JLP over at AllFinancialMatters has seven tips to share with soon-to-be college graduates preparing to enter “the real world.”
What was the most helpful piece of advice you received after graduating? Tell us in the comments. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Advice to Give College Grads [AllFinancialMatters]
(Photo: Leonid Mamchenkov)
@mac-phisto: Actually it does mean a lot in the real world in terms of getting a job I will bet you anything that there is a correlation between the time it takes someone to find their first job and where they got their degree from….. But if you are talking about the quality of the person when they graduate then you are right, ivy league don’t mean sh*t.
“What was the most helpful piece of advice you received after graduating?”
Practice your rolling shuffles. . . there’s always a production of “42nd Street” going on somewhere.
Network
Get involved in something other than work (I need to work on this). This doesn not indlude going to the bar every day with coworkers – volunteer, athletics, classes.
These activities are one of the best ways to network.
wow – sorry about the typos – typing fast at work = bad
@moorie679: paper is paper. from my experience, candidates rarely get a job based solely on where they went to school. the exception is when the hiring manager went to the same school the applicant did…this person will almost always have a hands up. for example, my father was a school superintendent & only actively recruited candidates from his alma mater – penn state. that doesn’t mean only penn state grads got the job, but psu is the only campus he visited for a job fair.
the resume is just a weed out process for face time. two identical candidates with the same resume, other than one is ivy league & one is not will generally both make it to an interview. from there, your alma mater simply becomes a talking point. a graduate from a non-ivy league with a resume full of relevant experience will almost always beat out a graduate from an ivy league with no relevant experience – unless, of course, dad runs the company.
@BartLee: That’s exactly right. Paying in full evey month is good, but maxing it out first is bad…shows a lender you NEED the credit- always a bad thing.
@pestie: “It says that you’re conservative and happy that way.”
No, dude, it says I look hot in a suit.
“There were plenty of people there dressed less nicely than me. The moral here: know your audience.”
I think that’s a weak excuse; for funerals in particular it’s always better to be overdressed and it’s respectful to wear the best you have regardless of the “audience.”
“Plastics.”
“Start saving for retirement now” is much easier said than done. My first job out of college left me with just enough for rent and food. The mere thought of socking any away for my golden years was a punchline to a joke, not sage advice.
@Eyebrows McGee: @pestie: “It says that you’re conservative and happy that way.”
Eyebrows McGee: No, dude, it says I look hot in a suit.
I agree. I wear a suit almost every day to work, and I’m not conservative whatsoever on the weekends. Wearing a suit makes you look much better and improves your confidence. Something that will help in any field…
At a fancy restaurant for a work function? Make an “okay” sign with both of your hands. Your left hand makes a “b”–that’s for bread. Right hand makes a “d”–for drink. So don’t freaking drink out of the glass to your left! And don’t put your bread on the plate to your right.
Also, during an interview when the interviewer says, “So, do you have any questions for me?” you’d better have some questions! And intelligent ones too, some that show you know your stuff. Preferably not “what’s the office culture?” because I promise you, that’s what the last 5 people asked.
‘And you can only wear your hair up in a ponytail, once a week, and that looks like it’s today. And absolutely NO SWEATPANTS’.
– Gretchen Weiner
@Eyebrows McGee: That’s it; I’m wearing jeans and a T-shirt to your funeral.
@mac-phisto: Dude i am tired of going back and forth with you….as a current PSU grad yes weird ass coincidence those job fairs are a joke….I went to every single one starting freshman year… and at each instance I printed about 25 resumes and handed out 2….you wanna know why…… cuz the conversation is Hi, nice to meet you….post your resume online…..but hey don’t forget the free pens…..
In addition I could show up at that career fair if I shelled out 200$ as an employer regardless of me being one or not…not background checks……then I would be the one handing out pens….
Black suits are entirely business inappropriate in most industries. They’re forgivable in more “creative” industries or in cities with little or no style. Otherwise navy and charcoal are the options available, with various patterns. Keep the shirt lighter than the tie (typically in white or blue for conservative professions) and invest in some real shoes (anything under about $200 MSRP isn’t generally worth wearing, and things well over that figure can be had at deep discount in a variety of venues).
@tozmervo:
For guys, you should invest in at least one dark grey or navy blue suit for job interviews. Straight black tends to be too severe, and stripes (be they pin, chalk or otherwise) can send off a “party” look. Again, this is broad advice for the scenario in which you would only own a single suit and are wearing it to job interviews. Your mileage may vary. In any case, make sure the suit is made of a decent material (doesn’t have to be outrageously expensive or a designer name), tailored to fit your body, and, most importantly, clean and wrinkle-free for the interview. It should be paired with a white light-colored shirt (nothing flashy or bright) and a sensible, but serious tie. Contrary to popular belief, this does not mean you need to omit all style or fashion sense. Again, this is broad, general advice for typical professional interviews. When I had a Google interview, they told me specifically to dress in business casual, but at investment banking and consulting interviews, it was understood that you would be automatically dinged for not wearing a suit and tie.
@mac-phisto:
“two identical candidates with the same resume, other than one is ivy league & one is not will generally both make it to an interview.”
This depends on how many slots are available. If these two candidates are vying for the same spot, unless the hiring manager shares an alma mater with the non-Ivy-level candidate, the Ivy-level candidate will get the interview every time. Without being elitist, Ivy-caliber schools with good programs relevant to the job interview generally have better students with stronger resumes. Recruiters recognize this statistic and direct their efforts towards recruiting from these preferred schools. For example, investment banks and consulting firms tend to recruit heavily at the top Ivy’s, Stanford, and the like, with the expectation that stellar candidates at other schools will make the extra effort in order to get noticed. I’m sorry, but a 3.5 from Harvard says a whole lot more than a 4.0 from University of Phoenix Online.
@moorie679:
Job fairs are primarily an opportunity to schmooze and meet people in the company so you can namedrop them at other events or the interviews. It shows interest in the company if you say “Oh yeah, I was talking to Jenny at the job fair and also at the info session.” Also, never offer your resume, only drop it if they ask you for one. If you offer, they will use your resume to soak up spilled coffe and discard it with all the empty candy wrappers.
@jgw: i think you’re just reinforcing my statement. it’s the stuff that lies below the 1/2″ that your school takes up on your resume that matters. what i was trying to relate is that a non-ivy student can easily compensate with relevant experience. & for the record, i think a 2.5 from east jabip community college holds more weight than a 4.0 from university of phoenix online.
@moorie679: i’m a nittany lion, too. you’re right, those job fairs are a joke. don’t be frustrated about your degree. i felt the same way you did when i was unemployed for 6 months out of college. what i realize now is that if i had spent more time gaining experience while i was in school & a little less time smoking pot & drinking monkey boys, i would’ve had something lined up before i graduated.
joepa got me my first job. no joke. the interviewer & i spent 15 minutes discussing penn state football. i walked out of that interview with a job. i’ve had 3 jobs since. i’ve been through probably a hundred interviews. every interviewer has commented on penn state being a great school. the truth? many of them only knew the name from saturday football, but almost every one said they knew someone who went to penn state.
As for suits, it doesn’t have to be expensive but should look nice and feel comfortable. I think Dark Gray is best, looks and feels more corporate. Also I think its all about balance, work hard, save, but don’t forget to enjoy yourself, since there will be few times in your life where you’ll be independent from your parents and have very few responsibilities.
@rekoil: And be yourself.
@mac-phisto: Bong water is the greatest monkey boy. But all joking aside man, I did have my shit together, I was just unsuccessful at finding a job and I am bitter. I am also bitter about the experiences that I had in two big corporations….. It seems like everyone is looking for someone below them to bend over and f@ck. People are getting fired at xmas etc. I am just tired of this bullshit man. I had dreams when I was an undergrad and now they are dying……very slowly…..and I am bitter about that. Sorry if this is off topic…. Mac have a nice day bro.
I’ll second what a lot of people are saying here: 1 page resume. That is all that is needed. It’s a summary, you get to answer in length during the interview.
Next up, it’s who you know. My girlfriend’s mother works at a large company and she recommended that I apply there for the summer as they often do internships all the time. I went up for an interview a few weeks ago and got a job offer last week. They do take notice if you already know someone there (whether or not they’re even in the same office).
Use a debit card. No bills to pay for me except for my cell phone. Everything else is bought on debit.
Lastly, for anyone still in college like me, do summer internships. Especially if there is a potential to return somewhere. I’ve heard of students here who do all their internships at one company and get hired before they graduate. It all comes down to who you know and who knows you.
As a soon-to-be college grad (I graduate this May) I’d like to say that this advice has been very helpful. I’ve heard many of these tips before, especially getting a credit card, consolodating debt and making a budget. My parents remind me of all three of these things constantly. But I guess I never even thought about savng up for retirement now. It makes sense, but I guess I’ve always just thought it’s so far away (40 years or so!) that I never really considered starting now. It’s hard to fathom retirement when I have to worry about finding a job first.
Something that I’d like to add though, is deleting Facebook and MySpace pages, or at least make profiles private. I’ve heard that employers are beginning to look at these sites more and more. I’ve also been told to try Googling my name to see what comes up, to see if there is any potentially embarrassing or extremely personal information floating around on the web.