Career Advice for College Grads: 7 Tips for Success

Congrats grads! This is an exciting time for you, full of possibilities. Many of you may have plans or even a job lined up, but many of you may be asking, now what?

Congratulations graduate! Now what?

Here are seven tips to help you get ready for the working world:

1. Get your resume ready.

Resumes should tell a story about who you are as a person and what your skills and talents are. Clearly, a 21-year old is not going to have the same resume as a seasoned pro, but employers know this, so don’t worry about impressive credentials. Just do the best you can with your experience so far and find things that highlight your strengths and skills. Click here to read what the pros at Harvard say a good resume should look like.

2. Showcase your skills and responsibilities.

Any kind of job, internship, volunteer work, or affiliation should go on your resume. Whatever you did that reflects leadership and responsibility should go on your resume, whether it’s lifeguarding or babysitting or serving as chair of your college’s housing committee. Did your manager give you responsibility, like locking up at night, opening in the morning, or making deposits? Did you serve as membership chair for your sorority? Captain of the baseball team? Chairman of the campus recyclers? Include it.

You were a lifeguard? That counts! Put it on.

Volunteer work should also go on your resume. Volunteering shows a level of social and community consciousness and commitment that many employers find valuable. It’s also good work experience, especially if you served in a leadership or managerial position.

And one last thing: never, ever lie, fudge the truth, or exaggerate what you did. Ever.

3. Don't be clever.

Resumes should be simple, easy to read, and written in a standard format. Don't get fancy or creative. Don’t use fancy fonts or colored paper. You want to stand out because of who you are, not because your resume is kitschy. And always spell check.

It's true. Make sure you write properly.

4. Use your college.

Your college wants you to be a successful alum, so most provide a career center or alumni network that you can use. These services can be a mixed bag, but they are always worth checking out. Many colleges offer career counseling, job fairs, and internship programs. Some will set up real or practice interviews for you, help you with your resume, and hone your interview skills. Many offer personality and skills tests that can help you focus on your career choices.

You should definitely leverage the alumni relations department, especially at schools with a lot of school spirit. Most alumni who registered with the career center are more than willing to help new graduates. Usually, these alumni are broken out by profession and can be counted on to provide information about a certain field, advice on getting into it, and will review your resume. They may also offer internships, informational interviews, and invaluable contacts in your field. Don’t be shy—this is networking, and it is one of the best ways to get a job.

5. Use your family and friends.

Network with the people around you. Does your roommate’s dad work for a company you like? Does your mom’s best friend have your dream job? Is there a professor who thinks you’re great? Does a friend or neighbor have a parent, sibling, or associate in your field? You may be surprised that your Aunt Mary knows so-and-so, who can land you a great job or at least an interview. Cast a wide net, and don’t be shy. This is what networking is all about.

This is a don't. No cute paper, ever.

6. Don’t take the summer off.

While this is your last summer of “freedom,” think twice about taking the summer off before you start looking for a job. There are millions of other graduates (and seasoned workers!) who are in the market. Look at the hiring cycle of your desired profession or industry. If you want to enter one that actively seeks college graduates, then taking the summer off is not a good idea. In other professions, entry-level jobs may open up all the time, so taking one last summer off may not be a big deal, but remember: jobs are scarce and the market is tough.

If it's out there your employer will find it.

7. Clean up your e-life.

One of the first things your prospective employer will do is Google you and search social media. If there is something embarrassing or unflattering they will find it, so take down any embarrassing or inappropriate posts. Drunk pictures and postings? Remove them. Salacious content? Strike it. X-rate videos? C’mon. Whatever is out there they can find, so do yourself a favor and clean it up.

Good luck!

~~~

For more career advice, please visit my Media Page.

How to Interview and Hire the Right Person

Hiring people is hard work. You pore over tons of resumes and meet dozens of candidates. You try to ask the right questions, check references, and do your homework. Still, how do you find the right person?

It isn’t an exact science, but you can get it right. Here’s how.

Ask the Right Questions in the Interview

This is where the first problems arise. Typically, the interviewer talks too much, talks too little, or asks the wrong questions. Remember, the interview is not about you. It’s about the job, what it takes to fill that job, and if the person sitting in front of you is right for the job.

You are looking for specific behaviors, skills, and outcomes here, so your questions should be specific to the job for which you are hiring:

For example, if you need a take-charge individual then ask, “Tell me about a time when you had to take charge of a project,” or “Tell me what it was like to lead a team.”

If you need someone who can publish on a desktop, ask the candidate what they know about InDesign or PageMaker and projects they worked on using those.

If you need grant-writing skills, ask what grants the candidate has written.

Base your questions on the job itself, the requirements for that job, and the kind of person who can be successful in your organization.

Read between the Lines

Asking the right questions is only one part of the interview process (albeit an enormous one). Non-verbal clues are probably the best way to get a sense of what type of person is sitting before you and what type of an employee he or she may be.

Does she look interested to you?

When you are interviewing someone and during the follow-up process, think about these things:

• Did they do research on the job, organization, and field?
• How are they dressed?
• Did they show up early?
• Do they make good eye contact?
• Firm handshake?
• Good body posture? Open body language?
• Nervous tics?
• Did they ask good questions?
• How did they treat the support staff?
• Did they thank you?
• Did they inquire about the next steps in the hiring process?
• Did they send a thank you or follow up as agreed?

You can learn a tremendous amount about a person by the way he holds himself, by how he is dressed, by what time he arrived at the interview, and other non-verbal clues. These things are important and should be considered seriously.

Do Some E-search

It is always appropriate to ask for references, and a good candidate should be prepared to offer them readily. Your job is to call those references and perhaps find a few others.

It is also perfectly acceptable (and advisable) to use Google and social media to check out a candidate. Check Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linked In, Vine, Pinterest, and other sites. Perhaps the candidate who routinely posts drunk pictures on Facebook is not the right person to run the front office.

Do some e-search into your candidate.

If you like the candidate but find this e-side of her troubling, ask about it in a follow-up interview. If a certain professional persona, both in person and on-line, is important to you and your organization, then this needs to be communicated to the candidate. And if he or she is an otherwise strong contender, an opportunity should be given for him to clean up his on-line life.

Take a Team Approach to Hiring

The person who is responsible for the candidate’s success must have the last word in hiring. However, you are looking for a candidate who not only has a certain set of skills but who also fits the corporate culture, so taking a team approach and having others sit in on the interview is helpful. This doesn’t mean the team should hire, but it does mean that input from a group is a good way to inform the process as whole.

A team approach affords a broader perspective.

If using a group process, three things are critically important:

1. There must be a clearly defined interviewing process.

2. You must be very clear on who is going to make the final decision.

3. You must follow a consistent approach with every candidate.

At the very least, make sure the candidate has a chance to meet with potential coworkers and office mates, even if just in an informal setting. First impressions are very important (and are often correct) so try to involve as many colleagues as possible in the process.

Hiring people is as much an art as a science. You need to use evidence and facts, and you need to do your homework. But you also need to trust your gut and listen to your inner voice. You need to feel confident that the candidate will work well in your organization and get along with others. If you follow the above guidelines, you can hire the right person. Good luck!

For more information on Careerstone Group please visit our website.

To watch my media appearances, please visit my Media Page.

Ten Tips to Ace an Interview

The interview is the most critical aspect of landing a new job. If you’ve gotten to this stage, your foot is in the door. (For the purposes of this post, we will assume that this is a real job interview, not an informational one.)

Interviews are organic experiences. They involve real people, with different personalities, in different settings, and with different energies. Every interview is different.

That said, most interviews follow a similar trajectory, so the same rules and strategies apply. The key is to prepare yourself. Do not think you can wing it. You can’t. Take it seriously, and prepare yourself as if it’s the first interview you’ve ever had.

So, prepare, prepare, prepare. Here are 10 tips to ace the interview:

1. Do some research on the company and the industry. Don't just look at the company homepage. Look at the company in the framework of the industry. Google them and the industry. How are they positioned in the industry? What are they doing that is new or innovative? What are their challenges and the challenges industry-wide? What are their competitors up to?

Jack is right, as always. Make sure your handshake is firm.

2. Look at your resume and skill set. How do your qualities match what the company needs? Try to find ways to match your skills and experience with what the company needs now and in the future, and be ready to talk about it.

3. Think about the impression you want to leave. What are the three qualities or characteristics that you want the interviewer to remember about you? What are the things they are looking for in an employee, and how will you convey to them that you have those qualities? Think specifically about how you are going to do that.

Make sure you aren't dressed too casually.

4. Practice basic interview questions. There are six to 10 basic interview questions that almost every interviewer asks, ranging from your weaknesses to why they should hire you. Here are two good articles to read:

CNN: The Top Six Interview Questions

Monster.com: The Top 10 Interview Questions

I highly recommend that you practice your answers, out loud, several times. If you can, get a friend to role-play and help you with your answers.

5. Ask good questions. When the interviewer asks you, “Do you have any questions?” Do not say, “Nope, I think I’ve got it.” Worse, don't say, “Yea, what’s the starting salary?”

You need to have good, specific, intelligent questions about the company and the industry. Ask things like, what are some new trends in the industry that we may be working on? What are some of the challenges you've faced in the past year? What are some of the challenges that people in this position have faced? Asking questions shows you are engaged, thoughtful, intelligent, and interested.

But do not ask about salary. Wait until they fall in love with you; that’s when you have the most leverage. And don’t ask about vacation, either.

6. Go in with a positive attitude. Fake it if you have to. Be upbeat. No one wants to hire a downer. Do some exercises to feel confident and powerful. Watch this great video from social psychologist Amy Cuddy about how to do it.

Strike a power pose to gain confidence. It works!

7. Be confident, but not arrogant. There is a huge difference between arrogance and confidence. Don't brag or boast. Simply discuss your successes and talk about how your team made achievements. Say “we” not “me.” Confident, capable people share credit; arrogant ones take it.

8. Listen as much as you talk. Arrogant people talk about themselves incessantly. Yes, you want to sell yourself, but you have to listen, too. Plus that will help you ask questions later.

9. Dress for success. First impressions are critical, so dress appropriately. If your dress is too casual it will leave a negative impression. Dress for the job you want, and dress appropriately for the industry.

But don't do this power pose in the interview.

If it’s a casual industry, say a start-up where the employees and bosses wear shorts and flip-flops to the office, you don't want to show up in a three-piece suit, but you also don't want to show up in jeans and a t-shirt. Strike a professional balance without going overboard. How does the most senior person dress? Copy that. Match the industry standards.

10. Watch your body language. Your demeanor needs to be professional, too. Never be too familiar or chummy. And your body language should be confident and open. So don’t cross your arms or legs, maintain good eye contact, and try not to frown. And be sure to give a good, firm handshake – no limp fish hands! Here is a link to a great piece on positive body language.

Nervous? Do whatever it takes to psych yourself up.

Acing the interview is easy if you prepare yourself. Take it seriously, be ready, and be confident. Good luck!

~

For more information on Careerstone Group please visit our website.

To watch my media appearances, please visit my Media Page.