Ryan Barbonio’s Tips for Landing Your Dream Job (His was at Google)
Ryan Barbonio just landed what anyone would consider a dream job right out of college. As a Product Support Coordinator for Automotive Search Ads with Akorbi Staffing Agency at Google, he’s working with top professionals in his field at one of the most desirable employers on the planet. While many would consider him lucky, he’s the first to say that his focus on finding the right career fit, taking advantage of opportunities to build the skills he needed, and the support of staff and faculty at Cal State LA far eclipsed luck as a factor in his success.
Ryan’s Recommendations
Ryan was generous with sharing his experience and key factors that helped him graduate in little more than four years while working and volunteering his time in clubs and off campus. Although they don’t sound innovative, his keys to success worked exactly because they are tried and true.
Get Involved on Campus. Ryan worked at Associated Students Inc. (ASI) and was President of the Marketing Club. Meeting other groups on campus and being part of the college community led to unexpected resume building and professional learning experiences.
Build Marketable Skills. He wanted to have knowledge and experience using the tools of the trade. His knowledge of graphic design, computer programming, and social media marketing skills gave him an edge over students who just had a degree. He frequently took courses on Lynda.com and workshops at the university’s Career Development Center including the Business Etiquette and LinkedIn workshops. Finding opportunities to practice those skills through internships and volunteer experiences reinforced those skills with experience and helped him build connections.
Stay Focused and Organized. By regularly meeting with his advisor Ryan picked the classes he needed to meet his career goals and graduate in little over four years. All of his campus activities supported his career goals in some way and let to other opportunities. Researching a career path early allowed him to pursue classes and extra-curricular activities that supported his goal. From that, he created goals over his college career that would train him to obtain skills he felt passionate about.
Talk to People. Ryan took every opportunity to talk with faculty, staff, professionals and others to get all the information he could about the world of marketing and potential opportunities.
Read. Probably the tip Ryan is most passionate about. Continuously reading about industry trends, potential employers, or world news which can be digested through news apps like FlipBoard enable more confident conversation with peers and other professionals. He recommends reading the Muse for great articles on exploring career paths, learning what professional tools you need to be more productive, and other career advice.
So How Did He Get That Job? A Step by Step Path
Ryan described a very specific process for his job hunt.
- Find your dream job. For Ryan it was Product Development. Talk with faculty and professionals and work with CBE Placement Services and Career Development Center to find your passion.
- Find people with your dream job and identify their path to success. He identified people in that role through LinkedIn and on-campus clubs like the CBE Marketing Club.
- Identify 3 typical career paths to your dream job based on the resumes of people in the job. What was their entry level position?
- Build the skills needed to be hired in one of those entry-level positions. Student clubs, ASI and other campus resources offer workshops for skill building. Lynda.com offers free video courses on 100s of software and professional skills.
- Create a resume tailored to each of those positions. Then tailor the resume for each position you apply for.
In less than three months of graduating in December 2016, Akorbi Staffing Agency connected him with Google where he was offered the position of Support Coordinator. He’s grateful for a wealth of faculty and staff at Cal State LA with providing the support and guidance that helped him along the way including Dr. Tye Jackson, Department Chair of Marketing, Professors Michael Germano, Nicole Hanson, and Bill Teitelbaum; CBE Advisor Joaquin Franco, Erin Doolittle in the CBE, the staff at the Career Development Center, and Marcus Rodriguez at ASI. He also credits his parents and colleagues at Cal State LA for encouraging him to stay focused on his path and follow his dreams.