Who do "TOP-TIER" Major corporations hire?

My son got hired right out of college at a top tier Fortune 100 Company. He had a B average at best, but a dual major in business and economics. He was also a college athlete. He sailed right through the application process because he is articulate, did his homework with the company and truly wanted to work in that particular business. Two years later he is in line for a big promotion and still loves working for the company. If you want to work in that industry, go to the company website and apply that way.

Guidance wrote:

Hello

Do large, globally-recognized companies like General Electric, Honda, Kodak, etc. hire only the top .05% cream of the crop individuals?

I'm only a few years removed from college and have worked in a technical field for about two years. I sometimes see job postings from huge global companies like the ones listed above but can't imagine a place like Johnson and Johnson responding to a monster.com resume posting.

I didn't have a 4.0, nor did I study abroad. I don't have any family connections and I didn't do a co-op at google. Since I do not consider myself in the "top .05%" of applicants, am I better off sticking to smaller, local companies when searching for new career opportunities?

Your lack of self confidence is going to kill you in interviews, doesn't matter the size of the company. Just an FYi

Kodak?

They tend to hire who they perceive to be the "best and brightest" in their industry. They often pursue people with impressive pedigrees especially for upper management-level positions. However, they also will consider people with extensive relevant job experience. You may want to consider applying for more entry-level positions within the company and then use that experience as a stepping stone to advance yourself within the company.

Larger corporations don't pay as well and have to fill a lot of spots so they can't really get most the cream of the crop applicants.

Wall Street/grad school/tech get the best undergrads

Thanks for your comment. And..yes I have confidence issues but do deep down know I am an articulate, hard working young man. I just need to believe in myself.

Dennis Reynolds 2.0 wrote:

Guidance wrote:

Hello

Do large, globally-recognized companies like General Electric, Honda, Kodak, etc. hire only the top .05% cream of the crop individuals?

I'm only a few years removed from college and have worked in a technical field for about two years. I sometimes see job postings from huge global companies like the ones listed above but can't imagine a place like Johnson and Johnson responding to a monster.com resume posting.

I didn't have a 4.0, nor did I study abroad. I don't have any family connections and I didn't do a co-op at google. Since I do not consider myself in the "top .05%" of applicants, am I better off sticking to smaller, local companies when searching for new career opportunities?

Your lack of self confidence is going to kill you in interviews, doesn't matter the size of the company. Just an FYi

Why do you need to study abroad in order to get hired to answer the phone or file paperwork?

A job in a Fortune 500 company will likely just put you in the middle, or at best, upper middle class. Sure the CEO earns millions-but the rest just plug along as wage slaves. Odds are much better that a job in small company, or series of small companies, will make you wealthy. Either, A. Get in that company on the ground floor, and ride it up to the top; or B. Learn what it takes (or doesn't take) to run a good business. Make 3 or 4 stops, , and you've got a better chance of knowing what it takes to run a business. Then start your own company.

Big companies don't want entrepreneurs, they want people who do what they're told. People who do what they're told don't make lots of money. And it's boring as hell.

Steve Jobs-dropped out of college

Bill Gates-dropped out of college

Thomas Edison-branded as "addled"

Nikola Tesla-kicked out of school because he was thought to be cheating.

Wright Brothers-High School dropouts

These 6 people changed the world. Few have had greater influence. 140 years later, we are finally replacing Edison's lightbulb-and that took an act of congress. It's only been about 25 years since his phonograph was abandoned. You think we'll be using I-phones in a century? In a decade?

Don't buy into the Madison Avenue lie that you have to be a 4.0 student to be great. This is America. True greatness is often hidden in the weeds. Climb out from the weeds and change the world.

For the majority of people this isn't realistic. Getting in at a large corporation, doing well and working your way up to earning $100,000+ and providing for a family is plenty. Depends what you do also if its boring. I know plenty of engineers not making crazy money who are changing the world (will never get an ounce of recognition for it) and having a blast doing so.

Did you hold his hand throughout the interview?

brighteyed wrote:

My son got hired right out of college at a top tier Fortune 100 Company. He had a B average at best, but a dual major in business and economics. He was also a college athlete. He sailed right through the application process because he is articulate, did his homework with the company and truly wanted to work in that particular business. Two years later he is in line for a big promotion and still loves working for the company. If you want to work in that industry, go to the company website and apply that way.

Talk to a career counselor at your school about your interest to work at GE, etc. and how they can help you.

If you can do an internship or co-op at the company that's the best way to get into an entry level job after graduation. Otherwise, try to do this for another company in the same industry (e.g., Westinghouse, or if you can't work for McDonald's then try Burger King.)

Some big companies have schools that they like to recruit from. There's not much you can do about this. Otherwise there are majors that they like to recruit (e.g., business, engineering, computer science, etc.).

So the best way is to go to a school that the company recruits from, pick a good major, and do an internship/co-op.

It's misleading to list them as dropouts. Bill Gates dropped out after having his big idea. It's not like he's a "drop out". He just had something better to do which in a rare case like his would be seen as a plus.

Guidance wrote:

Hello

Do large, globally-recognized companies like General Electric, Honda, Kodak, etc. hire only the top .05% cream of the crop individuals?

It depends on what you want to do. For example, if you want to get into a financial management training program at GE, it would help, but there all kinds of exceptions, to be a top 1% type of candidate with the right schools, internships and scores on your resume. If you want to work in sales, operations, HR, etc. it can be a different story.

I would put very little stock in the career advice of someone who doesn't understand the difference between correlation and causation.

You are a buffoon.

Dennis Reynolds 2.0 wrote:

For the majority of people this isn't realistic. Getting in at a large corporation, doing well and working your way up to earning $100,000+ and providing for a family is plenty. Depends what you do also if its boring. I know plenty of engineers not making crazy money who are changing the world (will never get an ounce of recognition for it) and having a blast doing so.

The not so great thing about this kind of plan is that these people are the most heavily taxed people on earth. The rich are not taxed as much and the less earning people are not taxed as much either. That kind of career usually requires so much effort and time that you do not have resources or time to try anything else. So if you do not care so much about ensuring that you will have a family and being a tax slave, then that kind of plan is not very optimal. You are going to work for somebody else and pay a lot of taxes.

Bgates.. wrote:

It's misleading to list them as dropouts. Bill Gates dropped out after having his big idea. It's not like he's a "drop out". He just had something better to do which in a rare case like his would be seen as a plus.

I don't think he did? He just wanted to develop new software.

Of course not. He did everything on his own, like a real man does. He chose the certain companies to target and applied and got interviews. Perhaps your parents did a lousy job of preparing you for the future....but raising a productive adult was very high on our list of things that we should do.

As far as not making a lot of money, his salary is excellent and he has gotten several bonuses already. If he chooses to stay with this company that is number one in the world in it's products....he will do quite well.

If you want a great job, you need to be willing to move, and put is some time at the bottom. Pretty simple. There are no short cuts.

Times Square Elmo wrote:

Guidance wrote:

Hello

Do large, globally-recognized companies like General Electric, Honda, Kodak, etc. hire only the top .05% cream of the crop individuals?

It depends on what you want to do. For example, if you want to get into a financial management training program at GE, it would help, but there all kinds of exceptions, to be a top 1% type of candidate with the right schools, internships and scores on your resume. If you want to work in sales, operations, HR, etc. it can be a different story.

You can also show up at their career fairs without attending the school, usually. Just getting your resume to someone at a career fair is the key to getting an interview from my experiene, then it's up to you. And don't go work for Kodak, it's 2014 not 1914.

I worked for a company that had a list of colleges that they only hired "new hires" from. The list included all the usual top schools and the CEO's alma mater :)