As some of you many know, 2 of my biggest passions in life
are consumer electronics and athletics. So companies in those 2 spheres are at
the top of my list for places I’d like to work once I finish my MBA. That is
also a big reason why I chose to go on exchange in the fall rather than the
spring: most of those companies do not recruit in the fall so I wouldn’t miss
out on them by not being at Rotman in the fall.
However late last month I was surprised to learn that Nike-
one of my target companies- was coming to Rotman in October and I wasn’t there!
This is the story of my experience managing this job application process from afar.
It’s a long but good story so get ready to read!!
My first challenge was twofold:
A. How do I get top of mind at Nike without physically being
present?
B. How do I create a good application for the marketing job
Nike was hiring for?
--Managing Part A--
One of the members of the Rotman class of 2012 interned at
Nike in the summer of 2011. Given I was always interested in learning more
about what it’s like to work at Nike (with the idea to maybe work there), I had
spoken with her a year ago about my interest in the company. She began working
full-time there after graduation and was luckily part of the recruiting process
for Nike’s on-campus visit this time around. I tried connecting with her on the
side, to get some additional info about the role which I might have missed in
the Rotman on-campus visit. And having met her previously, gone to the same
Rotman events with her, etc, it wasn’t like I was some random stranger out of
the blue either. So this helped me get as top-of-mind with Nike as I could
given I was in Madrid and Nike was visiting Rotman in Toronto.
Nike also has a very specific and unique culture that
involves wearing “Nike-appropriate” clothing. After discussing how to be top-of-mind with my career adviser I decided I send over a picture of me in such clothing so that they have
an idea if I look the part sufficiently for Nike- especially important given I
couldn’t be gauged in-person at the recruitment event in Toronto. I don’t know
if the email with a photo of me was ever seen but I was happy I sent it so that
the Rotman Alum who works at Nike if necessary, could pass who “Mike Moses” physically
is on to the Nike HR team even though I wasn’t physically at the Nike
recruitment event at Rotman.
--Managing Part B--
I was also lucky because one of my friends interned at Nike
this summer and is living in Europe this fall as well. Same time zone made
things MUCH easier. So in talking to her I got a sense of what sorts of things
Nike values, how to communicate to them, etc.
Of course, after writing my cover letter, I sent it over to
my career centre adviser for feedback and input to ensure it all looked good.
So with that, I sent over my application. I never like to
“count my chickens before they’ve hatched” though, so I decided to move on with
my life once my submission was in. This meant among other things, that since we
had a week off school in mid-october, I decided I’d use that time to visit
Portugal for the first time.
Little did I know that TWO DAYS before I was to leave, I
found out I got shortlisted for Nike!! They wanted to interview me! Except they
wanted to interview me in literally the middle of my Portugal trip!! AHHHHH
