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Tips for recent grads
It is that time of year when many recent college grads are hitting the job market
Q: My daughter is graduating this spring, undergraduate, at my alma mater. She has been on the hunt for a job for months, even since the fall. She spends hours applying to jobs online through her career services office. It seems like the economy is tanking. I am worried for her (privately). I try to be encouraging and I know she will find something, but she has student loans. Do you know what has worked for other recent university graduates?
A: Congratulations to your daughter. Recent graduates sometimes struggle with their first job search. I have listed some suggestions below:
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1. Continue to use the career services office. She may also want to connect with the alumni office of her university. Most colleges and universities have alumni groups sprinkled throughout the US. Alumni are often open to connecting with fellow alums. This step can help your daughter build her professional network, which is important.
2. Her resumes should be error-free. I would avoid unusual fonts, or what I call the “wedding invitation” font. A resume for a college graduate should be no more than one page, for most students. As a comparison, my resume is two pages.
I often suggest that a resume is like a commercial. It should not contain every detail about the product. An advertisement for a car does not include the size of the tires, the heated seats or the type of muffler. Instead the focus may be mileage, projected monthly payments or the ability to drive through rough terrain. I have read resumes written by college grads which are three pages long. This is probably too long.
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3. Join Linkedin. Connect with fellow graduates, professors, friends, and neighbors. Strategically join groups on LinkedIn. She should think about her career interests (e.g., biology, sociology, finance, pre-law, etc.). Group should make sense, either in terms of career interests or location. If she plans to relocate to Chicago, she should join job hunting groups in Chicago. LinkedIn profiles with a photo often get a “longer look” than profiles without photos. The photo can be taken with a phone. There are now AI tools which can create professional photos.
4. Never say no to an intro. It is not only the uncle who could be a useful contact, but all of the uncle’s contacts!
5. Stay close to email. Check email daily. This is my pet peeve. If we email a job seeker on April 2nd and they reply to our email on April 21st, often we have assumed this candidate has no interest in discussing an opportunity.
6. Be gracious. Send thank-you notes or emails.
7. Consider temping or contracting. It builds real-world experience and professional contacts.
8. Don’t spend hours behind a computer shooting out resumes. Instead, spend this time networking. Set a goal of 75% networking and 25% PC time.
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9. Do a social media check. College graduates need to make sure that their social media accounts do not portray images which would be concerning to an employer.
10. Be positive. Even if the job search has been a challenge this does not mean you should share the pitfalls of job hunting with a prospective employer. Negativity can be a bit of a turnoff when it is a common thread during the interview process.
11. Have an elevator speech. This is a brief summary of who you are and where you hope to be professionally. Practice it! The first version is not the last version. Practice it in front of others.
Recent graduates will often reflect on how they landed a new job. Most will mention the value of a strong professional network.
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