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Sure. Celebrate now. Because tomorrow you have to find a real job.
Nearly 2 million college graduates will be heading out into the tough job market this spring, and even though job opportunities are growing, the last thing grads need is to make dumb mistakes.
Many employers are eager to hire newly minted graduates. According to a poll by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, companies expect to hire about 10 percent more graduates from the Class of 2012 than they did last year.
But that doesn’t mean you’ll easily be able to land the gig you want, because with an unemployment rate above 8 percent you still have to make a good impression.
According to a study of human resource managers by The Center for Professional Excellence at York College of Pennsylvania , there were three mistakes young job-seekers make that were among the most damaging to their job hunt:
- not dressing properly for the interview (39.9 percent),
- being late for the interview (29.1 percent)
- and not being prepared for the interview, which includes not knowing about the company (25.9 percent.)
"Recent graduates might be dreading the job market, but if they know the common mistakes people their age are making, they can hopefully avoid some job-hunting pitfalls,” said Josh Tolan, CEO of online jobs site Spark Hire.
“The biggest mistake recent college grads make is overestimating their degree and underestimating experience,” he said. “The degree is certainly important, and you’ve put in a lot of hard work to be able to move that tassel. But hiring managers and recruiters are looking for professional experience as well.”
Here’s a rundown of some other common mistakes grads make when they start pounding the pavement for jobs:
Relying too much on job boards: Job boards are no subsitute of networking, but don't tell that to most recent grads.
Larry Chiagouris, a professor of marketing at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business, has done his own research of graduates and has found that 55 percent still rely heavily on job boards rather than personal connections.
“Use of a job board is not a mistake. What is a mistake is misuse of job boards,” he explained. “What many students do is they fool themselves into thinking that spending 15 or 30 minutes a day searching on job boards and clicking on job to submit a resume will result in a job. Fewer than 5 percent of jobs are obtained from the use of job boards.”
Not singing your own praises: One thing grads have to learn pretty quickly is that they have to become their own best cheerleader.
“Given the fact that there are thousands of graduates joining the search pool with each commencement weekend, if you aren't able to articulate clearly and plainly why you are uniquely positioned to be the successful candidate, you will not be competitive in the job market,” said Mary Evans, executive director of the Career Center at Hamilton College.
Liberal arts graduates, for example, have to be able to convey “how their education differentiates them from the other candidates using real examples of demonstrated leadership, critical thinking, and writing, research and communications skills,” she advised.
Wasting your time on the wrong job: Sometimes graduates aren’t quite sure what job they want when they get out of college and end up applying for positions that just sound fun, or lucrative, instead of figuring out what suits their background best.
“Grads shouldn't waste time applying for positions for which they are not qualified — it's a waste of their time and the time of recruiters,” said Nancy Mobley, CEO of the HR consulting firm Insight Performance. “If the posting requires three to five years of experience, the company will want to see a resume that outlines that experience. If the graduate doesn't have it, they shouldn't be applying.”
And sending resumes out willy-nilly is also a no-no, said Kristi Milczarczyk, senior recruiting manager of campus recruiting for The PNC Financial Services Group.
"It’s good to have a few companies in mind, but new grads need to have a plan to keep their job search focused," she advised. "Same goes for applying to too many positions with the same organization."
Can’t let go of mommy and daddy: We’ve all heard about helicopter parents. But for those grads who want to look professional and persuade a hiring manager to hire them, they probably want to leave mom and dad out of it.
“I am hearing from employers who refuse to hire another recent graduate because they have encountered too many with parents who are overly involved,” said Tim Elmore, president of Growing Leaders, a non-profit that mentors Gen Y. “Parents are accompanying their kids on interviews, delivering their resumes and negotiating salary.”
His No. 1 tip to grads: “By no means should your parents be involved in any part of your job hunt.”
You may also want to consider leaving the nest.
"Don’t volunteer that you still live at home with Mom and Dad if you don’t have to," advised Beth Gilfeather, CEO of Seven Step Recruiting. "Employers would much rather hire people who are out on an edge and have to support themselves."
Not cleaning up your digital dirt: Younger job seekers tend to be more social-media savvy than their older job-hunting counterparts. While that can help grads, it can also be a liability if they’ve shared too much of their personal lives online.
“Social media posts and photos can hurt you,” said Lisa Marsalek, director of career development at Defiance College. “Employers are savvy and know to check places like Facebook. You want to make sure your online presence does not turn off an employer.”
How competitive is the post-grad job market this year, and what can you do to boost you chances of success? Below, college counselor Kat Cohen has tips for landing a coveted job offer that she shared on TODAY:
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Recently hired three young outside sales reps for our company. Interviewed dozens on the phone and brought in seven for in person interviews. In most cases, this is what I witnessed...
1. Inappropriate dress (jeans, funky haircuts, face piercings, exposed tattoos, etc).
2. Unprepared for the interview (no knowledge of the company and what we do, no questions, etc)
3. Absolutely no work history either during or before college...nothing!
4. Asking about salaries, vacations, and raises from the onset instead of trying to sell themselves and what they can do for the company first.
5. Knowing nothing about the responsibilities of the position even though it was provided or posted.
6. Poor communications skills (both verbal and written).
7. Many stated they do not want to work weekends or beyond 5pm (the job entails extensive travel).
After several months of searching, we found the ideal candidates were already fully employed and had a good track record.
Tony, you are spot on in your observations! I can only hope our recent grads read this article and comments so they can do the right thing when it comes to job searches/interviewing. We have kids coming by in those plaid pajama bottoms and slippers and can't understand why we would have a problem with that type of apparel.
Ideal candidates with cute shirts and work history cost more. The purpose of interviewing college graduates is to find a diamond in the rough before your competitors find him.
#4 is a point of contention. While the candidate must do the sell job, negotiation skills are important in any job that benefits from those skills. Would you hire a candidate for a sales position that doesn't have the balls to stand up to a customer? Risk-taking abilities can be assess in the first interview, and candidates know that it is much more difficult to negotiate employment terms *after* being hired.
#3 is not all that uncommon. This in and of itself shouldn't be an issue. Don't get me wrong, I got my first job at 15 and worked all through college. But many of my friends, for various reasons did not. They were good workers and knew their stuff but had little practical experience.
I really feel #3 is more of warning to look for the other 6. Sometimes it indicates someone who dedicated themselves to their studies or perhaps extracurriculars.
#3. This would be me. I have no problems on the others, but I really have no work experience beyond the part time job I was just able to get a month ago.(and a job from 6 years ago)
I got a degree in engineeing, so it isnt exactly like I can go out and volunteer for this sort of position to get experience.
The first mistake is being born under the Obozo administration
What's the connection? The ones born in Obama time would be 3-5 years old.. Not really going for a job interview now- would they?
Think back a little further- Our recent college grads are 20 years +.....
Yes, because they are all under four years old.
Doctor Allen, did the Obozo admin start 22 years ago? WOW
"Obozo?" You clearly aren't a doctor because the level of your maturity suggest you're in middle school. Plus, as the others have noted, your comment makes absolutely no sense, suggesting an IQ of far below 100, thus impossible you graduated from med school.
Mommy and Daddy getting invovled in the interview??? You can't be serious. I have not seen that yet...but I would definately turn down anyone who had Mommy and Daddy talk for them!
That shocked me, too! My step-mom drove me to my first interview when I was 14. That's the most my parents have ever been involved in getting me a job!
I have NO EXPERIENCE, a college degree in The Applied Science of Mating Rituals of The South American Jungle Cockroach, and I won't accept any job that doesn't come with a full benefit package, five weeks vacation with pay, bonuses, a secretary, and it must pay AT LEAST $80,000.00-$100,000.00 per year!
Gotta love the new breed of "worker".
Tony-718521
I agree 100% with your comment.
Don't be surprised though at the comments from the functionally illiterate who will take exception to it. Likely you will also be accused of being one of those mean old 1% who actually work and produce something that the lazy depend upon for their meal tickets.
ALL THIS HR CRAP spewed out by HR DEPT'S are there to protect THEIR own jobs. This is all from a continuation of THE SMOKESTACK ERA to which it is quite OUTDATED. MOST industries have their people dress casual to work, Flex time, Etc ETC.
They make the job search a living HELL. People are no longer natural and free spirited. Everything but the JOB ITSELF is MORE IMPORTANT !!! GO FIGURE.
HR SHOULD be REGULATED so that They are the LAST gate of INFO to the new hire and do the processing. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND !!!
HR should be the VERY LAST DEPARTMENT ANYONE LOOKING FOR A POSITION IN THEIR FIELD SHOULD PHYSICALLY SEE!!
Alain, which fast food chain do you work for? I was in the Big 4 Accounting firms for 15 years, and now work for an international manufacturer, with plants/RD sites and sales facilities all around the world, and everything Tony stated ( and the article ) is spot on.
Your attack on HR is also misplaced: HR runs the ads/screens the applicants, but after that they step out while the dept managers/partners run the interview process. HR only comes back in when it is time to onboard people. At least it is that way where I have worked over the past 18 years.
I have seen people come into interviews with shirts untucked, no ties, tennis shoes or flip flops... incredible! Same with dress at church: not quite appropriate....
I thought the article was spot on, and can remember making several of those mistakes 25 years ago when I graduated from college. I sent out a couple hundred resumes, to jobs and companies I had never heard of before and had no idea what they were about. I also shunned my parents friends and contacts, trying to do it on my own. And I went to a couple interviews for jobs that I would never really want, other than just to have a job. Now I have three kids to help through the process. Hopefully they can learn from my mistakes.
Your right Pitts the HR 's that I have seen only do background checks and the paper work to get you in. the manager does all the interviewing
Times have changed Human Resources by a factor of 60-70 years.
You should not be the JUDGE. You should be at the BOTTOM the final Process. Not MANAGERS in HOW TO and DICTATION to JOB SEEKERS.
I've worked for HUGE companies and hired many people over the years. HR just wants to know who I hired and then they do the paperwork. I've never, not once, had HR personnel even remotely suggest who I hire.
But I HAVE had people do all the things the article warns grads not to do, so I find it pretty valid.
Lots of common sense here that appears to have fallen by the way-side.
I've also witnessed young people in interviews with iPod buds stuck in their ears AND there was even one young man whose "smart" phone rang AND HE ANSWERED IT! - in the middle of an interview no less.
Finding a person capable of fixing automobile brakes just got a lot tougher (although, I'll bet that students at trade schools are far more capable and able then liberal arts students.)
Nice article and I agree with Tony's comments:
I would also add that you should always dress formally eventhough the company may be more casual. After 20 years of recruiting in health care I can tell you I never judged a candidate negativly for being well dressed ( this means a tie and slacks at a minimum) but I certainly downed many for being to casual.
I always googled any one I was considering if the media search looked bad they where out
The HR comments are laughable, as an executive I can tell you HR exists to support the profit making departments in any company. Their job is to do the scut work of recruiting social security checks, verifying references,advising me on how to avoid liability etc. If a candidate ran a foul of HR it probabily is a deal breaker for me, and if a disgruntaled candidate wanted to believe they got shot down by the evil HR department oooo welll
Have a few intelligent questions to ask aside from salary and benifits
consider expanding your job skills in almost every field being bilingual is a big plus, so is having some money mgt skills like acct classes
A
Nice article and I agree with Tony's comments:
I would also add that you should always dress formally eventhough the company may be more casual. After 20 years of recruiting in health care I can tell you I never judged a candidate negativly for being well dressed ( this means a tie and slacks at a minimum) but I certainly downed many for being to casual.
I always googled any one I was considering if the media search looked bad they where out
The HR comments are laughable, as an executive I can tell you HR exists to support the profit making departments in any company. Their job is to do the scut work of recruiting social security checks, verifying references,advising me on how to avoid liability etc. If a candidate ran a foul of HR it probabily is a deal breaker for me, and if a disgruntaled candidate wanted to believe they got shot down by the evil HR department oooo welll
Have a few intelligent questions to ask aside from salary and benifits
consider expanding your job skills in almost every field being bilingual is a big plus, so is having some money mgt skills like acct classes
The biggest mistake they make is expecting to be able to compete with the millions* of cheap foreign workers their government is pleased to welcome to the US labor force each year.
*numbersusa.com
You have some made-up numbers there, my friend. Our current law limits H-1B (work visas) to 65,000 a year. The law exempts 20,000 if they hold a master's degree. Throw in a couple other little loopholes and we end up with an actual cap of 117,409 in 2010. Of course, there are extensions and renewals of those already here, so the actual foreign workforce force is around 200,000.
And the $284 million in fees for the visas go to programs to train the U.S. work force.
Another mistake most people make is forgetting that the interview STARTS the second you set foot on the property. People are watching and wondering who you are.
Don't sit in your car smoking a butt and flip it out the window when you're done.
Don't walk from your car to towards the building talking loudly on your phone.
And one more Don't. Even if you are dressed to the nines, DON'T carry in a beat up old rat-a-tat briefcase or bag. It makes you look shabby.
Remember, first impressions are forever and difficult to overcome.
I had one very unusual job interview. At the current employer, I had worked from 07:00 on Tuesday, and was still at work 08:00 Wednesday. I received a phone call from a firm I had applied to. They wanted me to come in for an interview within an hour. I politely explained, that not only did I probably stink, my hair was in 20 million directions, and was not dressed in suitable attire. The lady said: That's fine! Just show up! I asked: Are you sure? "Yes" was the reply. I showed up at the new company, had my interview, was hired the next day. This was back in 1997, the position was for a computer programmer. In case anyone wonders, I did have gray hair, pot belly and wore glasses. I was no young geek.
As a college graduate of the so-called generation Y I find this article insulting. Firstly, all of you from the previous generation commenting on here should be ashamed. In at least the beginning of your generation you did not graduate overburdened with debt, in a job market saturated with degree holding yuppies with years of experience. Furthermore, when it came time to decide if my generation would have the same privilege at low cost quality education, you slammed the door in our faces. We can't find jobs because there are more people looking for jobs than jobs available, not because we "make stupid mistakes". This article seeks to generalize about my generation while side stepping the major issue. In fact the entire idea that we submit ourselves to this dictatorship in employment, that we should all fit the dress standard, body piercing standard, or tattoo standard of the boss even to the extent that they stalk my facebook page and use its content to make a decision, which is a violation of my privacy not a "dumb mistake" on my part, is so 1950's its a joke. But the slant on this article is clear when you read employers would rather have someone who's on "an edge" ie. desperate, as if that were something we should condone from employers. People should be able to be comfortable and find a job. This is obviously someone sympathetic to the conservative, "1%" mythology that people are unemployed because of something wrong with them and not the economy. Work is a human right (read the UN declaration on human rights) and all this article proves is that we need more humane employers not "smarter" graduates.
Seriously ????
How's your job search going ???? Do you work in the lawn care field ???? Live in your moms basement ????
So, you have debt and a recession. So did I when I left school. 10-year experienced aerospace engineers were cleaning swimming pools just to survive. Nixon had wage and price controls that froze wages and prices. I had to survive for a couple of years in minimum wage jobs and prove my worth by producing. I left a civil service job to serve in the military to move forward. Producing will eventually get rewarded, even if you have to change companies to progress. It's never been easy to leave school and find a job. In my last job, I was a hiring manager. That corporation has mandatory dress standards that I was expected to enforce to the point of summarily firing those who wouldn't comply. The corporation's financial well being depends on the public image in its corporate offices and in its approximately 5,000 retail locations. That means no jeans, no visible body piercings and no visible tatoos. That means a very specific vocabulary and manner of speaking in the corporate environment and with customers. It's not about keeping you from your freedoms. You are free to not work there. It's about making reasonable efforts to project a non-offensive, reliable competency service-oriented image to the companies and persons who bring money through the door and provide revenue. While that also has to be backed with reality, the perceptions matter a great deal. In the minds of the revenue providers, perception is reality. If you don't like that, work somewhere that doesn't care what you look like, how you speak, what words you use or whether you can write. Just don't expect to find very many of those jobs or expect pay very much more than minimum wage. You haven't arrived. You've only just barely gotten the most basic skills to start your journey.
I think your professors have led you astray. I know that when I graduated college 10 years ago, my perception of reality was much different than it is today, so I doubt that you will be able to grasp what I or anyone else here is saying. First off, YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO A JOB! You must EARN your job. Fundamentally, what you are saying doesn't make sense. Yes, every human being has the RIGHT to work, but they must make the effort, it's not a guarantee. I also have the RIGHT to gamble, but that does not ENTITLE me to a win. Otherwise, who is providing these jobs that you feel you have a RIGHT to? You have the right to create your own job via self-employment, but nobody is OBLIGATED to hire you. If you weren't forced to earn your position, we would be very much a communist state.
You seem to not understand the fundamental principal and purpose of EVERY Business.... Money. Everything that a business does involves cutting costs and maximizing profits. Therefore, they want someone who can be a "TEAM PLAYER", by dressing to the socially accepted norm. If you can't even do that, or be on time, or attempt to subvert potentially damaging perceptions, an employer will assume that hiring you will not maximize their profits. This is because you may have a tendency to buck the system, so it costs money to appease you, or you won't be on time or dedicated, or any other of a plethora of reasons.
With some minor reservations, the basic message in Tony's point is spot-on accurate in my experience. Not necessarily EVERYONE does that, but those are some examples of damaging things that recent grads in the "know-it-all" phase of life tend to do to themselves. I might agree from my experience that HR has a tendency to get in the way or overstep their skill-set (I have had first interviews with HR who knew nothing about the job I was applying for beyond the technical jargon of the descripiton that they didn't understand, which therefore resulted in stupid questions), but the fundamental points of the above are just good sense. Obviously apply them to your job category though also. If you are applying to a non-corporate "artsy" job, wearing a suit may have the exact opposite affect.
Whilst we understand entering the world of work is daunting for graduates and there is a steep learning curve on business etiquette and rituals, we also understand that there is no excuse for not being prepared for each and every interview. Rightly or wrongly, first impressions do count but more importantly research the company and the role and you can be sure of scoring a home run.
I just finished reading the book The Secret to Getting a Job after College by the person quoted in this article (Chiagouris)! I cannot believe how many of my friends are guilty of spending 20 minutes a day blasting off resumes and actually thinking they are going to get a job that way. I used to think that was the way to search for a job too until I read his book. I cannot believe how many things I was doing wrong. I wish they taught us some practical tips in college on how to get a job. Thankfully, my parents had a clue and bought me this book.
10 years after graduating from a highly regarded state university with a liberal arts degree (that I'm not really using), my opinion is that the biggest lesson that I learned from college is how to live on my own without parents to provide constant direction (get up for school, do homework, etc.). I'm sure had a I pursued a different course (such as business or engineering), the class work would be much more relevant to my current work life, but I believe that there is a very basic reason why colleges don't provide these "Practical Tips" that you speak of. That reason: They don't know them. Many college professors are professional academics, meaning, they've never had to "apply" their knowledge to actual work, or go out and find a job outside of teaching in a university. I think it should be a requirement that all educators for high-school or above have at least some practical work experience as a pre-requisite.
Hey, not all recent grads are that bad! After spending three years at a good job that paid well, but was going nowhere, I decided to back to school for my Master's Degree. Granted, I have seen some interesting behavior from my peers, but most people I know have either settled into their careers or are back in grad school.
However, I think it is important for hiring managers to realize that our generation IS different from the ones before us. We do want a better work/life balance after seeing our parents overwork themselves for decades to have their entire 401k or pension plans wiped out or get laid off from the company they've been at for 25 years.
Recent grads can be a valuable asset, if you know how to really reach them. I currently have an internship with a startup here in SF and actually just recently wrote a blog post about things that recent grads don't want to hear during an interview. Interviews should be two-sided and the candidate needs to think about how much the company fits them as well as how much they fit the company. You can check out my post here, if you would like.
All the tips in the article and in Tony's comment are very useful! I have only recently graduated from High School, but am having a lot of trouble finding my first job.
I have a question that I'm hoping someone more experienced could help me with. Even though I do not have any professional employment history, I have a lot of extra-curricular activities (ex: marching band, drama club, French club) and volunteer experience (ex: Sunday School teacher, AWANA leader, band boosters, grocery bagger). In the applications that I have filled out so far for employment, I have not figured out where to possibly put in these activities. Would anyone know where to put these in? This would be a great help to me and my fellow graduates who have this same problem.
There are jobs for grads if you know how to find them!
I'm working with three Ohio State University seniors to help them begin their career upon graduation. On this week's conference call I showed them how to zero in on the job they want and to locate companies with those positions. They were amazed to see all of the opportunities. Next week we'll complete our analysis of the target companies to learn as much about them as possible.
The soon to be grads are making exceptional progress.
BobProsen
www.mycareeraccelerator.com