Go to Grad School or Not Go to Grad School … That is the Question

I coach a lot of summer interns and recent grads on how to find a job and so many of them want to just opt out of their job search completely by going to grad school.  Some can afford to do so and others cannot.  Here is what I all of them, regardless of their resources:

1. Unless you know exactly what you want out of grad school, do not go.   You don’t grow as an individual or as a professional without having work experiences that give you clear indications of what you like and do not like.  For example, if you work in business doing mostly grunt work, perhaps you’ve always gravitated towards marketing.  In fact, in several of your past responsibilities, your comments and ideas were well noted and/or incorporated into a magazine cover design, or a graphic for a news program.  If you weren’t doing the grunt work, perhaps you wouldn’t have been given the opportunity to make a comment/suggestion and you would have never known that you love marketing.

2. Degrees follow you wherever you go.  So having a graduate degree in marketing, when marketing turns out not to be of interest, seems more than silly.  More importantly, a recruiter will not see a logical flow to your activities and interests….red flag!  Even if you don’t want to report the degree, you will have to explain why there was such a time gap in your resume…another red flag!  Be focused, targeted and tenacious and it will help you land somewhere.

3. If you are a recent grad, or a summer intern, you are mostly likely from Generation Y.  Harness the strength of your generation and get through this tough time.  Your strengths include: a) teamwork – get a group of job seekers together every Tuesday for coffee and help each other, b) technology – social media sites are landing so many jobs these days, c) networking – half of the jobs aren’t even posted, so build your network and keep it going until you land something.

For some, grad school is absolutely the right choice.  But you have to have a clear WHY if you are going to expend the time, energy and resources necessary to attend and succeed.  Don’t “go the easy route” and think that you can just sail through this tough job climate.  That which doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger!

Filed under: career coaching , gen y, Generation Y, Grad School, grunt work, red flags, resumes, Summer Interns

Book Review: Dan Schawbel’s Me 2.0

The subtitle to Dan Schawbel’s Me 2.0 is Build A Powerful Brand To Achieve Career Success.  I love it when an author puts his money where his mouth is.  Schawbel has firsthand built himself a powerful brand.  His Personal Branding blog is syndicated in leading publications.  His own career is based around branding.  But the most telling proof for me was well before I even read the book:  about a year ago I was at a Meetup with a group of Gen Y Brazen Careerist bloggers, and Dan Schawbel was mentioned by several.  He is on the mind of his target audience.  That’s powerful branding.

After reading this book, I can see why.  Forget the stereotypes of Gen Y not wanting to do the hard work and wanting too much too soon.  Schawbel is Gen Y but definitely does the heavy lifting on this book.  Me 2.0 is comprehensive, well-structured, and full of practical strategies and tips for how to brand yourself offline and online.  Not just for Gen Y, I found myself bookmarking several pages, especially on the blogging tips (thank goodness for Gen Y’s facility with technology!). 

It is clearly written for Gen Y, so a great resource for the teenagers and recent graduates in your circle.  Experienced professionals may find the early chapters too basic (I myself loved reading about Schawbel’s career path).  But the later chapters on communicating and maintaining your brand are a must-read for everyone.

Filed under: book review, career coaching, resource recommendation , blogging, brazen careerist, Dan Schawbel, gen y, Generation Y, Me 2.0, Millennials, online social networking, personal branding

It’s Not Business; It’s Personal

There is a saying, “It’s not personal, just business,” which implies that you can somehow remain removed from the emotion of a business outcome.

However, when thinking about your job search, it is better not to be removed but to be invested very, very emotionally.

Read the rest of my advice on my recent post for CNBC.com Executive Careers at:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/31830362/site/14081545

Filed under: career coaching, philosophy, resource recommendation , attitude, business, job search, motivation, personal, professional

SixFigureStart Advice On Resumes Quoted On Resume Confidential

Caroline Ceniza-Levine, who has recruited for corporations such as Accenture, Citibank and Disney ABC, notes that “too many candidates are still dropping off hundreds of résumés and thinking this is a comprehensive search.” It isn’t even close. The job market is saturated with highly accomplished and highly qualified candidates, and the people who are succeeding in this environment are the ones who know how to network strategically.  Read more tips on resumes in Karen Siwak’s comprehensive blog post at:

http://resumeconfidential.ca/blog/?p=44

Filed under: career coaching, resource recommendation , job search, Karen Siwak, resume, Resume Confidential

SixFigureStart Advice in Forbes.com/ Look Before You Leap To A New Job, Even Now

You’re one of the lucky ones if you’ve held onto your job in this recession and gotten an offer of another job too. But before you jump at that offer, do some serious research into both the job and the company. Weigh the opportunities and job security you have with your current employer against what likely awaits you at the new company.

See the rest of Tara Weiss’ article for Forbes.com, including my advice on how to elegantly use your other offer to negotiate salary in:

http://www.forbes.com/2009/07/08/job-changing-recession-leadership-careers-basics.html

Filed under: career coaching, resource recommendation , career advice, counteroffer, Forbes.com, job search, salary negotiation, Tara Weiss

How Do You Address Possible Red Flags On The Resume?

At a recent workshop, an attendee asked about what to do about her low GPA and her resume.  For recent graduates and current students, the GPA is standard on a typical resume so it’s a question worth answering.  But even for more experienced hires, where GPA matters less if at all, this question is still relevant because it speaks to what to do if you have any potential red flag on your resume that you feel obligated to disclosed (e.g., a gap in employment).  How do you address possible red flags on the resume?

Read my advice on my latest Ask A Recruiter post for TheGlassHammer.com:

http://www.theglasshammer.com/news/2009/07/08/ask-a-recruiter-how-do-you-address-possible-red-flags-on-the-resume/

Filed under: career coaching, resource recommendation , Ask A Recruiter, job search, resume, TheGlassHammer.com

Directory Assistance / How To Find The Right People For Your Search

The job search strategy is simple:  identify your target companies, find the decision-makers therein for the jobs you want, contact the decision-makers and sell them on you as the perfect candidate, and Presto!  You get a job.

The above is simple to understand, but it’s not easy to execute.  Many jobseekers don’t know what they want so they don’t know what companies to target.  Many jobseekers don’t know how to position themselves properly.  Sometimes, you do everything right but there is no job at this time, and you have to repeat the process for many more companies till you hit the timing just right. 

But the most frequently asked question that I get at workshops and events is how to find these decision-makers in the first place.  Here are 3 steps to follow:

Read my advice in the latest SixFigureStart blog for Vault.com.

Filed under: career coaching, resource recommendation , job search, research, Vault.com

What To Do When You Can’t Get A Reference

For younger workers, there is often a lack of references.  Maybe you only had one job or internship.  Maybe you haven’t had a related job – you have extensive babysitting experience but this is an office job.  Sometimes this lack of references is compounded by the fact that you can’t use one of your jobs because you didn’t get along with your boss or the job ended badly.

Every jobseeker needs references, so start thinking of them now.  Try to have a minimum of 3 and shoot for 5-6 in case the 3 are unavailable when the prospective employer tries to reach them.  Here is what to do for all the sticky situations listed above:

Read my advice in my June 23 post at  Vault.com.

Filed under: career coaching, resource recommendation , job search, references, Vault.com

Diary of a New Hire: My First Day….

Most of our coaching advice goes to job seekers but we also coach individuals on how to be successful from day one on their new jobs.  The smart candidates want this guidance because first impressions mean so much. 

Kevin was an exceptional college student (Engineering Master’s Degree with a 3.8 GPA)  and took his job search very seriously.  The night of his first interview, he made sure to send a thank you note to his interviewer, mentioning why he really wanted the job and why he thought he would be a great hire. 

He kept in touch with the manager, and ultimately, he was given the job.  He tried to negotiate for a higher salary, and before doing that, he did his research.  He found out that although the $53,000 per year was solid, most Master’s Degree candidates in Chemical Engineering were making $60,000.  He spoke to his placement director, to other candidates that were hired, and he did some research on line.  Although he didn’t win his negotiation (you don’t always get what you ask for), his manager said he would do everything he could to raise his salary as soon as he could. 

So all was set for Kevin’s first day.   Again, Kevin did everything right.  He dressed up a bit just in case he looked too casual.  He got there early.  He kept himself busy even though he didn’t have a formal assignment.  Here is his own description of that first day on the job….

My first day at work started when I decided what to wear.  Although I was told that the dress code is lax I chose to wear a dress shirt and tie for two reasons: 1st, I wanted to show that I care about making a good impression; 2nd, dressing up generally makes me feel more confident and capable.

I showed up to work about 20 minutes early. At orientation there were about 20 new hires in an auditorium. I made it a point to make some friends during this time just in case I needed help with something! In the auditorium there were two managers who would call new hires to the front to review their security clearance forms before final submittal.

When this was finished we collectively made our oaths to the constitution (fyi, Kevin works for the Federal Government). Finally, our human resource specialists escorted us to our offices.

The first thing that my department did was to take me out to the Olive Garden to get acquainted without the pressures of the office. Next, we returned to the base where my supervisor discussed the goals and visions of our team. I made sure to ask questions regarding my place in the group.

I finished up my day by starting some of the many trainings that are required of me; I don’t exactly have an assignment so I decided I would remain busy with training at least. Also, it would be good to get this done early so as not to have to crunch it in when I do get busy.

Filed under: career coaching, life coaching , College graduate, First Day On The Job, gen y, new job, starting salary

How Do Recruiters Search and Screen Resumes?

Last week in my Ask A Recruiter column for www.theglasshammer.com I wrote about the two main factors that every resume needs – authenticity and specificity.  Specificity (i.e., tailoring a resume to the employer/ industry/ function you are targeting), is particularly important because it enables your resume to be found when recruiters search and noticed when recruiters screen.

 Recruiters search for resumes on job boards, social networks such as LinkedIn, articles and white papers (especially at senior levels), and their own database.  When a search kicks off recruiters filter through the resumes from these sources by keywords and criteria.  If you don’t have those keywords or criteria in your resume, you may not get picked.

Read the rest of my tips for getting your resume searched and noticed at:

http://www.theglasshammer.com/news/2009/06/24/ask-a-recruiter-how-do-recruiters-search-and-screen-resumes/

Filed under: career coaching, resource recommendation , Ask A Recruiter, Glass Hammer, job search, recruiter tips, resume tips