Distinguished Post-Grad Jobs

In celebration of the holiday season, @allythill scheduled lunch for the Fellows at a restaurant in downtown Indianapolis. @hunckler and I showed up late, but we probably both wish we hadn't shown up at all. It was a bad dining experience.

12 minutes to get a drink
30 minutes before the food order was taken
50 minutes before the food was served
75 minutes before bills were delivered

On the bright side, I had some time to chat with @YawA about @PocketTales launching their new web app and how he's making the jump from his distinguished post-grad job to an entrepreneurship career. Takes a lot of moxy.

My mind already operates at warp speed. Things jump in my head before I finish a thought. Mitchell Davis and I would be too much to handle. On this particular day of bad service at a restaurant which also had bad food, my mind was racing to find a connection between high growth start-ups (like @PocketTales) and this waiter who seemed to be wasting everyone's time.

Aha moment!

Restaurants give the slow shift to the slow wait staff. Monday is typically the slowest day of the week and lunch is the slowest serving of the day. Since we went on the slowest day during the slowest meal, the odds were against the @orrfellowship having a good service experience. More to the point, while good work is rewarded with accolade, bad work is rewarded with defrocking.

High-growth Indianapolis companies do not like having to defrock their employees due to poor performance. Some of the best places to work in Indiana see applicants present a positive version of themselves during the interview process, but entrepreneurship careers quickly peel away any misperceptions that may have existed after that good interview took place.

The bad news for some on the job market is that many of these startups cannot afford to pay for the 'Monday lunch shift' person. @orrfellowship host companies need good work from talented people NOW; they need the 'Friday dinner shift' person, because every day is like the Friday dinner rush for companies hiring new grads.

Be the 'Friday dinner rush' person today.

This American Life is a radio program out of WBEZ in Chicago that attempts to display what it is like to live an ‘American life’, complete with its dullness as well as its luster. Reporting is not done in the way we see on television or hear on more traditional radio. Rather, the producers attempt to place us into the culture of the topic area; the sounds bites are not ‘bites’ at all. They are actual, full, complete stories that connect the listener to a new set of experiences. This American Life attempts to make the events that mold our being (whatever that means), which makes understanding the experience more transparent. The radio program, at it's core, is about manufacturing an experience.

For example, attempting to paint the picture of Rome to my friends and family when I returned from a tour of Europe was excruciating. My pictures of Trevi’s Fountain did not nearly do it justice. My explanations of the white cliffs of Dover were juvenile. The only way in which my friends could understand the awesomeness of my trip would have been for them to experience it for themselves. In the absence of a shared “experience,” the narrative loses a little bit of sincerity.

The Orr Fellowship strives to create entrepreneurship careers that do more than simply provide post-graduate networking, entre-level jobs in startups, and an Indianapolis job opportunity; The Orr Fellowship strives to create a shared experience among Orr Fellows. Distinguished post-grad jobs are often about putting in time quietly on the sidelines while you wait your turn to play in the game.

This business fellowship is different. Jumping into fast growing Indianapolis companies is not something that most entry-level jobs in Indiana afford a fresh graduate. But entreprenurial companies need driven graduates to help contribute immediately. These companies look to Orr Fellows to help fulfill that need, providing a shared entreprenurial experience in the process.

Click here to find out how you can be included in this experience!

So you've heard about the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship, but one thought that may have crossed your mind is, "how do I get noticed by the Orr Fellowship, and what types of attributes/experiences are they looking for in their candidates?"  For the next couple of minutes I'm going to share with you some of our recruiting secrets that will undoubtedly make you a more attractive candidate for this prestigious Fellowship opportunity in Indianapolis. 

First and foremost, we firmly believe that the most valuable experience that one can attain while in college is leadership experience.  Now that I've said this, let's take a minute to try and better understand what I'm talking about.  When we're going through Orr Fellow candidate applications, having a candidate that was a "member" of twelve different clubs on campus in no way compares to a candidate that was president of two or three reputable clubs on their campus.  To take this one step further, having a title means nothing if you didn't have any notable achievements while holding that particular position.  We want to see that you were elected by your peers for a leadership position, but it is much more important that you made a positive impact to your organization during your tenure as officer.  Leadership experience can be gained in many different ways, so there's no excuse for a lack of leadership on your resume. 

The next piece of information from your resume that we find extremely important is your GPA.  This may come as no surprise, but the easiest way to demonstrate your intelligence is by getting good grades.  Being that you're looking for Indiana jobs out of college, much like thousands of other students in their senior year of studies, this is one of the only standardized means of measurement that we can use to juxtapose you with the rest of the candidate base.  So what if your GPA isn't as good as you'd like it to be?  If this is the case for you, it in no way means that your chances of getting into the Orr Fellowship are gone.  What you do have to figure out at this point, however, is how you're able to justify your lower GPA, in addition to being able to describe what qualities/experiences you have that make you a perfect fit for this distinguished entrepreneurial fellowship.

Another attribute that we look for in our candidates is their ability to demonstrate an entrepreneurial spirit in their lives.  One of the inherent qualities that all Orr Fellowship host companies possess is a strong sense of entrepreneurship.  In fact, it is critical that our Fellows hold that same entrepreneurial attitude so that they can seamlessly integrate themselves into these high-growth Indianapolis companies.  As history has shown, joining the Fellowship often leads to entrepreurial opportunities after the two-year committment of being in the Orr Fellowship has been completed.  Since this is the case, candidates that demonstrate this entrepreneurial attitude in their own lives prior to joining the Orr Fellowship typically find themselves fitting in well within the Fellowship and their respective host companies.

So what are the most important attributes/experiences that the Orr Fellowship looks for when evaluating their candidates each and every year?  We are looking for hard-workers, well-rounded students (being a college athlete is a nice bonus), and intelligent people.  More specifically, though, we are seeking people that have great life stories and are passionate about our organization.  We truly believe that what you've done in your life defines who you are today.  In addition, being passionate about the Fellowship and what it stands for is something that is necessary for all Orr Fellows - choosing to join the Orr Fellowship is making an investment in the future of your career, and it takes a certain kind of person to be willing to take the "leap of faith" and join the Orr Fellowship.

Now that you know what kind of people the Orr Fellowship is looking for, do you think you have what it takes?  Do you fit any or all of these criterion?  If so, and you're looking to secure one of the most distinguished post-grad jobs in Indianapolis in 2011, apply today on the Governor Bob Orr Indiana Entrepreneurial Fellowship Homepage.