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Thursday, May 23, 2013
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Gen Y'ers: Me, me, me--cry, cry cry?
Watch out, Gen Y'ers...Time thinks you're the "me me me" generation.
Luckily, Brad Hines defends Generation Y in his latest piece, Generation Cry: Why I Can (Kinda-Sorta) Defend Gen Y.
His article sheds light on the perceptions some have about Gen Y'ers--worth a read!
Luckily, Brad Hines defends Generation Y in his latest piece, Generation Cry: Why I Can (Kinda-Sorta) Defend Gen Y.
His article sheds light on the perceptions some have about Gen Y'ers--worth a read!
Monday, April 29, 2013
College Career Center: Resource or Waste of Time?
I had the pleasure of running into my college roommate this past weekend. She came to my book signing and it was great to see her.
We got to talking about my books and she said that Ramen would have been perfect for her when we graduated. We both commiserated about how hard it was to graduate college and nail down a job...and one that we liked.
While we both agreed that we felt unprepared, it does bring up a good point that today's grads can use--the career center at their school.
Even if your career center isn't reaching out to you or providing proactive help, it may be full of untapped resources.
I remember visiting the career center at Stockton during my last semester...it was a little overwhelming. And while I can't say that my career center was a huge help in preparing me for life after college graduation, I would certainly urge college students (even if you're only in your second or third year) to start looking at the career center. They may have alliances with businesses that hire grads or be able to give you feedback on the resume that you'll need.
When I was 21 years old, I had little interest in my school's career center, and wasn't sure how they could help me. Students are so focused on acing classes and just getting the degree--it's hard to imagine life after college. But go for it. Step inside, browse around and start thinking about a job--not just your degree. This economy requires it.
Has your college's career center been a help to you? How have you used your college's career center? What did they provide? What didn't they offer?
We got to talking about my books and she said that Ramen would have been perfect for her when we graduated. We both commiserated about how hard it was to graduate college and nail down a job...and one that we liked.
While we both agreed that we felt unprepared, it does bring up a good point that today's grads can use--the career center at their school.
Even if your career center isn't reaching out to you or providing proactive help, it may be full of untapped resources.
I remember visiting the career center at Stockton during my last semester...it was a little overwhelming. And while I can't say that my career center was a huge help in preparing me for life after college graduation, I would certainly urge college students (even if you're only in your second or third year) to start looking at the career center. They may have alliances with businesses that hire grads or be able to give you feedback on the resume that you'll need.
When I was 21 years old, I had little interest in my school's career center, and wasn't sure how they could help me. Students are so focused on acing classes and just getting the degree--it's hard to imagine life after college. But go for it. Step inside, browse around and start thinking about a job--not just your degree. This economy requires it.
Has your college's career center been a help to you? How have you used your college's career center? What did they provide? What didn't they offer?
Thursday, April 18, 2013
"Resume Building"--Not Just "Resume Preparation"--for College Students: Part Two
In my last post, I discussed how to build a resume by first thinking about your skills and identifying them. We talked about how to glean skill concepts from your experiences in college organizations, internships and part-time jobs--because college students don't have much professional experience. (Tat's perfectly all right...not to mention acceptable!)
How can you translate those skills into writing?
First thing is first: Many college students are always telling me they don't have enough experience, so their resume will be blank. That shouldn't be the case once you draw out those skills we discussed in Part One. Now that you have some aptitudes, don't just list a role you held--talk about the skills even if it was how you managed the budget for your frat's annual toga party!
You may not have tons of experience, but you can still build out the experiences you do have. This gives an employer an idea of what you can do for them. Otherwise, he or she may see an internship listed and assume that all you did was get coffee!
Let's use an internship as an example, though you can "build out" similar wording from any of your experiences with student organizations or even your unrelated-to-your-major college job. (I worked in the student activities office when I was at Stockton...you can't believe how much I learned about meeting deadlines and being administratively organized!)
Say that you are an English major and you had an internship at an advertising agency for a few weeks. You manned the phone desk and got coffee, but you also got to look at marketing collateral the agency produced. While you only got included in one creative meeting for a new campaign, you came up with your own copywriting ideas for the ads. They weren't even considered for the campaign, but you still used some brainstorming and writing skills. You should talk about that--it doesn't matter if your ideas were used. You added input to the campaign, so you could say something like:
Contributed copywriting concepts for BrandX campaign, which encompassed TV spots and print ads.
See what I mean? Instead of just listing the agency you worked for with "Intern" under it, spell it out. Talk about your ability to multi-task, even if it was only to specify a skim vanilla latte from a whole-milk Frappuccino®. Okay, don't spell that out, but do talk about your attention to detail even when performing administrative tasks.
You also could build out a statement about answering those pesky phones:
Responded to phone inquiries, fielding messages in a timely fashion to advertising executives.
Sparkles more than just saying "answered phones," doesn't it? You may also add that because you disseminated critical messages as they came in, it kept timelines on target--or heck, maybe it thwarted a deadline nightmare...that's something important to note! Don't ignore the little things just because you don't have any "big things" to report.
Don't miss the opportunity to say something about what you did and say it in a way that enables you to stand out. Beef up your wording, talk about your capabilities. And by golly, if you have any achievements--say that your concept did make it on a billboard--let prospective employers know!
Don't just leave your resume blank...an employer could see that as a negative and pass you by. But when you take the time to specify what you did, that will paint a better picture of your capabilities.
That's what most employers want to see from a recent grad--they're not expecting tons of professional experience...just a rockstar job candidate who knows how to accentuate the positive!
How can you build out your experience? Need help? I'd love to assist--leave a message in the comments section.
How can you translate those skills into writing?
First thing is first: Many college students are always telling me they don't have enough experience, so their resume will be blank. That shouldn't be the case once you draw out those skills we discussed in Part One. Now that you have some aptitudes, don't just list a role you held--talk about the skills even if it was how you managed the budget for your frat's annual toga party!
You may not have tons of experience, but you can still build out the experiences you do have. This gives an employer an idea of what you can do for them. Otherwise, he or she may see an internship listed and assume that all you did was get coffee!
Let's use an internship as an example, though you can "build out" similar wording from any of your experiences with student organizations or even your unrelated-to-your-major college job. (I worked in the student activities office when I was at Stockton...you can't believe how much I learned about meeting deadlines and being administratively organized!)
Say that you are an English major and you had an internship at an advertising agency for a few weeks. You manned the phone desk and got coffee, but you also got to look at marketing collateral the agency produced. While you only got included in one creative meeting for a new campaign, you came up with your own copywriting ideas for the ads. They weren't even considered for the campaign, but you still used some brainstorming and writing skills. You should talk about that--it doesn't matter if your ideas were used. You added input to the campaign, so you could say something like:
Contributed copywriting concepts for BrandX campaign, which encompassed TV spots and print ads.
See what I mean? Instead of just listing the agency you worked for with "Intern" under it, spell it out. Talk about your ability to multi-task, even if it was only to specify a skim vanilla latte from a whole-milk Frappuccino®. Okay, don't spell that out, but do talk about your attention to detail even when performing administrative tasks.
You also could build out a statement about answering those pesky phones:
Responded to phone inquiries, fielding messages in a timely fashion to advertising executives.
Sparkles more than just saying "answered phones," doesn't it? You may also add that because you disseminated critical messages as they came in, it kept timelines on target--or heck, maybe it thwarted a deadline nightmare...that's something important to note! Don't ignore the little things just because you don't have any "big things" to report.
Don't miss the opportunity to say something about what you did and say it in a way that enables you to stand out. Beef up your wording, talk about your capabilities. And by golly, if you have any achievements--say that your concept did make it on a billboard--let prospective employers know!
Don't just leave your resume blank...an employer could see that as a negative and pass you by. But when you take the time to specify what you did, that will paint a better picture of your capabilities.
That's what most employers want to see from a recent grad--they're not expecting tons of professional experience...just a rockstar job candidate who knows how to accentuate the positive!
How can you build out your experience? Need help? I'd love to assist--leave a message in the comments section.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
"Resume Building"--Not Just "Resume Preparation"-- for College Students: Part One
Shara Azad recently wrote a piece for Huffington Post in which she describes life after graduation. It's worth a read!
I think this is a common sentiment for many grads who don't get a job right away. And in this economy, you're not guaranteed an entry-level job just for getting a degree.
That's why it's important to start your job search now, especially if you are graduating in May. How do you begin? With a resume.
I know that many college students think it's pointless to try to build a resume. Instead, they accept the doom of a lot of "white space" on their resume because that's what other students do. But if you build out the skills you possess, it gives an employer a better idea of what you can do. After all, if you take the time to build out a resume with only a little--or hardly any--professional experience, you'll probably go the extra mile for them.
Think of it this way: Most graduates list an objective and maybe an internship stint on their resume because they think that's all their worth. I'm going to show you how to build out a resume. You don't have to have professional experience to show a prospective employer what you have to offer!
How on Earth do you build out your skills when you've never filled out a timesheet? First, identify your skills. And you've got plenty of them.
1. Look back on any jobs you held in college. Think about the skills you used. Did you help customers? You may have some sales experience. Did you organize things internally, improve a process or boost efficiency? Absolutely worth mentioning.
2. Explore your internship. It doesn't matter if you didn't get paid--you still did something. Did you answer phones? You assisted customers and facilitated communication. Did you grab coffee? You assisted another employee or manager--sounds like you are a team player to me.
3. Recall experiences in clubs/sports. During college, I may have learned more about life as a member of Circle K than anything else. Circle K taught me valuable skills such as strategic planning, public speaking, interpersonal relations, and time management. Funny, those are all core competencies that even experienced professionals use on their resumes. What clubs or sports were you involved in? Think about what you did, then extract the skill you used to do it. Now you're thinking in terms of skills, and that's what needs to go on your resume!
4. Use your time as a student. You may also have honed skills from working with other students or preparing items for your classes. Did you pull off a monstrous term paper? You've got to be organized to do that and know how to conduct research--those are skills. Maybe you were an RA and put together activities for residents and mediated conflicts--more skills to highlight.
Now that you are thinking about your skills and really digging to identify them, keep thinking. In the next post, we'll talk about how to translate those skills on to paper and create a knockout resume!
Three months after graduating from college, I feel as though I am on an extended summer vacation instead of out in the "real world."
I think this is a common sentiment for many grads who don't get a job right away. And in this economy, you're not guaranteed an entry-level job just for getting a degree.
That's why it's important to start your job search now, especially if you are graduating in May. How do you begin? With a resume.
I know that many college students think it's pointless to try to build a resume. Instead, they accept the doom of a lot of "white space" on their resume because that's what other students do. But if you build out the skills you possess, it gives an employer a better idea of what you can do. After all, if you take the time to build out a resume with only a little--or hardly any--professional experience, you'll probably go the extra mile for them.
Think of it this way: Most graduates list an objective and maybe an internship stint on their resume because they think that's all their worth. I'm going to show you how to build out a resume. You don't have to have professional experience to show a prospective employer what you have to offer!
How on Earth do you build out your skills when you've never filled out a timesheet? First, identify your skills. And you've got plenty of them.
1. Look back on any jobs you held in college. Think about the skills you used. Did you help customers? You may have some sales experience. Did you organize things internally, improve a process or boost efficiency? Absolutely worth mentioning.
2. Explore your internship. It doesn't matter if you didn't get paid--you still did something. Did you answer phones? You assisted customers and facilitated communication. Did you grab coffee? You assisted another employee or manager--sounds like you are a team player to me.
3. Recall experiences in clubs/sports. During college, I may have learned more about life as a member of Circle K than anything else. Circle K taught me valuable skills such as strategic planning, public speaking, interpersonal relations, and time management. Funny, those are all core competencies that even experienced professionals use on their resumes. What clubs or sports were you involved in? Think about what you did, then extract the skill you used to do it. Now you're thinking in terms of skills, and that's what needs to go on your resume!
4. Use your time as a student. You may also have honed skills from working with other students or preparing items for your classes. Did you pull off a monstrous term paper? You've got to be organized to do that and know how to conduct research--those are skills. Maybe you were an RA and put together activities for residents and mediated conflicts--more skills to highlight.
Now that you are thinking about your skills and really digging to identify them, keep thinking. In the next post, we'll talk about how to translate those skills on to paper and create a knockout resume!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Millennials and Money
Millennials have so much power when it comes to their financial future. Get smart about it while you're still in your 20s and it can set you up for a lifetime of sound financial decisions. Miss the boat and it could put a big dent in your future.
When I was younger, I tried to be savvy with my money but it was hard. That said, here a few tips from Mass Mutual that may be able to help. Susan Johnston put together some useful tips to help you get the most from your financial standing. (If you are at all interested in writing, check out her blog for fantastic insights on the writing arena.)
What financial advice do you live by? How do you think that will change when you emerge from your 20s?
When I was younger, I tried to be savvy with my money but it was hard. That said, here a few tips from Mass Mutual that may be able to help. Susan Johnston put together some useful tips to help you get the most from your financial standing. (If you are at all interested in writing, check out her blog for fantastic insights on the writing arena.)
What financial advice do you live by? How do you think that will change when you emerge from your 20s?
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Are you "using" your college degree?
Are you under-employed or over-educated?
According to this article, about 48 percent of the class of 2010 work jobs that require less than a bachelor’s degree, and 38 percent of those polled didn’t even need high school diplomas.
Do you think this is due to the economy--are more recent grads just taking any job that they can? How do you know, if you took a "settling" job, when it's time to start "using" your degree?
According to this article, about 48 percent of the class of 2010 work jobs that require less than a bachelor’s degree, and 38 percent of those polled didn’t even need high school diplomas.
Do you think this is due to the economy--are more recent grads just taking any job that they can? How do you know, if you took a "settling" job, when it's time to start "using" your degree?
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