Grad Student Looking for Work Gets Noticed for His Sweet Approach - East Idaho News
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Grad Student Looking for Work Gets Noticed for His Sweet Approach

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ht michael penn 1 mi 130808 16x9 608?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1376000049998Michael Penn(NEW YORK) — What’s the craziest thing you’ve done to get a job? Ever hand out free coffee and doughnuts in front of a potential employer?

Well, that’s what Fordham graduate student Michael Penn, 23, did Thursday morning.

His goal: to land a job in the financial services industry, specifically at Goldman Sachs.

“Goldman Sachs is the pinnacle of the financial industry, and I’d like to be sculpted by a firm like it,” Penn told ABC News Thursday.

So at 7 a.m. Thursday, he set up a booth outside the investment bank’s office building in Lower Manhattan, complete with refreshments and a sign that read: www.HireMichaelPenn.com.

“I wanted to do something innovative for my job hunt. I am graduating in two weeks. I came up with the idea to get some face time,” said Penn, who hails from Boca Raton, Fla., and pursued a master’s degree in global management.

With his website printed on his booth and the coffee cup sleeves, Penn started gaining some attention.

Within minutes, word about what Penn was doing had traveled to an employee at a leading investment bank. Penn said he received an email.

“He said: ‘I want you to come down here,’” Penn said.

He was immediately given an interview later in the morning.

Penn said he wanted to prove to himself and to other people that there were ways of finding jobs. It just takes innovative ideas.

“It’s just simple economics — supply and demand. The jobs are there. There are just more master’s and MBAs out there now. You really need to get out there and differentiate yourself,” he said.

Penn, who is still unemployed, said because of all the great feedback he’d received, he would go back to Goldman Sachs, or try someplace else.

“I would love to increase my Rolodex, and this is a great way to do it,” he said. “It was so heartwarming. People really wanted to see me succeed.”

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