By David Mezzapelle

As I mentioned in Part 1, I decided to purchase the Barron’s Book of Colleges, create a job posting for a Campus Intern and fax it to every college listed. We had a 100% response rate. Every school applicable agreed to post our internship. Goliath Technology was well on its way to becoming an industry “Goliath.”

The next few months were exhausting. Thousands of resumes poured in from students looking for jobs and internships. Even alumni were sending in resumes. My first step was to recruit interns from local schools that could review resumes and help me find the optimum students at schools throughout the country. Traveling was cost prohibitive so I had to create a protocol that included minimum eligibility requirements, phone interviews and live interviews (if the school was within a reasonable distance). Since the schools were so receptive, I had their administrators helping us as well. Our internship program benefited them so they were more than happy to work with us.

Within 6 months we had representation in all major cities and towns. We had all the regions of the US and Canada covered. After weeding through students that did not perform, we had a solid 300 person workforce that brought Goliath Technology into companies, schools and data centers throughout North America. Very exciting.

 Winter 1991.  David Mezzapelle and John Hooks exhibiting at Goliath’s first Career Fair (project “CompuCampus”).   

At the end of our first year I moved out of the house and into an office in downtown Stamford Connecticut. Purchase orders were coming in daily over phone, fax and email. Business was great and we were growing. By our 3rd year we opened 2 more offices in Florida and California. Students started graduating. Some stayed and others moved on to other jobs with the confidence and experience they gained at Goliath. As I mentioned, interns learn your business and your culture quickly. If you are lucky and can retain them as full-time employees, your business will most likely continue to grow. We were a perfect example.

During these years (1990 - 2007) I always knew that we tapped into a market that was full of opportunity. Goliath Technology was a small part of something much bigger.

Part 3 of this story is available at http://blog.goliathjobs.com/2007/08/06/my-david-goliath-story-part-3-goliathjobs-is-born/.

To comment on this post, please click the headline.

GoliathJobs.com is a free web-based employment service specializing in the placement of students & alumni. Employers and recruiters can post jobs, internships & careers for FREE. Schools and associations have the option of verifying their students & alumni at no charge, giving them an edge when applying for a job. Simple. Safe. Secure. Spam-Free. TELL A FRIEND!

Healthcare | Education | Business | Nonprofit | Government | Recruiting | More

Over 50? Check out GoliathJobsOver50.com, The Free Source for Hiring Baby Boomers & Retirees.

By David Mezzapelle

Our history is interesting. From 1986 - 1990 I attended Fairfield University in Connecticut. I was a marketing major. Early in my freshman year I was approached by the Marketing Department to consider an internship at IBM. If it worked out, the internship would last all 4 years and could lead to a bright career path. I accepted.

When I graduated from Fairfield in May of 1990 I decided that I want to start my own company (called Goliath Technology). Thanks to the IBM internship I learned that there was a need for IT integrators and distributors that cater to market niches such as education, banking, healthcare, etc. I took that route and started the company in July 1990. Once we launched, my first order of business was to find the most cost effective way to get into data centers throughout the U.S. and Canada. Normal staffing efforts were cost prohibitive so I had to get creative. I figured that since I was an intern, why not hire interns. I knew I would get motivated people that could learn our culture and potentially stay on full-time after graduation. In addition, I knew the cost savings would be enormous and I could build a great marketing force.

There was no real internet to speak of in 1990 (except Prodigy and young AOL), so I decided to purchase the Barron’s Book Colleges. I created a job posting for a “Campus Intern” and literally faxed it to every school listed in the book. The process took 2 weeks. What happens next changed the course of my career…

I had a 100% response rate. Thousands of schools responded to my fax. At the time it was overwhelming. I had no idea I would get this type of response. An administrator from every school contacted me and said they would post our internship if applicable to their curriculum. Clearly we were on the path to building our marketing force and becoming an industry “Goliath.”

Part 2 of this story is available at http://blog.goliathjobs.com/2007/08/03/my-david-goliath-story-part-2-goliath-growth-with-college-interns/.

To comment on this post, please click the headline.

GoliathJobs.com is a free web-based employment service specializing in the placement of students & alumni. Employers and recruiters can post jobs, internships & careers for FREE. Schools and associations have the option of verifying their students & alumni at no charge, giving them an edge when applying for a job. Simple. Safe. Secure. Spam-Free. TELL A FRIEND!

Healthcare | Education | Business | Nonprofit | Government | Recruiting | More

Over 50? Check out GoliathJobsOver50.com, The Free Source for Hiring Baby Boomers & Retirees.