From the moment I made my foray into the corporate world, I've been recognized as that recruiter: the recruiter who offers unsolicited professional advice to many students with whom she meets.
I can't help myself.
It's no secret that I am the loudest person in the room.
I can't help myself: I love my job. I repeat, I LOVE my job. But what's more? I love Appian (and I love laughing).
I hate digressing, but this is important, so...
In a previous life, I taught students of all levels and academic backgrounds. I shouldn't have been surprised when I found myself pursuing a career where I would be analyzing the skills of students at the pinnacle of their academic careers (the teacher within my soul is clearly alive and well, and, apparently, she's never leaving). I also worked in an engineering co-op & career services center where I conducted resume critiques, taught resume/interview skills/offer negotiation workshops, etc. Again, shouldn't have been surprised.
ANYWAY.
Exactly one year and some change ago today -- a mere three weeks prior to my first campus recruiting trip -- I joined Appian. Tasked with leading the university recruitment efforts, I was immediately heaved into the "madness" that is fall campus recruitment. And as all campus recruiters know, fall recruitment is, without a doubt, the best kind of "madness"; from the myriad of minutiae compiled for our campus marketing brochures, to the fickle formula used for interview scheduling, I could hardly wait to translate and perpetuate all of the excitement Appian had for achieving the best and the brightest university-level talent on to our visiting schools.
Wait, wait! What are "visiting schools?" And which schools does Appian visit?
Well, given the fact that we are rolling out cutting edge software on the regular, we're currently visiting (actively executing or participating in on-campus recruitment events) quasi-local schools with killer Computer Science & Engineering programs (among other related fields). And by quasi-local, I mean: University of Maryland, University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Duke, MIT, Dartmouth, and ITESM. Once Appian figures out a way to clone me (and they will, trust me), we'll be coming to a school near you.
Cool. So, what sorts of jobs does Appian recruit for at the entry level?
As a general rule, I am seeking the most tech-savvy students with a GPA of 3.7 and above for the following entry-level positions: Software Engineer, Associate Consultant, Cloud Engineer, IT Engineer. Not only that: I'm really hoping that you were fairly involved within your university, worked a related and substantial internship or two, and held a leadership position of some variety along the way. Furthermore: you're ideally looking to marry your passion for technology with your penchant for strategic problem solving in brilliantly creative ways. We also hire Software Engineer interns using that same criteria.
Sound good? Great, let's do this thing.
*Note: The aforementioned is not to say that these are hard and fast rules; however, most Appianites upheld the above criteria.
So, what can you expect from my blog posts? Well, hopefully A LOT (just kidding, but seriously...). The "Courtney-in-a-previously-academically-inclined-life" is DYING to outline the future of her posts; the reality is, however, she has moved on. Nonetheless, I can give you a fairly benign, enticing preview:
DO: Expect campus-specific anecdotes, recaps, etc. from Appian's university recruitment efforts. Read for general job-search and professional advice (as it relates to entry-level job applications and processes). Get hyped about ridiculously exciting Appian-related updates. Expect humor and sarcasm. Reach out to me with ANY questions (I am here to help!). Read the blog posts by my fellow BRILLIANT colleagues for other general Appian-related updates. Tell me your best joke when you meet me on campus. :)
DON'T: Not subscribe to my blog. Forget to prepare before an interview. Have grammatical errors on your resume (seriously, guys -- friends don't let friends submit resumes riddled with random errors!). Come to a career fair and try to speak to recruiters (me, specifically) without SOME idea of what we do (we have smartphones and you ARE interested in software, after all!).
At the end of the day, recruiters can be your best ally. More specifically, if you believe you are the best, and you want to work for the best, I'm here to help. We are the very best at what we do -- and we're recognized for it.
As for all the fun us campus recruiters of the world are having? Well, I guess you'll have to keep reading (and meet me and my protege, Alyssa Curl, on campus!) to find out.
-Courtney Connolly, Campus Recruiter
