Or the NFL and Deutche Bank for that matter? You could probably take a guess at some similarities among seemingly very different organizations–Google, the online powerhouse, and BNP Paribas, the global investment bank. The NFL… the crown jewel of American sport, and Deutche, a dominant player in the world of finance. One of the most obvious being that they all qualify as dream employers!

Well your girl on the streets was in attendance at the Freeman Days New York site visits hosted at these great companies and came away from it with a few tips for all of you. These are things my colleagues in the career center are saying all the time, but they are especially compelling coming from the mouth of someone on Wall Street or in the hallowed halls of the National Football League.

1) Sales skills are important in any type of job and any type of company, so never shy away from a sales opportunity when you are mapping out your career plan. It boils down to relationship building. The ability to engender genuine connections with other people is a fundamental skill of successful sales people and a fundamental skill in almost any career. The folks at Google and BNP Paribas both advise practicing and practicing and practicing this skill!

2) Hustle hustle hustle! Build your network ruthlessly. Show up at events and networking functions where people in your desired industry will be and talk to them. Get to know them. Make an impression. Follow up. In your follow ups…

3) Bring something big to the table. How can you make this company more successful, more profitable? Tell them. And you will be that much more likely to get the job. It’s not enough to be very smart, driven, focused, have the great GPA and relevant internship experience. So does everyone else who wants the job. Great people get their dream jobs by convincing their dream employer that they can make them more profitable, with very specific examples. Once you get a foot in the door…

4) Be prepared to work … and work … and work! for what you want. Start out in the summer watering the plants… like the Vice President of Football Communications for the NFL did the summer after his freshman year of college. He interned every summer thereafter and climbed the long ladder of unglamorous work responsibilities before landing a job in their communications department. He’s now enjoying his 15th season with the league.

I heart Education Pioneers.

For the purposes of this discussion, let’s call them “Management Consulting in the Education Sector,” because that is what they do. I want all you MBAs to learn about them and then make an informed decision as to whether an opportunity in the education sector might be the right fit for you.

They’ll be doing a virtual recruiting event on campus in November and you should all be there! Stay tuned to Freeman Link for specifics. And, they’ll be at Freeman Days Houston on September 30.

With offices all over the country, Education Pioneers provide fellowships that lead to jobs in education management in seven major U.S. cities. They hired 260+ MBAs last year from 2,400 applicants and plan to hire 360 this year. I like those odds a lot better than the 10,000 applicants for 20 spots at Fidelity Investments. Don’t you?

Competitive compensation and work-life balance sound good? Then see you at the Education Pioneers virtual info session in November!