Laura Wolfe Coaching LLC

Supporting the Evolution of Careers, Leaders,

& Climate Consciousness

Post-Grad Jobs 2

By

connect

connect

Awhile back, I wrote that getting work experience was something college students can do to be offer-attractive upon graduation.

In response, I heard two things:

  1. Duh, I’m working to support myself while in school. I wish I didn’t have to. To you I say, it’s hard but will pay off in many ways. Steer toward as many career-related experiences/projects as possible.
  2. OK, but I’m still not sure how to find even a part-time gig. To this I offer some suggestions to consider based on my years at LSU:

Network and connect.  Make the most of everything college offers. Growing a large and diverse network should be a goal during your college years.

Career services. Usually, fees paid by students support campus career services. This means you pay for it so you need to at least check out all the services offered. The earlier you register with career services the more you benefit. Let them support you as you create your first resume. Also, introduce yourself to all the advisers and then invite them to connect on linkedin. Communicate to them that you are looking for a job or internship as needed.

Faculty. Stop by during office hours and introduce yourself to every teacher you ever have. Tell them what you are interested in and leave them a resume. Don’t take a lot of their time. When you get home, send a brief follow-up e-mail with your resume attached thanking them for speaking with you. Invite them to connect on linkedin.

College, major, and department advisors. Call or e-mail these people to schedule a time to meet. Have your questions for them pretty well formulated. Their job is to help you successfully figure out the transition from student to professional employee. Tell them what you are interested in and leave them a resume. When you get home, send a brief follow-up e-mail with your resume attached, thanking them for their help. Invite them to connect on linkedin. Communicate to them that you are looking for a job or internship as needed.

Classmates and other students. Connect on linkedin with as many classmates and others you get to know during your college years. As you create your first resume, build your linkedin profile. Linkedin is (currently) a free and pretty permanent way to connect and maintain relationships over time. That’s not to say you can’t un-connect with someone if necessary, because you can.

Your network is so key.
Just sayin.

 

What do you think are the best ways for college grads to be offer-attractive?

Are You Ready?

By

Hurricane

Hurricane

Along the coast we know that June 1 is the start of the Atlantic hurricane season, so I pulled this one from the archives. Isaac had a minimal effect on us but you never know.

I’m writing this on August 29, 2012 as we ride out the storm named Isaac. The worst is not yet here but we are ready.

I did not witness a bunch of freaking out in prep for this one. Most people I know have been through hurricanes before and like us, live in a state of semi-preparedness. We always have batteries, flashlights, radios, a five-day ice chest, containers to fill with water, etc. The only things needed were gas and ice.

Did you catch Drew Brees’ message as the storm approached? “We’ve been through this before. Obviously, do everything you can to keep yourself, your families and those around you safe. I know we’re ready. We’re prepared for this. We have been for a long time.” Yes, we have been ready for awhile.

Makes me think of careers in the 21st century. You must be ready. Sometimes the opportunity is visible from afar and slow moving (like Isaac) but often the window is only open for a brief second and you have to jump at a moment’s notice. (Sorry for the mixed metaphors but you get the drift.) Once in my career I had only a split second to make a move. I was ready, I knew it and I’ve never regretted that decision.

Living in a state of perpetual readiness may sound exhausting but once you become accustomed to it, the security is reassuring and gives you strength.

Similar to a storm readiness checklist, here is my career readiness checklist.

  • Up-to-date resume. Your resume is never finished. You should regularly be updating, tweaking, and enhancing it as you gain experience, develop, and discover your strengths. If you had to send your resume out today, could you do it?
  • Knowledge of strengths. Build on them. If you are unsure of your strengths, consider doing some assessments.
  • Knowledge of developmental areas. Choose one to work on. Create a specific, doable plan. If you are don’t know where to begin, contact me for a copy of my development planning grid. Or, consider coaching.
  • Experience. Sometimes your job provides career-relevant experiences, other times you have to find them. Volunteering is an excellent source for developmental experiences.
  • Regular networking* –  in-person. Attend your professional association meetings but also find other events in your community. Meetup.com is a way to find interesting gatherings and meet new people.
  • Regular networking* – virtually. The usual suspects – Linkedin, twitter & facebook are the holy trinity for virtual networking.  If we are not virtually connected in some way, invite me to connect.
  • Eyes open for opportunities. In your company, your industry, your community and online. Be ready for them.

None of us wants to go through storms, whether natural or career, but being ready makes it easier.

*Cultivating a large network takes time. Don’t wait too late. It’s kind of like looking for D batteries when a storm is already in the Gulf. They just may not be available when you need them.

 

What do you think?

Wanna job after college?

By

helpwantedIt really bums me out to read stories about college grads who can’t find jobs.

I did 11 years in the management department at LSU teaching among other things Human Resource Management and Employee Selection/Placement. I also did stints as department undergrad adviser and as internship coordinator.

During that time I worked with hundreds of students as they transitioned from student to intern to employee. Here are some things I learned that I hope will help you college students out there.

Work experience is important. Working during summer breaks is a good idea. If possible, get a different job, with a different company each summer. As your college career progresses, you will take more major-specific classes. In the same way, seek job opportunities more specific to your chosen field every year. Internships can be a great source for these.

Regarding work, it may be easy to babysit for a neighbor or work for your parents but doing something like that isn’t very helpful in the long-run – unless of course you want to be a day-care worker or plan to go into the family biz.

Work is important for getting that post-grad job offer for many reasons because it:

  • helps you learn more about what you do and don’t want in a career.
  • provides evidence (to recruiters) that you are a reliable and conscientious worker. HR’s preferred reference is an immediate supervisor (past or present).
  • exposes you to others with backgrounds different from your own. The ability to deal with diversity is quite important in today’s workplace. Many students I taught had private school educations and little previous interaction with people unlike themselves. Nothing like a job in the hospitality industry or retail or construction for learning about diversity.
  • allows you to demonstrate that you possess the knowledge, skills and abilities that companies want.

Several years ago, a survey of companies that recruited at LSU found job-related work experience was the #1 quality recruiters wanted in students. And, yes, that’s inherently a Catch-22. How can you get experience, when companies only want to hire people with experience?

Not easy, but certainly possible. However, it requires you be proactive. Ask your boss if you can get involved in a project related to your ultimate goal. For instance, you are a restaurant server who wants a career in HR. Ask if you can participate in training new employees or in selection interviews.

A little initiative is usually welcomed and it certainly can’t hurt to ask. Companies that hire students typically want to them to be successful.

Realizing here that I have too much to say on this topic for just one post so stay tuned…

 

Would love to hear your thoughts on getting a job after graduation.

Simplicity, Steve Jobs, and Org Behavior

By

KISS

Here’s one for you org behaviorists out there.

I’ve been thinking about this for awhile: An organization’s values, strategy, culture and competency model should all be the same.

When asked their opinion of the above, a smarty I know said they thought it too extreme. He sees the organization as a tree and the values, strategy, culture, and competencies as different branches. Different branches of the same mighty oak, all contributing to the organism’s growth but not exactly the same. Made sense to me.

But then I came across the HBR article from awhile back, The Real Leadership Lessons of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. It described Jobs’ famous devotion to simplicity. He constantly pushed until the essence of whatever product Apple was developing was reached and anything unnecessary was eliminated. Cutting clutter was always a focus, resulting in elegant devices that include the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.

What else needs to be said?

Now I’m even more convinced that an organization’s values, strategy, culture and competency model should be boiled down, de-cluttered, clarified, and yes, be the same.

Simplify.
Align.

Your thoughts?