College Seniors – what you are doing wrong

I have been fortunate to have gotten to work with a number of really wonderful, very smart, and eager college students.  Because I care about these kids so much, it makes me sad that so many wonderful students from my alma mater and other elite colleges tend to make the same mistakes over and over again when looking for their first jobs out of school.  I know that leaving school is incredibly hard, and advice graduates receive is often outdated, inconsistent, unhelpful, or just plain wrong.  I am just one person with one opinion, but I do want all these kids to do as well as they can.  This is my advice.

1.       Nobody cares what you did in high school

Take absolutely everything from high school off your resume.  I can’t tell you the number of resumes I’ve seen that have SAT and ACT scores on them, parts people had in high school plays, etc.  Those things are unprofessional; take them off your resume.

2.       If there is a discrepancy between your education / experience and what you want to do with your life, you need to address it

If you are a chemistry major and you want to go into fashion merchandising – fine, good for you.  But you need to explain, and figure out for yourself, what work experience you are going to get (or have already gotten) and/or what additional classes you are going to take (or have already taken) to make up for your lack of a degree in fashion merchandising.

3.      If you ask someone for job advice, you need to return their emails in under 24 hours

I once had a good friend who was looking to staff a wonderful entry level job at the well-regarded institution where she works.  I knew two young people who would be qualified.  One was a young woman who went to my alma mater, the other was a young man who went to the (easier to get into) local public city university.  She took twelve days to get back to me, while he responded to my emails within two hours.  It was an easy decision to pass his resume along instead of her resume.  He got the job and is now enjoying a wonderful opportunity and making good money.  Even if you are not interested in what an older person has to tell you, you need to take five minutes to say, “No thank you.”   It’s awkward, but it’s better not to burn bridges.  

4.       Do not act like you want a job so you can “goof off” before starting your real career

If you are an employer, would you rather hire somebody who says, “I want to give trail tours for a year before applying to medical school” or somebody who says, “I want to give trail tours because I have always been interested in working with people, science, and nature.”  It would be a no-brainer.  Which one of those applicants sounds like he would take the job more seriously?  Banish the term “gap year” from any conversation with a possible future employer.

5.      Do not ask for an internship if you are no longer a student

Most institutions will only allow students to be interns anyway.  If you are no longer a student, you need to be looking for a job, not an internship.  You can always volunteer at a school, museum, etc., but you are going to rub a lot of people the wrong way by asking for an internship, and it happens all the time.

6.      You can be picky about the job you have or the place you live but probably not both

We live in an increasingly global world, and it may just not be possible to find a job you want in the one place you want to live.  Lots of people at all levels of their career face this dilemma, and the decision is always difficult.  If you insist on being in New York City, you might have to wait tables at a diner at 5 in the morning for quite some time.  If you find your dream job, you may have to move to small town Alabama.  It’s just life.  One young woman at my alma mater sent out an email blast to alumni saying she wanted to bake bread in the mountains.  She mentioned no professional bakery training or experience.  What?  How is somebody supposed to help her?  Does she want to ski or does she want to be a baker?  It sounds like she has a romantic idea of what she wants to do – like she enjoys making bread in her own kitchen and going on vacation in Colorado.  On the off chance that some alum owns a bakery in a mountainous area that is hiring new people, is he or she supposed to email this girl and tell her to move across the country on the off chance that she is going to be a wonderful bakery employee with no experience or training?