Tag Archives: jobs

So You Graduated… Now What?

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Graduation season is upon us, and with it comes the heaps and mounds of posts telling graduates what they should have done while in school and what they should do now. Bloggers are rarely invited to give commencement speeches, so we have to make our own opportunities to dole out our own pearls of wisdom.

The MyCorp Social Media department is pretty young – one of us only graduated a year ago, another of us got out two years ago, and our final member is still in school. We’ve noticed that our generation is particularly freaked out about getting a job and, since we’re employed (hurray hurray!), we decided to try and give our younger readers some advice.

Just be warned; your next few months are going to be rocky.

This was the most unrealistic stock photo we could find on graduating. It was also the cheapest.

1. Don’t stop sending out resumés, and never stop talking.

We noticed something a little disheartening amongst our fellow graduates within the first few months of receiving our diploma – they give up. Fast. Sure, they’ll start out by sending a nice, fat stack of resumés to their dream jobs and laugh about how none of them ever called them back. Then the next week that stack will get a little lighter, and a little lighter, and a little lighter, and suddenly they are complaining that no one wants to hire them, but are only sending out a couple of resumés a day.

If you’re unemployed, your job is to find a job. And man is it going to bite – it is going to be one of the most draining, depressing experiences you will ever have to live through. But eight hours a day, five days a week, you need to be monitoring job sites, sending introductory e-mails, and re-writing that resumé so it fits exactly what those employers are looking for.

Network as much as you can – that does not mean sending a Facebook message to someone you took a class with that is now working in a position you’d like. Talk to your professors, see if they can give you any leads, and never stop looking for someone’s hand to shake. It’s going to be rough, but stay at it.

2. It is okay to be underemployed if you’re still looking for something better

One of the members of our department – we won’t say who aloud – worked full time at a fast food chain before coming to work here. It is okay to be underemployed, to scrape a living by, but don’t let that become your life. These little jobs we take to make ends meet – retail, food service, coffee vending – they end up taking over our lives. We are so drained from logging in forty hours that, at the end of the day, the last thing on our minds is sending in another resumé.

Again, it’s going to bite, but don’t let that happen to you. Spend a few hours before bed looking for new posting, new nooks you might be able to squeeze yourself into. Don’t be ashamed of having to work while you look for work. But, whatever you do, don’t take an early night.

3. Be proud of your degree!
Did you get a degree in something that you’ve been told has absolutely no bearing in the real world? Something like sociology, or art, or history?

Let us put an end to that rumor right now – anyone who has told you that is full of themselves; every degree has relevance. Each person that gets churned out of academia has four years specialized training. Humanities majors spend four years perfecting their ability to write and analyze – an Art degree teaches you how to move past artistic blocks, be creative, and remain dedicated to a project. The worse possible thing you can do is walk into an interview and talk down your degree, to say that you should have done business or management or finance instead.

You’ve accomplished something that you should take a lot of pride in, and honed skills that are relevant in hundreds of fields outside of what that paper says you have a BA in. So congratulations! Now start applying for jobs, and don’t stop until you get one you like, even if it takes a bit.

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How Employers can link into Linkedin

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A lot of social media analysts see LinkedIn as being a tad one sided – there are plenty of people who consistently update their profile anytime they think of something new to brag about, but there aren’t many employers looking for new hires on the service. Most sectors have more jobs than people, so employers don’t feel compelled to strike out and search for that perfect new hire.

So LinkedIn sadly stagnates with page upon page of resumés.

I find this extremely disappointing - LinkedIn should be just as widely used by employers as it is by people looking for a job. Employers just need to learn how to make the leap and start using LinkedIn properly.

1. Compare and contrast applicants to their peers.
After a day of interviewing a barrage of candidates, you’d hope that at least a few of them would stand out. But sometimes they all kind of stink – it’s unfortunate, but it happens. When I’m stuck with a big pile of resumés from people I really don’t want to hire, I like to log onto LinkedIn and try to find the type of people I would like to see apply for this position. And, honestly, sometimes I can’t – I occasionally have an off day and just have to head home and tackle the stack of applicants the next morning. But if I can find a few people who are closer to the type of person I’m looking for, I know I should start my search over to target that sort of person. By simply tweaking the job description or the experience required, you can get an entirely different batch of candidates.

And, thanks to LinkedIn, you should be able to find a few great applicants in that bunch.

2. Check on employment history
LinkedIn should be the first place you check when you are thinking of hiring a new employee. After all, the website gives you every detail the applicant made public for absolutely free, allowing you to both cross-check their resumé and see what other experience they have. There could be quite a bit about your new hire that you didn’t know and never would have found out – now, no one is going to put anything negative about themselves on their LinkedIn profile, but at the very least you’ll be able to read any details that they could not fit onto a one-page resumé or application.

I warn you though – don’t go too far down the rabbit hole. Keep your searches professional and allow your employees to have their personal, social lives without having to worry about future employers scrutinizing every single one of their life choices.

3. Don’t be afraid to reach out and contact people!
A lot of employers are afraid to do this. It goes well beyond what we, as business owners, are comfortable with. Unless someone came highly recommended, I would never actually reach out and contact them. I’d expect anyone interested in a position to take the initiative and contact me. But you could be missing out on some great employees if you cling too tightly to that old world view. If you are looking around LinkedIn and see someone you’d think would be perfect for a particular job, someone who just screams management or sales or tech or whichever department you are hiring for, send them a connection request. If they accept, and their profile says they are looking for a job, send them a message asking that they apply. If they say no thank you, oh well, but chances are they’ll be flattered and willing to talk. Remember, a message over a social media tool is not a binding job offer – you can choose not to hire them if you’d like. But just taking the initiative could lead to some great new employees.

LinkedIn was made for employers – it allows anyone to post, in as much detail as they want, about their professional lives within an aggregated, easy to use database. But it still remains grossly underutilized by the business owners, managers, and HR representatives who have no idea what to do with it.

Trust me – spend some time actually using the website, and you’ll wonder how you ever hired anyone without it.

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3 Pieces of Internship Advice for New (or Recent) College Grads

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For everyone of the class of 2011… or 2010… or 2009, or maybe even 2008, finding a job is going to be a difficult and trying process. Finding someone who will actually pay you money for work is exciting, but the economy is in a volatile state, and has been for a few years. So what should the recent graduate going to do? Graduate schools, years off, and temporary positions in retail and food service are all on the table as newly minted professionals attempt to “wait it out.” Many are also looking to unpaid internships, which are an old source of college credit and experience. In a recent release, the Department of Labor revealed that the only sector of the job market that is truly showing growth is the unpaid internship. More and more are hoping that, with another sentence emblazoned on their résumé, dream jobs will be that much more attainable.

Don’t think that way. While unpaid internships are great when you have something else on your plate, like finishing college, they are simply not worth the time or effort once you are out of school for three main reasons.

1. It is HIGHLY unlikely they will lead to a full-time job.

Having your diploma is something to be proud of, but it is also the sign that your loan providers are going to be looking for payment. And, trust us, loan providers are ruthless when it comes to getting paid back. Success stories from unpaid internships have a way of winding down the grapevine, but for the most part, unless you are really lucky, this position will not lead to a paid, full-time, job with the company. Companies hire unpaid interns when they want an extra pair of hands without paying for them, and the economy is a slow moving beast.

While things will get better, you probably do not want to, and cannot afford to, stick around with a company for two or three years without pay. Experience and name recognition are great, but with the unemployment rate around ten-percent, there is probably someone who has the jump on you. Companies may also begin to value your work as being worth the price they pay for it: nothing. So try and find a company willing to pay you for a job well done. The pay may be lower than you expected, but it will at least show that they value you enough to give you money for your work, instead of dead-end promises.

2. These positions are signs that employers are willing to cut corners.

This is less applicable to smaller companies and non-profits that depend on people to do a little extra for a little less pay, but still is something to keep in mind. Having a cadre of unemployed laborers means the company is trying to save as much money as possible, and cutting corners is a well established, though very ill advised, way to do that. Horror stories of terrible bosses and evil companies are bountiful, and most people would agree to avoid them at all costs, but you are agreeing accept these abuses by working as an unpaid intern. The Department of Labor recently hired 250 more people to enforce the Fair Labor Standards Act, which it feels many employers are violating with their unpaid internship practices. If they are not willing to put in the effort and investment to hire an actual employee for this position, then they probably are not too concerned with the Fair Labor Standards Act.

3. At this point, you are worth more than “experience”

It is said that most stereotypes have a grain of truth within them, and the image of the overworked intern is so prevalent for a good reason; interns are, typically, worked to the bone. Internships are competitive opportunities, so many of the poor souls who agree to work in an unpaid spot feel they beat out a bunch of other applicants for it and they have to prove their worth as a result. Again, while you are in college, this is a good mentality to have, but when you get your degree you have to begin to see your work as worth a little more. This can be hard as when you walked off the stage, you were not inspected and stamped like a piece of meat; Grade A, worth five dollars a pound. But you went to college to add to your own, personal self-worth so you can get a good wage for the work you do. You probably worked late into the night for four years, but came out of it worth more than when you went in. Remember that when looking for a job. Don’t over-value yourself, but don’t undercut all of your hard work either.

This is all a bit pessimistic and frightening, and is definitely not “one-size fits all” advice. But, for the most part, there is no reason at this stage in your life to accept an unpaid position. Instead, put all of that hard work and effort in sending out your résumé, networking, and finding a good job. Your alma mater probably has a career services office and an extensive alumnus network; use these for your benefit. It is very easy to get discouraged, especially since you are not going to receive any feedback during this process; no one gets an A in looking for a job. But it is worth it if you can find an employer willing to value your work as it rightly deserves.

Plus, it will help end those incessant phone calls from the bank.

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