How Recent Grads Can Win the College Recruiting Game

Imagine a world where career success isn't measured by the number of job offers on the table. Imagine instead, searching and finding that one opportunity that leads to more growth, more fulfillment, and ultimately more success.

In this world, you're not chasing a certain quantity of job offers. Instead, you're carefully researching leaders in your field, those potential mentors who can shape your career trajectory. When you interview, it's not a one-sided display of your skills. Rather, it’s a mutual exploration. You're seeking to understand the manager's style, the team's dynamics, and how you can fit in and grow. You're trying to find the one best fit.

There is relatively little difference offer-to-offer from different companies. But the opportunities to contribute, to lead... can vary drastically company-to-company.

This focus on accumulating lots of offers likely ties back to college applications. When applying to colleges, there's a real advantage to having lots of acceptances. College acceptances have a very wide distribution of outcomes. Scholarship and financial aid offers can vary drastically. Different schools have very different curriculums and student cultures. The deadlines are synchronized and now there's a common application for many. In this world, it makes sense to accumulate options. The more options, the better you can compare. Having options pays off.

But I would posit student athletes approach this differently. Every basketball player is going to play a certain number of games per season. They're going to be practicing a lot. And the talented athletes are getting a full ride. The question those athletes are asking are very different... am I going to get to play? Is the coach going to help bring out the best in me? Do I have peer role models to learn from? Will I have the opportunity to lead? Will the school support me in getting to the next level?

I would argue these latter set of questions are how you should approach building your career. There is relatively little difference offer-to-offer from different companies. But the opportunities to contribute, to lead, the quality of the coach or manager, the caliber of your peers, and the opportunities to grow or the support when you decide you need to go to the next level at another company, can all vary drastically company-to-company.

Just as a basketball player needs the right team and coach to excel, you need to find environments where you can immediately contribute, make meaningful plays, and grow.

Let's start with internships. The common wisdom suggests hopping from one company to another each year, gathering a diverse range of experiences. But sometimes, going deeper with a single organization can be more beneficial, especially if it’s in an environment conducive to learning. I learned this from my own journey.

In my early days, I joined a small team at Welch Allyn, working under Andy Longacre, a respected figure in the world of early computer vision and two-dimensional barcodes. That barcode on your boarding pass? Andy Longacre probably invented it.

This wasn't a typical internship. Here, I was part of a close-knit team, where mentorship was part of the daily routine. I was encouraged to explore and invent, all while being given the structure I needed to turn curiosity into productivity. The value of spending two summers there was immeasurable, as it allowed me to build a solid foundation in my field.

But growth often requires change. That's why I shifted to Netscape, a fast-paced environment where the stakes and learning curve were higher. There, the learning style was different. The engineers were incredible, the best in the world. But also busy. Earning their respect demanded independence, precision in questions, and a demonstration of initiative. This experience taught me the importance of adapting to different work environments and the value of self-driven learning.

Just as a basketball player needs the right team and coach to excel, you need to find environments where you can immediately contribute, make meaningful plays, and grow. The key is to join a team where your unique skills are utilized and valued, where a seasoned coach (mentor) can guide your development, and where you can learn from and alongside skilled teammates. This approach helps you build a strong foundation, hone your skills, and develop a game sense that will shape your professional identity and trajectory.

Ask yourself instead, is this a place where I will be challenged? Will I receive the mentorship and support I need to grow? Can I see myself evolving into a more competent, autonomous professional here?

Consider this: across the industry, especially at the entry-level, compensation packages offered by various organizations are often comparable, especially within the same sector. Big tech companies, startups, and mid-sized firms each have their typical compensation structures. While there are differences, they are not vast enough to be the sole deciding factor for your first job. The real differential in compensation emerges not from the initial package you receive but from the velocity of your growth and advancement to higher levels of autonomy and responsibility.

This growth and advancement are deeply tied to the environment you choose to start in. A workplace that challenges you, pushes you out of your comfort zone, and recognizes your efforts is where you’ll grow the fastest. It's in these environments that you'll learn to adapt to diverse situations, develop a steep learning curve, and enhance your ability to tackle new and complex challenges. These are the qualities that make you valuable in the long term. As you grow and take on more significant responsibilities, your value in the job market increases, leading to more substantial compensation and advancement opportunities.

So, as you evaluate potential job offers, look beyond trying to accumulate a number of very similar offers. Ask yourself instead, is this a place where I will be challenged? Will I receive the mentorship and support I need to grow? Can I see myself evolving into a more competent, autonomous professional here? These considerations are critical in choosing a path that truly enhances your career trajectory, far beyond the initial job offer.

Brad Porter is the CEO and Founder of Collaborative Robotics, Inc, a Sequoia, Khosla and Mayo Clinic backed robotics company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. Prior to founding Cobot, Brad was the Vice President and Distinguished Engineer leading a global team of 10,000 people overseeing all of Amazon’s logistics robotics work. Brad also served as CTO of Scale AI, Platform Architect for Tellme Networks and an early engineer at Netscape. Brad holds a Bachelors and Masters in Computer Science from MIT. His research focused on computer graphics under Professor Seth Teller.