Why some recent college grads are not getting jobs

7 Reasons Why Jane Has No Job

I am sharing this blog post with you.  It is from a great blog called 9 Lives for Women by Kathryn Sollmann

Her blog is unique in that it shares information for women at all stages of life.  Here is a description:

Women lead many lives–both in and out of the work force. Read on to see which of the 9 work/life blogs applies to you, your daughter, your sister, your mother, your friends, your colleagues and all the great women you know and love. Click on each work/life stage to go directly to current blog posts.

Check out 7 Reasons Why Jane Has No Job-- it is great advice for any gender!

1. Not enough time on the job search job.
2. Too much emphasis on (and fear of) in person networking.
3. Networking now and then.     
4. Less than optimal use of Linkedin.
5. A black-and-white resume with no color.
6. Fuzzy job search strategy.
7. Low-energy communication.

Happy Hunting!  Laura

Professional Organizations: But I'm a Student!

For those of you out there that have even glanced toward some research on your chosen field, you've probably come across something very familiar, yet equally foreign; the dreaded alphabet soup of Professional Organizations.  How are you supposed to know what all these 3-5 random letter combinations mean, or which ones are legitimately good?  It's a challenge that almost everyone faces as they begin the depth of their job or internship search.  For the ones that truly take advantage of such entities though, the search can be vastly transformed.

Professional organizations (or societies as they are sometimes known) can come in many different shapes and sizes.  For every national organization, there are usually regional, state, and sometimes even local versions of it.  Marquette itself even has student chapters of many large professional organizations, such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Professional Journalists, and Financial Management Association. With such a plethora of options out there, there really isn't much reason to at least check out a couple in your chosen field.

So once you determine which professional organizations to look at, or even join, then what?  What's the purpose?  Well, as students, I believe that these organizations are goldmines for pertinent information.  As I certainly hope you've heard (whether from us or anyone else), networking is the way of the world when it comes to job searching.  You know the line, "It's not what you know, it's who you know."  It's a maddening line for many students, because how are you supposed to know all these professionals who can help you get a job?  Let's think about this though step by step

1. You are in a professional organization
2. You have a member list
3. Other members are likely established professionals in your field
4. You can contact these professionals, and thus, NETWORK!

Sounds pretty good, huh?  Let's also not forget other added benefits of membership, such as professional development opportunities, interesting lectures, and, oh yes, a field specific job board!  I can assure you that any professional organization with a job board isn't going to get overrun with pyramid schemes!

So what are you waiting for?  Go out there and look for the best professional organization for you, and enrich your job search as a result!

Thank You!

Two simple words that can have quite the impact!

Thank You acknowledges your gratitude, your appreciation, and your gratefulness towards something in which has been done for you or towards you. As young children, saying thank you was drilled into our everyday lives - oh come on, don't tell me my parents were the only ones enforcing the please and thank you rule.

Well, oddly enough, they were on to something! As we've all grown up quite a bit since then, saying thank you sometimes slips our minds, admit it. Here's when it should never slip your mind though: DURING YOUR JOB SEARCH. Sending a thank you letter, in typed, handwritten, or e-mail form could be the difference between you getting an offer or not. Let's say there's two candidates (you being one of them) and you're both similarly skilled and capable of doing the job; sending in a professional thank you letter may lean the interviewer further in your direction.

A thank you letter offers you the opportunity to restate your top skills and make mention of those things you may have forgotten about during the interview. Send your thank you letter(s) out within 24 hours of the interview, and lastly, be sure to send a thank you letter to everyone in which you met with that day.

The same tactic can be used when you've conducted an informational interview or shadowed a professional; the verbiage may change but the foundation remains the same.

So, in the spirit of the holiday season, let us remember the importance of those two little words - Thank and You.

~*~Happy Holidays All~*~

Volunteer Your Way to a Job

I recently read this great article on the "Fast Company" website that ran through all of the benefits of volunteer experience as you move toward the world of work (http://www.fastcompany.com/1778415/volunteering-will-save-your-career-or-be-a-path-into-a-new-one). I encourage you to go check it out, but here is a brief overview of what volunteer experience can do for you:

• 41% of employers polled said they considered volunteer experience as valuable as paid work experience
• 20% of the hiring managers polled in the survey admitted to making hiring decisions based on volunteer work
• Volunteer experience is the next level of assessing if a person is someone worth hiring when education and work experience are equal among candidates

So, read the article, decide what you would like to give your time to, and go out and do it!

So you've decided to go to the career fair......

Okay, so you've decided to go to the career fair to network with employers, to learn a bit about opportunites available, or just to get some practice. Congratulations on taking that initiative!

A common question that comes next is "What do I say to employers once I get there?" There are two things that you will need at your disposal......

1.) Your 60 second commercial:

You may have heard about the 60 second commercial, but in case you haven't here you go.

Your 60 second commercial is a way to introduce yourself to employers and covers Where you are now, where you've been, and where you are going.

Here is an example:

"Hello. I'm Dot and I will graduate in 2012 with my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communication."

As a student here at Marquette, I have had the chance to gain leadership and organizational skills through my involvement in the ABC club. In addition, I have worked for two years as a server at the Annex allowing me to gain valuable customer service experience.

I am seeking an internship in the field of public relations for next summer."

2.) Follow up questions for employers to get the conversation:

Follow up questions are key to getting the conversation started and give the employer something to respond to.

Here is an example related to the previous 60 second commercial:

"Can you share with me any opportunities within your organization that might fit with my skills and experience?"

Remember, practice makes perfect so be sure to practice before the career fair.

Happy networking!

-Jeremy

A Worldwide Marketplace

Last Friday I was manning a booth for the CSC at the Study Abroad Fair. This wasn't anything new for us; we've been attending these events for years now. You may be wondering, as many of the attendees did, why exactly Career Services would be at such an event. It's a fair question. We certainly are not sending students abroad (at least not directly. Plenty of students get help from us for service projects overseas). It would be nice, but we don't have those kinds of resources (although if you're an employer, we have EXCELLENT corporate sponsorship opportunities).

What we were there to focus on was simply spreading the word that, just because you aren't here on campus or even in the USA, you can still use the experience to your advantage. More and more students are studying abroad each semester (22% of Marquette graduating students last year), which has given them invaluable skills and experiences for their job search and career. I think we have all heard many times about how employers want multicultural competence. We've heard it because it is true. What better way to be able to gain some of that competence than actually going to another culture? We hear time and time again that employers love students who challenge themselves, and while you won't get a position just because you studied abroad, it certainly is not going to hurt your chances of getting an interview.

Studying abroad is going to help you long term, but even in the short run you can still complete an effective job search. Technology is an amazing thing, and something you should take advantage of while you are in random country X. Use our Career Manager system to explore jobs and internships. You might need to send the recruiter a message to let them know that you are overseas and possibly not on the normal timeline for contact, but otherwise there is no discernible difference in the process. Even interviewing isn't a barrier anymore. In fact, we hired one of our amazing interns (who you can meet with for walk in hours daily from 12-2) after a Skype interview since she was in Rome last spring.

I would encourage each of you to look into the possibility of going abroad during your college experience. Not only is it a great opportunity to experience living in another culture, but you can truly further your prospects for landing that dream job in the future.

“What are my skills?........I don’t even know where to start.”

As a Career Counselor I frequently as students to tell me about their skills and a common response is "I don't even know where to start." That is a very normal response simply because we don't usually go around talking about our skills to everyone we meet. Students gain skills through coursework and class projects, colunteer experiences, internships, part-time jobs, as well as through campus activities. Whether you have developed interpersonal skills, critical thinking skills, problem solving skills, or more specific career related skills, you will need to talk about them to employers in order to land a job where you can use them. Everyone has skills, it just takes practice to communicate them well.

The good news is that the Career Services Center offers individual appointments to help you learn to communicate the skills that you have worked so hard to acquire. Setting up an appointment is easy; just call the Career Services Center at 414-288-7423.

Jeremy Eudaly

Career Counselor

Job Searching Tips

There are less than 20 day left before classes end, if you haven't found a job yet don't panic. Here are some quick tips to help you towards your job search. First Know- your career goals, find out what you are interested in ding right now. Not the rest of your life. We can help you with that process at the Career Services Center if you are totally lost and don't know what you want to do. Be reactive in your job search process

• Respond to position openings through online systems such as MU Career Manager. Our online system database for job searching is geared towards Marquette students and alumni


• Use other professional affiliated work sites/job posing sites such as Bigshoes for communications and marketing majors. This can be done by using a search engine such as Google to type your field and association


• Develop a list of target companies/organizations- think about employers you would like to work for and choose a specific industry

Be proactive in your job search

• Develop your network- make a list of family members, friends, supervisors you may know and ask questions about any job openings that may know or if they know any one that someone work in your field


• Do informational interviews with people who work in your field


• Get on LinkedIn join groups and connect with alumni by doing informational interviews and learning about their position and company

Set time aside to job search- in this market you have to be more proactive in your job search

What Is That?!?

Do you have a smart phone? If yes, get it out. Now, download a barcode scanner app and scan the image at the left. Open the link in a browser and - Voila! - you are on the CSC webpage. Amazing.

This little doodad is called a QR Code. Some of you have heard of this already, seen them in magazines, or possibly even made your own. Who cares? Well, you might... read on.

QR Codes are the next big thing for job seekers - at least that is what I would say if I were a betting girl. Sure, they have been around for a while to do mostly boring things, but now they are also a handy little addition to a job seeker's resume. Why, you ask? Well, because if you use one you will stand out as the tech-savvy, forward-thinking applicant that you truly are!

Still have no idea what I am talking about, but maybe a little curious? Check out this blog by Lindsey Pollak and this blog by Ed Potter for the nitty-gritty!

101 days until graduation

Applying the 5 stages of COPING to an event many of you are experiencing:

LIFE AFTER MARQUETTE!

Perhaps you have already been accepted to graduate or professional school or you have already found a professional position, or are on your way to a post gradaute service opportunity...but those who haven't here are some tips to get you through.

DENIAL --- What's the first thing you do? Pretend that May is much further away. Pretend you have your old summer job to fall back on. Pretend that you will live in a big house with all of your best friends forever! Pretend that you can count on mom and dad to still be writing the checks.

You avoid the Career Services Center.

ANGER --- "%$@^##& job market!" You start to think that you should have chosen a different major. You wish you had a better experience to put on your resume. You hate your roommate who already has three offers or the other friend who is traveling through Europe all summer (she is still in denial by the way). You consider giving up and bartending in the Bahamas.

You hate the e-mails the Career Services Center sends you.

BARGAINING --- "Oh please let me get a job, any job. I don't care what it is as long as I can pay my rent." You vow to never take anything for granted again. You vow to get to work on time everyday, to work long hours, to never stay out too late again. You consider calling your boss from your old summer job.

You decide that you will do whatever the Career Services Center tells you to do just so you get a job.

DEPRESSION --- "Oh no, what am I going to do? I'm going to be unemployed forever. I give up. I am a big loser and I don't really care any more. What's the use".
You believe you are beyond help from the Career Services Center.

ACCEPTANCE --- "Ok. I'm a grown-up now. I guess I had better take responsibility for my own job search."

You resolve to do one of the following: check out the services available in the Career Services Center, stop in the Career Services Center during daily walk-in hours from 12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m., or call the Career Services Center for an appointment (414-288-7423).

Online Teacher Job Fair November 29th - December 1st

Hey future educators, check out the American Association for Employment in Education (AAEE) annual online job fair. This is a free opportunity to connect with schools districts in an online environment. In this job fair you can chat online with representatives from school districts, submit job search documents, and learn about prospective employers through virtual information booths. The AAEE online job fair runs today through December 1st and is FREE for job seekers.

Check out the details here http://aaee.org/cwt/external/wcpages/files/virtual_jf_flyer.pdf

Jeremy

Anger and Entitlement Hamper Your Job Search

Recently I have been communicating with an alum who is extremely frustrated with his job search. I have used just about every tool in my toolbox with this individual only to have him reject most everything for one reason or another. My focus now is encouraging him to look at the barriers he might be creating for himself.

One of my favorite articles on this topic is 15 Ways to Overcome Anger

The article talks about how the common ingrediants of anger interfere with moving toward what we really want and need.

These ingrediants are:

• Unfairness


• Loss


• Blame


• Pain


• Focus (on what we don't have)

Is anger or entitlement getting in your way? Learn how to move forward...

http://thinksimplenow.com/happiness/15-simple-ways-to-overcome-anger/

7 Job Search Strategies in a Tough College Job Market

Employers have had to cut their campus recruiting staff and budgets in the past three years. Since fewer employers are interviewing on campus, grads will have to seek them out in other ways and work overtime to uncover hidden job opportunities. The Recruiting Trends 2009-2010 survey fielded by Michigan State University's Collegiate Employment Research Institute gives the employers' side of the employment picture. Here are several tactics based on the employers' needs reported in the survey that new grads can use to implement a more effective job search:

1. Know your offer
Young professionals who know what they bring to an employer, can prove it by past performance, and articulate it in interviews will be most competitive in the hiring process. These graduates know their interests, values, personality and natural talents, or aptitudes, and how to translate who they are to what they do best. They know what knowledge and skills proficiencies they can deliver and what problems they can solve. They have researched the company and are knowledgeable about industry best practices, challenges and trends. They can describe how they could increase productivity or quality, increase revenue or sales, or cut expenses, demonstrated through prior experience in part-time or summer jobs, internships or co-ops, and class projects. Be one of these savvy young professionals!

2. Know your job target
In a tight job market, keeping your options wide actually works against you. When your job objective is vague or too open, it is difficult to know how to go after it or tell others what you are looking for. It's also very difficult for others to know how they can help you. Be specific without being rigid. Be focused and directed.

3. Create a list of target companies
Small companies with less than 500 employees represent the sweetest spot for new hires in this economy. Job seekers can work with a career or reference librarian, or search the internet to create a list of 25 target companies or organizations that could hire them, if the company had the funding. Grads can check with their campus Career Services staff for assistance, or ask if their alma mater provides access to an online database of potential employers called CareerSearch.

4. Network with a clear purpose
The Recruiting Trends 2009-2010 survey indicates that young adults who are connected and learn how to work their networks to their advantage will have a competitive edge in their search for employment. Employers like to hire candidates recommended by current employees. At your target companies, can you or others you know identify someone as a contact? Introduce yourself to them via email or a letter and follow up with a phone call. As they get to know you, perhaps you can request that they submit your resume internally through an employee referral program.

Create a professional profile on LinkedIn if you haven't already and start building your contacts group. Scan the contacts belonging to your contacts for possible bridges into your target companies or career field. Pretend you are an employer or recruiter and cast a critical eye on your Facebook page to see if any modifications need to be made. Small companies use social media to source candidates. Don't miss out!

5. Study company web sites
In spite of smaller recruiting and advertising budgets, companies will always post positions on their web sites. Better yet, use your networking prowess to uncover newly-open positions which haven't hit the company web site or online job bank web sites. Stay ahead of your competition.

6. Take advantage of local job search resources
In addition to fully utilizing your college's Career Services resources, turn to the community career centers and job search groups in your area. For little or no cost, you will have access to programs on job search best practices and volunteer coaches to help you one-on-one with resume editing and interviewing practice. Join an accountability group to ramp up your search quality and speed. You'll mingle with other job seekers, sharing job leads, inside tips, and learn from their wealth of experiences. Expect that most of the members are mid-career adults. Tap into their life and work wisdom, and you'll be far ahead of the game.

7. Be positive and persistent without being pesty
This is the toughest job market most of us have even seen. Each blind alley and rejection gets you one step closer to employment. Shake turndowns off and say, "Next!" just as top athletes do while in the heat of the game. Keep your focus on discovering as many job leads as possible, and remember that you only need one job, one great match between candidate and hiring manager.

© Copyright 2010, Career Vision. Article reprinted with permission.

Summer Vacations and Your Career

As the semester winds down, many of you are probably thinking about how you will spend your summer. Freshmen and sophomores may be looking forward to reconnecting with friends from high school. Juniors might be looking forward to staying here in Milwaukee for the summer. Seniors may very well be preparing for the transition between life as a student and life as a graduate. No matter what your situation, it is important to remember that your career will continue to cultivate itself even while you are away from campus.

We all wish that we could return to the summers when we had total freedom and zero responsibility. Unless you are independently wealthy (and if so, we always accept donations!), odds are that you will be looking for work somewhere, whether it is full-time, part-time, an internship, or even volunteering. Seek something out that you will enjoy. You will always perform better in a setting where you are excited about your tasks and can show that enthusiasm. Your co-workers will notice, and you will be making a positive impression on the people that may be your references for your next job.

Additionally, remember that while you are out having fun over the summer (and you should still do that), talk to anyone that you can. If you are working at Summerfest selling a particular product that Milwaukee may or may not be well-known for, make small talk with your customers and find out what they do in the real world. Who knows, you may be talking to someone who is doing exactly what you ultimately want to do. Effective connections are consistently made in non-traditional settings. I was recently on an airplane and overheard a new business deal being brokered by two people that were previously strangers, but just happened to work in areas that had considerable synergy.

Summer vacation is a great break from the stresses of school. Just remember, your career never stops evolving, so make the most of your break through experience and networking while enjoying the vacation as well!

True Grit

Not only is it a fine John Wayne film, it is also a critical piece of any success story.

One of our employers recently sent me this article that discusses how the concept of grit developed and has since evolved. It's a fascinating read on how even the most basic of achievements are accomplished over a span of time, rather than instantly. We might think right now that the concept of gravity is pretty straightforward, but in Newton's time they had no idea. Apparently it took years and years of research for him to prove the concept of gravity, rather than just an apple falling on his head.

So how does this pertain to you and your job search? Well, for one, the article stresses how in the long run, those who have success aren't necessarily the ones that are told how talented they are, but the ones who are told how good their effort is. When you are looking for an internship or a full-time position, you will often be met with some adversity along the way. The "gritty" job seekers will, according to the study, be able to fight through these obstacles easier. Furthermore, those identified to have more grit are less likely to switch jobs as often.

Now, it's important to not mistake grit for being stubborn. A job seeker with grit will fight through until their goal is met, but may change the path they take along the way. A stubborn job seeker will get so focused in on one idea that they have no way of changing their methods. If you can develop grit, it will help you along the way. You'll see that a notice that the position was filled is a stimulus to network more or refine your resume and cover letter.

It may seem sometimes that things fall into place for some people. It might be the case for a select few, but for most of them, it was utilizing their grit and doing the advance legwork that made for a smoother process down the line.

Resume turned Road Kill

For the last few months I have had a blue flash drive on my key chain. This important piece of hardware is home to all of my job search materials and as of just a few weeks ago, all of my final projects for graduate school. I have constantly been telling my coworkers how relieved I'll be to be done with school and employed so I can finally remove that flash drive from my key ring. I kept it there to stay organized and to avoid having to commute 20 minutes if I forgot a paper that I needed to print at school.

This past weekend I was running errands and got a phone call later in the day from an unknown number. My poor blue flash drive had fallen off of my key chain in a parking lot. Needless to say it looks like computer hardware road kill and was likely run over by a few cars before being found. A very nice man picked it up and was able to upload my resume in order to find my phone number and return it to me.

There is a lesson to be learned in all of this. I did in fact just backup all of the files on this flash drive last week so, in reality, I did not need it back. It is extremely important to backup important documents for school or your job search! Save your resumes and cover letters and job search spreadsheets in multiple formats in order to avoid a momentary heart attack when you realize your precious blue flash drive has turned into road kill.

What About Professional Organizations?

Have you ever been reading something and you suddenly see a veritable alphabet soup of acronyms in front of you? Sometimes these will just be simple abbreviations, like SCUBA. If you're reading something related to careers (and since you're on our blog, I tend to think you might have that inclination!), there's a good chance that the acronym is in reference to a professional organization.

Of course, the question then becomes, why would I join one of these professional organizations? If you recall an earlier post I made, I talked about how getting involved with groups in your realm of interest can benefit your job search process. I'd like to believe that you have a considerable interest in your field of choice. Involving yourself in professional organizations in your field will help you to build connections and network with people of similar interests. Get involved on a committee or sub-committee within your organization. The more you involve yourself, the more ingrained in the industry you will become. Additionally, your own personal knowledge level will increase considerably by working with professionals from other companies.

The best part about professional organizations in terms of a job search is that you can truly get involved at any point in your career. Many colleges have campus branches of professional organizations. For example, there is a chapter of the American Marketing Association here at Marquette. Getting involved with these groups now might be able to give you a leg up when it comes time to find that first professional position. But even if you don't join while you are in college, you can still jump into that world later in life. And as any student has met with me can attest to, I'm a huge proponent of giving anything a try at least once, because you never know if that experience will be the one that ultimately pays off for you.

If you need assistance finding a professional organization that fits your interests, Wikipedia provides a good starting point. It's not exhaustive though, so if you don't see the one for you, let us know and we can help, or simply google "professional organizations (your field)". I'd bet you find something...

Back In My Day...

So who hasn't heard their parents or someone older start a sentence like that? Even I may or may not have done such things, and I'm hardly what I'd consider ancient (yet).

The simple fact is that we all live in the present. What each of you needs to do is take advantage of just that. I'm sure everyone is aware that the economy is not what it was a few years ago. There's nothing any of us can do about that right now though, especially since I'm assuming President Obama and Tim Geithner haven't added us to their daily blogroll quite yet. We're working on that one though...

If there's one thing that even older people will concede about this generation, its that we are technologically adept to say the least. The good news is that the world is moving more and more to a place where technology is king. Utilize those skills to make yourself more marketable than 40somethings who may have more experience.

Anyone who's ever met with any of us can tell you that if there's one thing we stress, it's networking. Every single day more people are moving their networking abilities onto the internet, a forum that most of you will find more familiar and comfortable than the Gen X'ers and Boomers that are also on the market. Platforms such as LinkedIn are gaining new users by the hour and are becoming the central point for many people's networking experience. You might not necessarily find a job directly through LinkedIn, but you can almost certainly find levels of success.

Times are always going to change. Our parents had to use card catalogs and typewriters to write papers during college. They definitely didn't have LexisNexis or even Google, two tools I know I heavily leaned upon during my college days. Our kids will probably laugh at the concept of dial-up or even not having phones without internet. But we can only live in the present. Currently you have that advantage over other job seekers of understanding social media and knowing how to use it to your maximum benefit. It's the way the job searching world is going at the moment, and I'd think you want to take your place at the head of the line.

"Don't Wish Your Life Away"

The infamous words of my Dad anytime I start to complain about how eager I am for school to be over or for winter to be over or for some big event to come along. Although I can't wait for classes, papers and job hunting to be in my past, my Dad is right. These last few weeks of college (or in my case last few weeks in Milwaukee after 8 years living here) can be a bittersweet time. Sure you're bogged down with school work and job hunting and are having trouble staying motivated but remember that balance is key to making it to the end. Recently I've realized that even though I am eager to leave Milwaukee, I have also met a great deal of good people here and will be sad to say good-bye to certain things. I'm making time for what is important and have been getting out to catch up with friends and take study breaks much more.

Four years ago when I was about to graduate with my bachelor's degree, my roommates and I took advantage of that time together. In the weeks before graduation we did everything from eat and study and get tattoos together. We were excited school was coming to an end but sad that each of us would be in a different city upon graduation. One thing I wish I knew when I was graduating was that life would change..a lot...after college. I stayed in the area but all of my best friends left. Whether it was starting a full-time career or continuing on to a Master's program each of us struggled initially to adjust to the new environment. Just remember that it takes time to re-adjust to working full-time or living in a new city but once you get accustomed to it, you'll be just fine.

Bottom line...make time for what is important including friends, family, job searching and finishing school strong...take advantage of this time while it lasts and find balance in everything!

the job search is like dating

So...if you are "in-the-know" you have probably heard about Pecha Kucha. Basically it means presenting information on 20 slides for 20 seconds. If you want to know more go here and see a great example here.

This is a presentation I did for a bar-full of drunken people and Marquette and MIAD employees at the Sugar Maple. It covers the similarities between the job search and dating.

Just some tips for those of you navigating either or both!

Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewTp_HZuJH4