interest without being overbearing.

I was the first person to be interviewed in this process.  That made the wait longer for me than anyone else.  But my “punch” at the beginning and throughout the process kept my name fresh in their mind.  In the end, they were confident that I was THE person for the job, and said so on a number of occasions.
If you get turned down for a job, don’t get down on yourself.  This has happened to me many times.  Things happen for a reason.  This job was made for me and I plan on maximizing the opportunity.