In December I graduated from Auburn with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Communication and wrapped up my internship.
As some here know I did 1year internship at the Lee County Sheriffs Office Investigations Unit & I had set myself up about perfectly to go into law enforcement, but the more I thought about it I realized it wasn't going to be for me.
I had the single best internship one could imagine, my first day I walked into the office and there had been a home invasion murder and my first day was a baptism by fire.

My post-grad job search has hit a milestone, have my first phone interview lined up with Enterprise next week.
When I was home in Irvine, California the guy that rented us a car said I need to put my application into Enterprise as it is a great first job. He was also a recent college grad.

After SHOT Show, I will hopefully have an interview lined up with a well-respected firearms company out of Florida for a Sales Assistant position.

Any insight/advice about anything relevant related to resume, interviewing, possible job leads etc is much appreciated.
I am excited & nervous for this year.

The obvious stuff isn't so obvious anymore. Show up for your interview on time. Be polite and answer questions as concisely as possible. Dress appropriately as in a nice pair of slacks and a shirt and tie or a suit!

Be weary or conscious of what you post on social media. The company WILL look at what you have posted. And an appropriate email address not bigwilliedjohn@gmail.com. That is also a big red flag as to who they hire.

^^^ that's funny

Thank you.
Social media is should be good, email is good, first initial middle initial last name @gmail.com

Job is a job, gotta start somewhere. Lot easier to get one when you already have one. Post grad I worked at Lowe's slinging electrical supplies for 10 months before I realized I wanted to stick my hand in assholes instead of working for them.

Research the company. Interviewers want to hear positive things about their company come out of your mouth. Know their profits if available, number of employees, and other things about the company that make you want to work there. Take a copy of your resume to the interview in a portfolio binder, and take notes during the interview. Think of at least 3 questions to ask the interviewer. If you do those things, you'll kill it.

Yes yes yes. When we interview we always want to hear what they think about the company or have any questions about it. Always have a thing or two to ask that shows you had to dig a little to find it. During interview stay positive and never talk bad about past jobs. Good luck

Solid advice here. The interviewer will ask you, in some way, about what you think you can improve upon professionally. Have an answer ready for this question with examples of how you are working to improve in that area. Every job that was a career type job I've interviewed for I have been hit with that question.

Ultimately, be professional but be yourself. Interviews work both ways. You should be interviewing them as well as them interviewing you. You don't want to land a job only to find out it's a bad fit for you.

Here's my two cents. The last young man I shared these with got hired. You have zero experience. Don't try to hide it. It can be a positive. Address it that way. You see, some employees with experience may have developed bad habits or be used to doing things a certain way. As an employee with no experience, you can be taught to do it exactly the way the company wants it done. Tell them you're aware that you have zero experience but that you are trainable and you learn quickly, plus you won't be bringing any bad habits with you from a job that may have done things differently.

Secondly, you have skills that you may not realize. I can almost guarantee you that you will be able to work computer circles around employees that have been on the job 20 years. Most 4 year college graduates should be proficient in most Microsoft Office applications. Try to figure out what software the company you're interviewing with may use. I would think someone in sales needs to know how to use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint at the very least. If you're good at some of these or all of them, talk about it. Talk about how often they were used in your coursework.

Lastly, depending upon the job you're interviewing for, being a team player will probably be an asset. Talk about that as one of your strengths. Cite any examples such as internship, or class projects where you had to work closely with others to get the tasks completed. Throw in any other skills that might be valuable such as communication or problem solving and have some examples ready that illustrate your ability to do these things.

20 years ago I got the terrible "sell me this pen" interview!! I sat there for a couple of seconds, then I said, "Tell me about the letters you usually write." That was all!

ALWAYS have another question. ALWAYS. They'll ask you "do you have any other questions?" (which is the worst question, ever). They'll ask you 50 times and you need to have 51 questions. They're testing you.

I am amazed at how many new college graduates can't carry on a conversation. Heck, many can't even look you in the face. I am not saying you should be chatty like crazy. Just be willing to talk and give more than one word answers to open questions.

Go for the hand breaking hand shake.

Look them dead in the eye, but don't stare

Don't say, Um, like, you know.

If they smile, smile. If they laugh, laugh.

DO NOT ASK ABOUT MONEY ON THE FIRST INTERVIEW. Reasearch what starting salaries are for the position you are interviewing for. If they ask how much you expect to be paid on the first interview, know the ballpark amount that someone in that field starts at. If the average is $40,000 don't tell them $50,000

Sell yourself, not your experience. Be personable. Polite, yes sir, no sir, please and thank you.

If you walk in and they offer you a bottle of water, take one if they are drinking water too.

Just try to fit in like you've known them for a while, don't try to oversell yourself.

dress for the interview.

I generally agree with this advice but discussing money can be tricky. Anytime I'm not sure what the best answer is, I justify my response with honesty. You have to ask yourself what you need to accept the job. While I was in college I had a full-time job at a grocery store. I turned down a few job offers because the salary was less than I could make stocking shelves. However, I would have gladly accepted a pay cut to get my foot in the right door. If they ask you the question, be ready with a good answer. Have a little knowledge about starting salaries and the average cost of living for that area. If you have prior work experience at a certain salary or pay rate, it can't hurt to justify your response by saying you'd like to take a step forward if possible.

Almost guaranteed they'll ask you your salary expectations. I prefer to give a range and say it depends on multiple factors.

I had an interview at enterprise after college. Pay is not great considering you work a lot. I turned the job down because didn't allow me any time to hunt. Pay is non negotiable because they try to place you as a management trainee.

I believe it's $36k a year salary. That was two years ago.
It is a three interview thing. Phone then one with store manager and final the area manager sits in.
Life is too short to be working all the time.

This is something that I've encountered as well. I think that Enterprise is big on hiring college athletes, so with that company, team player answers will be big.

Yes, definitely a suit.