Past Five

Advice for the Class of 2012: Do What You Love

So many blog posts and articles I’ve read recently have spouted endless advice for 2012 graduates. Forbes contributor Mike Myatt advised graduates to cultivate and maintain relationships, continue learning throughout their lives and live below their means.

A Wall Street Journal blog post was less coddling….basically deflating the egos of this generation and saying they are less intelligent, charming and invaluable than their professors made them believe.

While all this advice is beneficial, albeit somewhat harsh, one piece was missing. Do what you love. It’s that simple.

Too many recent graduates accept offers for positions they know they won’t enjoy merely to have a job. They are nervous to be unemployed with a degree and college loans, so they jump at the first opportunity.

I recently interviewed a candidate who was considering accepting a job in sales…but they hated sales and knew it wasn’t what they wanted to do. Why even consider the offer?

Why not take a temporary position to earn money, gain experience and augment a skill set until a dream job is determined or secured? In the long run, I believe this will make millennials happier and more successful.

How to Land and Capitalize on Summer Employment

Spring has begun, and summer is just around the corner. Do you, or your kids, have a job lined up to capitalize on those summer months? A summer job is more than just mowing lawns or flipping burgers; it is a chance to make connections that will prove helpful throughout your career, and in this flooded market, students need to start their summer job search NOW.

Start NOW

Now, right now. Go. It’s never too early to begin your summer job search. Whether you plan on going home for the summer, traveling out of state or setting up shop on-campus, it’s important to start researching potential summer employment now. Target companies in your area and contact them directly inquiring about summer help. Reach out to local staffing and recruiting firms regarding project work. Go to the local library to peruse posted flyers. Wait until June to search for a summer job and you may find yourself holding down your parents’ couch instead of building your resume during the summer months.

Cast a Wiiiiide Net

Everyone should know you’re looking for summer employment including your family, friends, friends’ parents, parents’ friends, professors, advisors, old coaches and teachers, your family doctor, the grocery store clerk, you get the idea. The more people who know you’re looking for a job the more quickly you will secure one.  

Inform your contacts on what your ideal job is and sell them on why you should be hired. When selling yourself to your network include information like major, year in school, previous relevant work experience, interest in the company, industry or position, work schedule flexibility and positive attitude. The more your network knows about what you want in a summer job and why, the easier it will be for them to be an effective mouthpiece for your job search.

Target Internships

Even in this stringent market, many companies continue to offer summer internships to eager college students. Do your research on the target companies for which you’d like to work and inquire about summer internship programs, however, be sure to remain open to companies and industries outside your ideal. Internships are a hot commodity for college students, and the candidate pool will be competitive, so be sure to maintain an open mind and attitude to all opportunities.

Don’t expect to get paid for your summer internship. Many employers are cutting back budgets for these types of programs, and landing internship experience is priceless, regardless of the immediate monetary rewards.

Don’t Treat it Like “Just Another Summer Job”

Yes, your summer job may not be directly congruent with your long-term career goals; however, the contacts you meet now will prove valuable partners in the future. Treat every interview, every interaction with employers and every hour of your work day as you would a “real” job. Your performance, attitude and professionalism during summer employment are a reflection of you and your work ethic, no matter how irrelevant your summer job may seem. Make a good impression on your summer employer, and you will find yourself with a valuable resource with whom to reconnect after graduation.

 

The Millenial Generation

I was traveling back to Chicago from NY on a business trip on Friday when I met a college senior from Howard University.  She was getting a degree in international business, with an emphasis on finance and was interviewing at Goldman Sachs for a job in their Human Resources department. We talked about NY and how crowded it is and how people are cramped into apartments...she said she grew up in tight quarters in Saint Lucia, so NY would be ok. 

 

She said she expected nothing less than 60 hour work weeks...mostly because she knew if she didn't, there were others who would.  I asked about her education and coming to the United States; she told me how she started at a junior college and then transferred to Howard.  Started at a junior college and now was interviewing for a job at Goldman Sachs!!!

 

This "twenty-something" was articulate, intelligent, poised and motivated to continue to grow and get a job.  She wasn't looking to make a million dollars, but simply an opportunity to work hard, make her parents proud and accomplish something. 

 

Sometimes society and the media are quick to stereotype people...most recently with the millennial generation as the “entitlement generation”.  I disagree with that, and I meet twenty- something’s all the time who prove to me that individuals are just that...individuals!  All employers should search for the right person, not based on media-created stereotypes.  Sometimes they are hard to find...but when you get the good ones...they prove how powerful one good employee can be. 

Observations from a Job Fair

Job fairs are an invaluable resource, and in this competitive job market, a great way to set yourself apart from other candidates. Are you making the most of your school’s career fairs? You should be and I’ll tell you why.

 

Career fairs are a prime way to practice networking and/or obtain job leads. Networking is an activity in which you will participate your entire working life, no matter your profession.  It doesn’t stop once you land a job. Job fairs are just the place to practice putting yourself out there and building a professional network. The more people who know you’re looking for a job, the better your chance at getting a job!

 

As campus recruiter for my company, the LaSalle Network, I spend a good deal of time at career fairs. And I’ve seen it all. Career fairs showcase a unique cross-section of candidates, and not just in the areas of academic pursuits or career aspirations.  Some job fair attendees are more prepared than others. Some slink by my booth - their body language begging, “don’t talk to me, don’t talk to me, don’t talk to me.”

 

Now, I tend to be chatty and motivated by being around college students at job fairs, so I engage a lot of students in conversation. Not every representative you talk to will be as engaging. Not everyone will coax a conversation out of you.

 

So, once you’ve arrived at the fair, don’t be afraid to step up, put out your hand, smile, and introduce yourself. Job fairs are usually pretty busy for recruiters because we want to speak to as many folks as possible, too! Therefore, it’s important that your introduction briefly describes who you are, why you’re there, and what unique qualifications you bring to the table.  

 

 Other students will come up to me with that confident handshake and strong verbal communication, but are dressed for a night in “da club.” I am here to tell you that, yes, even in today’s increasingly casual culture, a suit speaks volumes. The students who visit my booth at job fairs dressed as if they are on an interview stand out every time over those in hoodies and Chuck Taylor sneakers.

 

Based on my observations, here are a few tips on how to make the most of a job fair:

 

· Obtain a list of employers attending the fair from your career center

· Research the companies in which you are most interested. You won’t have time to talk to everyone, so plan to talk to 5-10 employers once you’ve arrived

· Prioritize your time once you arrive, meeting first with employers at the top of your list

· Make a strong, first impression. Dress professionally. Offer a firm handshake. Smile. Make eye contact. Communicate briefly and enthusiastically who you are and why you’re interested in each employer

· Before leaving each employer, obtain contact information, find out what hiring procedures are and what you can expect as far as next steps. To make it fun, I suggest setting a goal for yourself before the fair such as collecting a certain number of business cards

 

Finally, just because the career fair is over, doesn’t mean you’re done. Now it’s time for follow-up!  This job market is competitive, so remember that you want to stand out. In order to do that, I suggest you follow-up by

1. sending a thank you note or email depending upon preferred method of contact and 2. call a week later to see where each company is in their hiring process.

 

 

 

 

You Have To Want To Be The Best

Lately I have been giving speeches to people in job transition and students, both undergraduate and graduate students, about what it takes to be successful and get a job.  I get asked all the time about the "entitlement generation" and why the work ethic of the under 30 crowd is so bad.  I have many people under 30 who work with me, and the majority of them have terrific work ethics.  They impress me daily with how hard they work.  However there are many who have entered the job market who don't want to do the "dirty work" it takes to earn your stripes and get promoted and make more money.  It finally hit me last week as to why this exists.  15, 20, 30, 40 years ago...people went into a job believing they may be there forever and they would work their hardest to be the "best"!  Today, people graduate college and they want to wait and see what they really "like" to do, before they are willing to give it 100% and commit the time to it to truly be successful.  So what we have are a ton of young people who aren't getting good at anything because they believe it won't be their last job or career.   These are the people we hear the complaints about...the youngsters who aren't working hard because they haven't bought into the idea that the best way to gain responsibiltiy and earn money is through hard work...no matter what the hard work entails.  The sad thing is, if they would have given it their all...they may have been great....and really grown faster and learned more sooner. 

Keep it Clean

Google yourself.  Go ahead, we'll wait...

 

What did you find?  Anything good?  Anything bad?

 

If you discovered something your mother wouldn't be proud of, it’s time for change.  If you're an active job seeker, you need to clean up your online profiles immediately. 

With the unemployment rate approaching 10%, job seekers can't afford to miss out on exciting job opportunities due to the content of their on-line profiles.  Whether you have a profile on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Flickr or Twitter- content is king and it better be clean. 

1. Privacy- You wouldn't leave your doors and windows of your home open all day, leaving it vulnerable for anyone to enter and snoop around.  So why would you let anyone view your online profile?  Social networking sites offer various degrees of privacy.  It's easy, but so many job seekers neglect to take advantage of this setting.  Block or limit users who aren't your friends from gaining access to your profiles. 
2. Content - Your online profile can show friends and connections a broader perspective of who you are, what you are doing right now, what books you read this summer, what your interests are, etc.  When presented well, this can portray you positively as a person.  However, when the content presented is negative, it can drastically impact how a colleague or employer feels about you.
3. Photos - Yes, visiting Cancun during your senior year was fun, but potential employers are going to think otherwise when they see the photos.  Untag and block any photos that may be inappropriate.  Upload photos that will strengthen your personality, not show the world how much you love being the center of attention.
4. Posts – Once you author a post on any social networking profile, you cannot go back.  Despite the ability to “delete” the content later, you have no control over who has already seen the material, commented about it, or forwarded the post/image to someone else.
5. Etiquette - Many of you have probably been friended by moms and dads of your close friends, and dare we say a grandparent or two?!?!  Yikes!  But remember “friending” a potential employer isn’t a professional way to go about getting hired.  Save the MySpace and Facebook friending for close friends, coworkers and colleagues that you have already established solid face-to-face relationships with.    

There is no denying that the Internet is one of today’s primary communication tools.  The popularity of social media has grown exponentially in the last several years.  Twitter, for example, grew from 1.6 million users in 2008 to more than 32 million today.  No one is expected to stay off the Internet, but people should be savvy social networkers while still maintaining a professional reputation online. 

 

We continuously urge our candidates to keep their networking profiles clean.  Think about it, you wouldn’t want to risk losing out on a new career because of the scandalous photos your friend tagged and the 37 comments that you made on them about how drunk and wild and irresponsible you all were on your summer vacation.  Your personal life is all your own, but employers, universities, and organizations see is put online, so keep your image clean.

 

 

 

Posted by guest author Bobby Wilson

Bill Moller is So Money

A few weeks ago I sat down with Bill Moller over at WGN Radio's The Money Show. I was on to talk about how to manage millennials, and we got a lot of great feedback from the show. So, I wanted to share it with the rest of you. Take a listen below.

Old People

Saturday, I was interviewed in the WGN Radio studio on Michigan Avenue by Bill Moller on the topic of Millennials in the workplace, and how their attitudes and work ethic fit into today's corporate cultures. It got me thinking about people who are not under the age of 27. As a working society, we always want to focus on the flavor of the moment.

Today, that focus is on this new generation, the Millennials, and their attitudes toward the work world. At 35 years old, I'm a Gen Xer, and I feel a connection to this new generation of workers as well as to their parents' generation, the Baby Boomers. One of my first bosses is closing in on 50, and I feel as much of a connection to him as I do to my 23-year-old marketing coordinator, who I went out with for beers on Saturday. I read the Time and Newsweek articles on this brash group of youngsters and how they are changing the workplace and thumbing their noses at the "old people." It baffles me.

While the Boomers will be exiting the work force, it isn't en masse, it is yearly. We need to talk more about how the Boomers should be working with the youngsters, and how together we can warp speed our growth and success. At my company, we talk about reverse mentoring with our clients in regards to this generational gap. Instead of just the junior people having an experienced mentor, why don't more experienced people seek out some of these younger workers and ask them to teach them about the new technology such as Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, etc.?

I was on a plane not too long ago, and I was sitting next to a guy in his mid-fifties with an iPod. I asked if he mostly burned CDs or downloaded music, and he said both. But he didn't do either, his daughter did it for him. We spoke further, and I asked about his business, in particular how many twenty-somethings he had working for him, and he said several. I asked if he had ever asked any of them to teach him how to use iTunes or show him Facebook. He said he had never thought to, and we spoke of the reverse mentor, and it was a completely foreign concept to him.

Sometimes we have to look at what we feel is the problem, and then turn it upside down to find the solution. The Greatest Generation was the group that went to fight in World War II. They were truly a generation that changed the world and further cemented the United States as the greatest country in the world. There were draft dodgers and people who did not want us in the war because they thought Europe should go it alone. We don't talk about those people in history books.

In the 60s and 70s, there were plenty of kids who put on white shirts and blue suits to work for IBM, rather than grow their hair long and protest the war. We don't talk about them either.

I'm a Gen Xer, and I don't have tattoos and piercings. Let's not throw the baby out with the bath water when we speak about the Millennials. Rather, let's think about how workers of all ages can use their knowledge while they focus on being part of the establishment. And together we can accomplish some great things.

Managing Millennials

As the new generation of workers known as the Millennials enter the workforce, managers are getting nervous about how to handle this so-called "Entitlement Generation." Yet, this generation is brimming with potential, they just need a little guidance and the right management style.

I recently wrote a piece for American Management Association about how to manage Millennials. It came out a few days ago, and you can find it here. Millennials can add a lot of value to a company, you just need to know how to help them add that value.

First Business - Managing Millenials

A clip from my interview with Tom Hudson on First Business Morning News talking about how to manage the next generation of employees - Millennials.