Well, I'm a senior in college now. I'm going to graduate in the spring and I really need to consider the whole "job" thing. Yeah, I know. However, I don't want to be a complete noob when it comes to finding leads for jobs and ways to get my foot in the door. I'll give a run down of my situation.

I'm interested in doing something in the computer or software industry. I'm completing a double major in Marketing and Management from Texas Tech University, so my primary interest in terms of a career would be something along the lines of sales, customer relations, branding, promotion, supply chain management, etc. I recently went to a career fair that hosted primarily local businesses, accounting firms, insurance companies, retailers like Target and H.E.B., but there wasn't really anything in the industry of my choice. I did talk to some of these companies, handed them my resume and talked about various positions. My biggest worry is that if I stray from my desired industry, I will be less inclined to go back and get a job in that industry later on once I accumulate experience.

My father was an HP employee (well, a Digital employee when he started) and stayed with the same company for 29 years. I wouldn't mind working for companies like HP, Dell, MS, Acer, or other computer hardware/software ones, including small firms. I don't really know the best way to go about approaching some of these companies that aren't local and at my career fair. Working in this field serves a HUGE personal interest.

As far as qualifications, I am a member of multiple honor societies, 3.929 GPA (4.0 in both of my majors), a member of a high-ranking student organization in the school, and have job experience as a checker and a photo-lab technician from H.E.B. (about two summers and two winters between the school year), and I've done wedding photos and portraiture on a freelance basis, with a website and all, since 2005.

I suppose my questions for everyone is what would you suggest I do? Do any of you guys work in these industries, and how did you go about getting your jobs in there? Did you have more or less experience? Am I being too picky? This is a huge deal to me in terms of getting a job I would like instead of one I feel forced into doing.

My own personal experience has been this: when I was a new graduate, I thought that submitting my resume to big company websites would land me the job I wanted and it would be easy because I could cast my resume out in a huge net easily and quickly. Well I didn't have any luck at all with that strat. I only got shitty commision based sales job responses for insurance companys who butter up a job description but after you have wasted your time going through their interview process you find it's a weird scheme of some kind.
As a new inexperienced grad, submitting uninvited resumes for anyhing besides an entry position to a fortune 500 orwhatnot is likely to fail in my experience. I'm sure there are exceptions though and I wouldnt exclude the strategy as part of a diverse searching effort.
Now, I got my first great job as an assist plant manager with cargill though my university's oncampus job interview program. I thought the oncampus grad resource programs were a joke before I graduated and the rosey illusion of finding a super job right out of school just because I had a degree melted away. Usually large companies use these to find grad talent to develop. I was successful there and gained experience and contacts that led to my other great job. Also, Networking will be your best bet in the long run. Call it an old boys club or whatever. The fact remains that if you can get to talking to people and demonstrating your strengths
will give you an edge always over someone who just submits email resumes. It took me a year to learn that lesson and land a job that could start a career.