Archive for Category: First Job Out of College
On MyPath.com: An Interview with Two College Career Services Professionals
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College International Careers Recommended Resources on February 4, 2010 at 6:00 am
What are the major hiring trends on campus this year? What are the best strategies for finding an entry-level job? What are the biggest mistakes students make in the job search process?
To answer these questions and more, I spoke with with Trudy Steinfeld, Executive Director of the Wasserman Center for Career Development at New York University, and Manny Contomanolis, Associate Vice President and Director of Co-op and Career Services at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Don’t miss the opportunity to hear top tips from two of the best career services professionals in the country!
Listen to the podcast interview now.
Tags: Career Advice, career services, jobs
On MyPath.com: 5 High-Impact Career Habits
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College on January 25, 2010 at 8:00 am
Exercise for 30 minutes a day. Sleep eight hours a night. Floss. Good habits are the building blocks of a healthy life.
The same goes for your career: small daily habits add up to big success. The earlier in your working life you develop smart daily practices, the easier they will be to maintain and the more overall impact they’ll have.
Here are 5 important career habits to cultivate:
1. Keep up with the news. We live in the Information Age, so there’s no excuse for not being informed. Whether you read a news site every morning, watch the headlines on TV or subscribe to a major news outlet’s e-newsletter, you have to know what’s happening in the world. Pay particular attention to any articles relating to your profession. This will give you topics to discuss at networking events, articles to discuss on Twitter and LinkedIn and a base of knowledge to apply to your current and future career decisions. I landed my first job at WorkingWoman.com because I learned about the site from an article in a news magazine!
2. Share. You know those little “Share” icons that appear next to almost every video and blog post these days? Imagine that “Share” button everywhere you look. One of the best ways to maintain a strong professional network is to share articles, job leads, book recommendations, etc. with the people you know. For instance, if you read an article about grad school scholarships, forward it to your friend who is applying to PhD programs. If you come across a video of an interview with Bobby Flay, send the link to your former internship colleague who loves to barbecue. A small, kind, helpful gesture is a great way to keep in touch with people in an authentic, professional way.
Read the rest of this blog post on MyPath.com…
Image: eHow.com
One Way to Help the “Lost Generation”
Posted in Economic Crisis First Job Out of College Generation Y Internships Recommended Resources on November 2, 2009 at 11:00 am
A recent BusinessWeek cover story called today’s graduates “The Lost Generation,” citing statistics that young people who graduate in recession years continue to earn less over the long-term course of their careers.
This weekend, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert addressed the same issue, writing:
“These recent graduates have done everything society told them to do. They’ve worked hard, kept their noses clean and gotten a good education (in many cases from the nation’s best schools). They are ready and anxious to work. If we’re having trouble finding employment for even these kids, then we’re doing something profoundly wrong.”
Like BusinessWeek and Herbert, I am very worried about the situation for recent college graduates. Today I want to share with you what I’m doing about it:
I have and always will pay any interns who work for me. If you are a business owner, I ask that you do the same. (more…)
Tags: Internships
You Have More Experience Than You Think (Part III)
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College Generation Y Job Hunting on October 5, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Today I’m pleased to share my third and final post on all the types of experience you have that you might not be giving yourself credit for. I hope you find this valuable, and please share any additional suggestions in the Comments!
Part III: Personal Interests and Experiences
1. Investing. Have you put away money since your tenth birthday and watched your savings grow significantly? Are you active in trading and investing through your E*TRADE account? Do you currently manage your finances beyond balancing your checkbook? Since many high school and college students don’t manage their own money, your experience and knowledge could stand out.
2. Family business. If you’ve been part of your parents’ business development process or worked in a family-owned restaurant or store, your dinner table conversations may have involved hiring practices and workplace challenges. Even if you didn’t start the company, your experience is a source of knowledge and brings value to your job search.
3. Travel. Any trip that has broadened your perspective of the United States or the world adds value to your relevant work experience. Did you hike the Grand Canyon or backpack through Europe? Did you visit a country where you couldn’t even read the street signs? Be sure to tell potential employers how you overcame these challenges and broadened your life experience. (more…)
Tags: Career Advice, Generation Y, Job Hunting
You Have More Experience Than You Think (Part II)
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College Generation Y Job Hunting Volunteering on October 1, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Continuing on my last post, here are eight more examples of experience that “counts” in your job search. Stay tuned for my final list, covering personal interests and experiences, on Monday.
Part II: Work and Extracurricular Experience
1. Sports. Even if you aren’t a star athlete, your participation in an organized sport (varsity, JV, club level or just for fun) is valuable. An employee who is a “team player” and works well with others can move mountains in the workplace. Athletic experience builds your competitive nature, increases your level of confidence and gives you strong leadership skills. Remember to consider these lessons and experiences when discussing your skills and abilities in a job interview.
2. Clubs and organizations. From French club to student government, be sure to note your involvement in organized group activities. Make special note of any leadership roles that involved coordinating events, budgeting or acting as liaison among group members, faculty and staff. Also take some time to think about club projects you managed from beginning to end — employers will correlate these to workplace project management skills.
3. Greek life. Aside from the toga parties (which employers definitely don’t want to know about), Greek organizations provide some valuable experience for the working world. Many Greek organizations place significant value on networking events, fundraisers and recruitment. If you held a direct leadership role, planned events or coordinated publicity for your fraternity or sorority, you should share these achievements with potential employers. Keep in mind that there are some lingering stereotypes from Animal House and the like, so proceed with caution.
4. The arts. Whether you’re involved in art, music, dance or theater, your performance skills and the self-confidence it takes to share your talents in front of an audience are very attractive to an employer. Don’t be shy about touting your creative accomplishments, even in a serious corporate setting. (more…)
You Have More Experience Than You Think (Part I)
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College Generation Y Job Hunting on September 28, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Remember those days when your first assignment back at school in September was to write an essay about everything you did that summer? In recalling those memories, I started to think about the way people recount and catalog their experiences.
When young professionals in particular think about their accomplishments, they don’t often view their experiences and skills as relevant to their job search. But many seemingly non-professional experiences are more relevant than you might think.
I recently wrote about how even the most professionally inactive summers may have qualities applicable to your job search. To find out why summer jobs, self-improvement and summer socials are important, read my blog post, Slacked off This Summer? Time to Turn up the Heat! on The Huffington Post.
As I was writing that post, I realized that most young people are indeed more experienced than they think. We all know that jobs and internships are relevant, but it’s important to take inventory of all your talents and experiences so you don’t freeze up when writing your resume, interviewing for your dream job or filling out your LinkedIn profile. Whether you’re crafting a cover letter for a new job or negotiating a higher salary a current one, it’s important to take inventory and gain confidence in your experiences and abilities.
How far back should you go in your analysis? As a general rule, resume-relevant experience goes back four years for students and recent grads, unless you’ve done something super impressive like winning an Olympic medal or starting your own business, which you should always mention. Read more on the timeline for recalling your achievements in my blog post, Career Q&A: Is it lame to put high school achievements on my resume?
I’ve put together a laundry list of valuable experiences and skills that may not automatically come to mind when conducting your job search. Here are the first five as a teaser — stay tuned for the rest in days to come: (more…)
Tags: Career Advice, job search
New CareerTV Video: Post Grad — the Movie and the Reality
Posted in First Job Out of College Generation Y Life Advice on September 8, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Welcome to the second installment of a new regular video segment with my friends at CareerTV. I’ll be chatting via Skype each week with host Sean O’Grady about timely career issues.
In this week’s episode, we talk about the recently released film Post Grad. The movie stars former Gilmore Girl Alexis Bledel as a recent college grad who is forced to move back home with her family while she attempts to find a job and a direction for her life (a plot that probably sounds pretty familiar right now).
Watch the four-minute video here.
Have questions you’d like us to address in future CareerTV segments? Please share in the comments section below!
On The Huffington Post: Slacked This Summer? Time to Turn Up the Heat!
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College Generation Y on August 27, 2009 at 9:53 am
My next blog post is up on The Huffington Post. Hope you will check it out and re-tweet if you like it! Here is an excerpt:
While many recent grads have spent the summer hustling for jobs, completing internships and taking summer classes, I have a hunch that others have acquired deep tans, toned abs and a slew of ticket stubs from summer concerts.
While I celebrate your right to slack off during your summer (and I’m a bit jealous of this liberty), you may find a summer of pool parties and margaritas is a disadvantage when you start hunting for a job or internship this fall.
If you haven’t had the most professionally proactive summer, here are some tips for what to do about it:
1. Give yourself some credit. Lots of things count as experience that you might not realize. For instance, retail jobs, babysitting or working for your parents’ business can be described in ways that demonstrate your drive, leadership and professional skills. Did you manage your time and money? Were your sales in the top percentage of all employees? Did you learn how to work with different types of people? All of these are invaluable workplace skills that can be mentioned on a resume or in a cover letter.
2. Acknowledge if you needed rest. If you had a rough year leading up to the summer months, it’s okay to characterize your summer as a time of restoration. Whether you got back in shape, learned to cook or perfected the latest yoga pose, these methods of self-renewal are good uses of your time. I do worry that your generation is under a lot of pressure and the stress that follows can be unhealthy in the long term. Just be sure to use your newfound energy to propel yourself this fall.
On CareerTV: Twitter, LinkedIn and Living in Your Parents’ Basement
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College Job Hunting Recommended Resources Social Media on August 24, 2009 at 11:47 am
This week I’m launching a new regular video segment with my friends at CareerTV. I’ll be chatting via Skype each week with host Sean O’Grady about timely career issues.
In our first five-minute segment, we’re answering viewer questions about finding jobs on Twitter, connecting professionally on LinkedIn and surviving when you move back home with mom and dad (hint: lay off the frozen yogurt).
Watch the video here.
Have questions you’d like us to address in future CareerTV segments? Please share in the comments section below!
On NY1 News: Talking Careers & Cupcakes with Recent College Grads
Posted in Career Advice First Job Out of College Generation Y on July 8, 2009 at 9:33 am
NY1 Employment Reporter Asa Aarons recently featured me and four recent college grads talking about job hunting while baking and decorating cupcakes. We had a great time filming the segment and talked about real issues facing today’s young job seekers.
Asa asked me how job hunting is like baking cupcakes — a question that, believe it or not, no one has ever asked. Here was my response:
“Job hunting is like baking a cupcake in that there are many steps to the process,” says Pollak. “Follow up is involved and once you finish the cupcake and you finish the job hunt, the enjoyment of the work you’ve put in – eating the cupcake or finding a job that you love – is always worth it.”
Many thanks to the job seekers/cupcake bakers you see in the segment, from left to right in the photo above: Kara Johnson, Katie DePaola, Melissa Basolo and Anna Schilawski. Email me for any of their fabulous resumes!
Huge thanks to reporter Asa Aarons and to Laura Allen of 15 Second Pitch for making the introduction.
Click here to view behind-the-scenes photos and a gallery of the cupcakes we baked that day.
Tags: Asa Aarons, NY1
