Week 1 – Blog Post: Job Application Experiences

1. Describe your experiences from the perspective of an applicant for the last job for which you applied.

The application process for my most recent internship started when I sent my resume to a mutual connection via LinkedIn. He then directed me to the hiring manager who set up an interview with me. Since the company was on the smaller side, the hiring manager was able to devote a lot of time and energy to recruiting myself, as well as other interns during the process. This allowed for quick response times, and useful exchanges of information. The remote nature of the company also ensured that there was consistent and clear communication throughout the whole process.

2. Explain how your experiences during the job application process shaped your impression of the job you were applying for and your desire to work there (or in some cases to not work there).

The way that the hiring manager and my eventual director communicated with me through the application process demonstrated expertise in terms of collaborating remotely and a high technology skill level. The company was fully remote before the pandemic hit, and this was seen as a competitive advantage that they possessed. Seeing how seamless it was to function remotely during the application process was something that gave me a desire to work at the company. Learning what types of projects and tasked I would be asked to do during the interview process also gave me an idea of where I stood and what I needed to do to be prepared for my future role. When I encountered a technical problem later in the process, there were three employees who were able to get me up to speed and ensure that my technology was up to the standards of the company. All of these factors gave me an excitement about potentially interning at the company, and a worse application process could have possibly deterred me from wanting to do so.