Spring 2008

CareerTips

Tough Job Market For College Graduates

With over a quarter million jobs lost in the first quarter of 2008, you can bet the spring graduating class may have a challenge finding jobs. It is estimated that over 65% will find their way back home and will continue to be on their parent’s payroll. A thought that strikes fear in the hearts and minds of their parents not to mention the shock and cultural change for both parties. A parent once called me and said “My daughter has not lived at home in nearly five years. We love her but we are not looking forward to this experience.” When I met with her daughter to discuss her career plans, I found the feeling was mutual. She lamented, “I love my parents but the thought of living with them scares the heck out of me.”  Unfortunately, most parties are not prepared for this experience. Nor are our academic institutions properly preparing these graduates for the transition. Sure, many have placement offices that have counselors, job fairs, websites with information on resume development, interviewing tips and even career assessments. When I ask the students, I find that many never took advantage of the service provided by the institution, and when I ask the counselors of the institutions they tell me it is impossible to give each and every student the time and attention they need. Therefore, many graduate with a diploma without an inkling of how to go about finding their first full time job. Many have not figured out how to use their college experiences and summer and part-time jobs to enhance their resumes and interviewing skills. So here are a few tips for both you students and your parents.

Students:

• Use your networks. Did you know that according to a survey by SHRM, Society of Human Resource Managers, the most effective tool to finding a job is networking? In fact over 80% of the jobs found are through networking. It is the preferred source by both the job hunter and the employer. Some companies even provide incentives to their employees if they bring them a job seeker that is hired.  A good book to read on networking is Work The Pond by Darcy Rezac. If you feel that you do not have a network, join some organizations. Your alumni association, the Chamber’s Pulse program for young executives and even your church affiliations are a good source. Take time to make a list.
• Know what you do and do what you know. This begs the question of what are you most suited to do? Rest assured you have skills and interests. You may be young and inexperienced but there are tools that can be of assistance in finding your best career option. We like the Strong Interest and Confidence Inventory and the CPI260 Leadership Assessment. Your school may have these available or you can Google these assessments and find many sources. Of course, we at Golden Career Strategies would be happy to offer them to you at a reasonable price.
• Brush up on your interviewing skills. A good book to read on this subject is Knock’em Dead by Martin Yate. I recommend it to all my clients. In addition, you might consider setting up some mock interviews or even video tape yourself answering some questions. This will allow you to critique your answers, body language, eye-to-eye contact, etc.
• Use the internet but don’t think it is the best source. In fact, you may spend valuable time applying on-line and will never hear back from the employer.  Use it as a source to find jobs but try to seek out a contact within the organization. By all means do your homework. It is inexcusable in today’s high tech world to go on an interview or even do a telephone inquiry and not know the company and what it is all about. Most likely you will not get an opportunity to interview if you do not already know quite a bit about the company.

Parents:

• Be a support system, not a barrier. They need your encouragement not your criticism. They will find their way if you give them permission to do so. Be a good sounding board but not an interrogator. They need to be at the “top of their game” when they go on interviews or informational meetings. Putting undue pressure on them will create a sense of desperation and it will show in an interview. Desperation will be interpreted as lack of confidence.
• Set up some ground rules.  As I said, they are now young adults and they should be expected to do their part to cover expenses. You might consider an agreement that you are willing to foot the bill for a reasonable period of time. One family had a “written agreement” that simply said they were making their son a loan to cover expenses while he was in his job search. In addition, some expectations relative to house maintenance and chores should be agreed upon. They are living at home temporarily and not in a fraternity or sorority house. Living at home should not be considered pro bono. Set a reasonable time to review the agreement.
• Make sure your son or daughter has a good workspace at home to work on their campaign. They need to be in a place with few, if any, distractions. Finding a job should be a full time job so assist them with the tools they need to make it happen.
• Take them networking with you. First make sure you are on the same page when it comes to their career objectives. Tweak their elevator speech and be able to tell people you meet what you think their skills and interests are.

In summary, take the advice of Yogi Berra “If you don’t where you are going you might not get there.” If you can come to consensus on this issue you are half-way there.

Golden Career Strategies can help you get your career off to the right start with CareerStart™. Learn more about CareerStart™.