It’s that time of year.  College graduation is up on us.  Many seniors are frantically trying to complete all requirements for graduation and many are wondering what to do about the bleak job market.  One very common strategy is to attend graduate school.   After all, college students know how to study and what to expect from academia.  But there are ONLY 3 reasons to attend grad school immediately after college: First, to enter a profession. If a pre-med student is ...

I have been coaching college students and recent grads for almost 7 years.  Prior to that, I was responsible for recruiting, hiring and training entry level professionals.  I would guess that I have encountered thousands of young professionals throughout my career.  The one thing that never ceases to amaze me is the number of high school and college students who have never help a part time job. In fact, recent survey data reports that 90% of teens who are not ...

College students should be building their resumes throughout their college experience, regardless of major or school attended. If I could build the ideal college resume, here is what it would look like: Part-time work.  First and foremost, college students need to work.  For money.  Nothing replaces part-time work to demonstrate a work ethic.  In fact, it tops the list of employers' desirable qualities.  Ideally, they would work throughout college to show responsibility, confidence and work ethic.  At the very least, students ...

Your resume should be no more than one page. Young professionals just do not have enough experience for more than one page. Don't use less than an 11 point font.  A small font requires someone to find their glasses so they can read your resume.  You don't want to make extra work for someone.  No fancy fonts, either.  A resume gets a 3 second scan before it is placed in one pile or the other. Save your resume as a PDF.  It ...

I was working with a client last week yesterday who has been conducting informational interviews throughout the late fall and winter months in hopes of finding a job.  Although he hoped he would have a job by now, he readily admitted that he has a much better understanding of his chosen industry as a result of these interviews. He sounds more knowledgeable and has been able to crystallize his career goals. Informational interviews are a great job search tool but need ...