Alexandra Levit's Water Cooler Wisdom

How to Get from College to Career: Advice from Lindsey Pollak

My good friend Lindsey Pollak recently released a terrific new edition of her well-loved book, Getting from College to Career.  In the midst of the craziness of having a new book and baby, she generously shared some thoughts about what college grads can do to improve their careers in 2012:

What made you decide to do a new edition at this time?  

We’re living in a time of such rapid change in the world of business and careers that five years ago, when the first edition of Getting from College to Career was published, feels like “the old days.” At that time the economy was good and we were at the very, very beginning of social media and smartphone usage. I decided to write a revised edition of the book to make sure that readers would have the most up-to-date, relevant and forward-thinking advice for their job searches and careers.

 What's the most important piece of advice readers should take away from the new edition?

The most important piece of advice in the new edition is the same as the original edition: take action every single day to find a job and build your career. More now than ever, the people who succeed are the people who take consistent action. Momentum matters.

The good news is that today’s job seekers have so many more tools they can use to take action – LinkedIn and Twitter have both grown tremendously over the past five years, more organizations are providing job postings by social media and text messaging and Meetup.com and other technologies make networking opportunities more plentiful.

 How has job hunting changed in the five years since you launched the original edition of Getting from College to Career? What new tips have you added?

The two biggest changes since Getting from College to Career was published five years ago relate to the economy and technology.

In 2007, there were plenty of available jobs for recent grads, so my advice focused on figuring out what you wanted to do and taking the steps to get hired into a full-time position. Since 2008, job openings are much more scarce so I added a lot more advice on alternatives to full-time employment, such as freelancing, post-college interning and taking on project work.

The recession has also meant that job seekers have had to become much better at marketing themselves to employers. I don’t think the phrase “personal branding” appeared once in the original edition and now it’s everywhere. Job seekers need to be able to tell a clear story of what makes them unique and how that uniqueness will benefit an employer. Generalists are out; specialists are in – even at the entry level.

In terms of technology, Twitter didn’t even exist when I wrote the first edition and now it’s a crucial tool for career research and networking. In this edition I also include recent grad-specific advice on using LinkedIn, Facebook, Google Apps, Skype and other tech-based tools for job seekers. Of course, technology is moving so fast (just look at the skyrocketing growth of Pinterest!) that job seekers need to keep an eye out for new tools that could help them stand out and get hired.

You interviewed a number of successful professionals and asked them to share what they wish they'd known before starting their careers. What answers most stood out to you?

I was really struck by the number of people who credited their success to two things – their relationships and their passion. Yes, a lot has changed over the past five years, but these are two elements of a successful career that are timeless: build and maintain authentic professional relationships and find a career where you’ll be doing work you love. I expect I’ll be giving that exact same advice five more years from now and fifty years from now.

In addition to being an author and speaker you serve as a global spokesperson for LinkedIn. Can you share your top LinkedIn tips for recent grads?

Absolutely! LinkedIn is a very important tool for recent grads and far too many of them are still not aware of how valuable professional online networking can be at the beginning of your career. Here are my top five LinkedIn tips for recent grads:

1. Write a profile headline that displays your desired career. Your headline does not have to be a job title. The best student headlines clearly promote who you are and what you want to do when you graduate. For example, "Honors Student & Aspiring Public Relations Associate." Or “Pre-MBA Finance Major Graduating in 2013.”
2. Include a ton of keywords in your profile. Recruiters search for candidates by keywords, so make sure your profile is full of them. Find relevant words and phrases in the job descriptions of the positions you want and then pepper them throughout your Summary, Specialties and Skills sections.
3. Connect with everyone you know. Build your network by sending personalized LinkedIn connection requests to everyone you know -- friends, family, neighbors, classmates, everyone. Next, send each personal a customized message (no mass emails!) to tell them you’re job hunting and to explain what position(s) you’re looking for. Request some advice or a phone call to talk further, or ask if they can refer you to anyone they know in your desired field.
4. Join your alumni group. Join the LinkedIn group of any college, university or graduate school you’ve attended. Once you’re a member, you’ll begin to receive updates on the activities taking place – discussions, job postings, event announcements and more. Jump in and start participating, just like you did in college!
5. Search the Student Jobs Portal. The Student Jobs Portal is a collection of all entry-level job postings on LinkedIn. Search by job function or check out postings from featured companies. When you apply for a job through this portal, the employer will be able to see your full LinkedIn profile along with your application.

6 Things You Should Never Say to Your Boss

I get a lot of e-mails from people asking how they can establish better relationships with their managers.  It seems that everyone – from the entry-level college graduate to the seasoned middle manager, has this issue.  To start, I recommend never letting these tempting phrases pass through your lips:

It’s not my job.

When your manager asks you to do something, she wants you to accommodate her.  She wants to view you as a can-do member of the team who will be willing to pitch in and help when necessary.  Telling her that something is “not your job” – even if it’s true – will damage that perception.

It’s not my fault.

Taking responsibility is one of the elements that sets apart successful employees from unsuccessful ones.  Instead of looking to place blame, help your manager figure out what the team can do to remedy the situation.

I can’t work with Person A.

This is an office, not a club, and your manager does not want to hear that you have a personality conflict with a co-worker.  You can work with this person, and you will work with this person, so focus on what you can do to improve the relationship without your boss’ intervention.

I can’t do X.  I have to do Y.

Instead of telling your manager you can’t do something because you have too much on your plate (which will lead him to think he can’t depend on you), detail your to-dos and ask for his help in prioritizing them.

That’s not possible.

A purely negative attitude like this will turn off your manager.  Even if you really believe it’s not possible, be constructive.  Say something like: “That’s one approach, though here are some of the challenges we’ll face.”

Everyone hates this place.

You don’t actually know how everyone else feels, so speak in terms of your own experiences.  In doing so, be specific about what isn’t working for you, without using strong emotion words like “hate.”  And whenever possible, try to identify potential solutions so your manager doesn’t see you as the complainer.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

Manage the Needs of Multiple Supervisors

It’s a fact of modern work life that many of us have multiple supervisors.  And even if you’re an efficient multi-tasker, you’re never going to be Superman. It’s not a good idea to sabotage your goals by taking on more work than you can do just because someone above you said so.

Formalize Daily Responsibilities

In general, you want to be perceived as a can-do employee by all of your supervisors. A good first step is to formalize your daily responsibilities with your official boss. Find out who on your team is authorized to delegate work to you, and note the type of assignments you can expect from each person.

Let’s say that Joe, who is outside this core group of delegators, gives you a stack of client status reports to do. How should you respond? It’s perfectly appropriate to politely reply that you would be glad to help, but that you would appreciate it if Joe would check with your official manager first. Joe may or may not pursue the matter, but, either way, you have extricated yourself from an awkward situation and have placed the ball squarely in your official boss’s court. In all likelihood, your boss will say no to Joe for you, especially if doing status reports is outside your area of responsibility.

Be Assertive

Now imagine that Jane, a member of your core group of delegators, leaves an urgent assignment on your chair that must be done by the end of the week. Jane has known about the task for a few days, but now it’s Friday morning and the deadline is looming. As my mother used to say, don’t let another person’s lack of planning become your emergency. If your own “to do” list dictates you do something else, speak up.

Tell Jane that you wish you could do the task for her, but you are currently working on a project with Tom that requires your attention. Give her the option of resolving the issue with Tom or your official boss, and emphasize how much you enjoy working with her. Ideally, Jane will leave the interaction with the perception that you sincerely do want to help her, but that you can’t help being caught between conflicting responsibilities.

Get Help Prioritizing

What if your official boss is the one with an urgent request that you don’t have the time to attend to? In a way, this is the least painful scenario, because all you really have to do is ask her to help you prioritize your various assignments. You can say something such as, “I’d be happy to take care of that, but today I’m researching statistics for Tom’s client presentation. Which do you think I should do first?”

If your official boss wants to snatch your time at Tom’s expense, that’s her prerogative. Again, though, you have made someone else accountable for deciding which of the competing tasks you should direct your energy toward. By always striving to present yourself as a hardworking and disciplined employee with the best interests of the organization at heart, you will be able to maintain good relationships will everyone above you without killing yourself in the process.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

 

How To Make Money Off Your Social Media Skills

Who better to learn from than someone who has been successful at what you're trying to do?  That's the case with Alexis Grant, a former writer and editor at US News and World Report who has just launched a thriving social media consultancy.  Alexis has written a book, How to Build a Part-Time Social Media Business, and was kind enough to share some of its highlights with us:

1. Recognize the opportunity. Yes, most people make money through a full-time job. But if you can’t find one, or you want to make some money on the side, putting your social media skills to use can be a great way to do that. The challenge: finding someone who will pay for those skills.

The good news is, there are lots of individuals, organizations and companies that will pay to tap into your knowledge and ease using social media. While it’s second nature for you to use Facebook and YouTube, business people often don’t have the time or desire to learn how to use those networks strategically. That’s where you come in!

2. Think about what services you want to provide. Do you want to coach individuals one-on-one to use social media? Or draw up strategies for companies that want to create communities online? Or maybe you want to run social-media campaigns for organizations – an approach I recommend in my e-guide, partly because clients often pay for those services on a monthly retainer rather than with a one-time check.

3. Beef up your experience. If you took advantage of summer internships during college, you might have enough experience – both to know what you’re doing and to convince clients that you know what you’re doing – to jump right in.

If you don’t, look for ways to practice these skills. Can you create a social media strategy for a parents’ friend’s business? Sit down with a neighbor for a social-media coaching session? Volunteer to spread the word online about a campaign or cause?  Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you need a full-time job to gain this experience. Look outside the box for other opportunities.

4. Use your network to land clients. You’ve built up awesome followings on Facebook and hopefully Twitter and LinkedIn – now use them.

Tell your network about the services you’ve decided to offer, so they’ll think of you when an opportunity arises. Don’t be shy about asking your friends (nicely) to spread the word; if they like and trust you, they’ll want to help you succeed. And make sure to take advantage of an often-overlooked networking gem: your parents, and even your friends’ parents. Let them know about your new consulting biz, so they can refer you to their friends when the timing’s right.

5. Figure out how – and how much – to charge. It sounds like it should be simple, but charging for consulting can be daunting, especially at the beginning. In most cases, you’ll want to charge an hourly rate or a project rate (which is loosely based on the hourly rate), so think ahead of time about which fee structure works best for any given client.

If you want to get a sense of what other consultants charge, ask that question in LinkedIn Answers or look for other inquiries that revolve around the same issue. Beware though, that prices for social-media consulting run the gamut. Base your rates on what you think each individual client will pay and how much you want to make off the work rather than what other people are charging.

 

8 Tips for Managing Summer Interns

It's that time of year again! College students and recent grads are starting their summer internships and their managers are wondering how in the world they're going to keep them occupied while providing a valuable experience. Over at the Intuit Small Business blog, Liz Magill has some excellent suggestions for leaders implementing an internship program this summer.  Among them:

Offer a real learning opportunity

Making coffee and copies won’t do. Bright, energetic interns want a chance to do something meaningful. Although you can start with basics, gradually increase the complexity and scope of the job so your eager talent feels a sense of accomplishment.

Set challenging, but attainable goals

Don’t expect a writing intern to win a Pulitzer, a science intern to develop the next great patent, a sales intern to land your company’s biggest client, or a tech-savvy intern to build the next Facebook. Setting goals outside the capabilities of your intern may lead to frustration, while goals that are too easy will bring on boredom.

Don’t babysit

Interns should be mentored, not watched like a hawk.  You can put them on a leash, but make it a long leash. Interns come with a huge bucket of enthusiasm; don’t stifle it.

Enforce deadlines

It may be summer, but it’s not summer camp. Let your interns know that their work is very important to the success of your business, and that you expect deadlines to be met — and work quality to be high.

Abide by labor laws

In order for internships in “for profit” companies to qualify as unpaid, they must meet six federal legal criteria  as outlined in this United States Department of Labor fact sheet. If these six criteria are not satisfied, then an “employment” relationship exists, which means the intern must be paid.

Additionally, I believe open communication with interns is essential.  Get your interns started on the right foot by encouraging them to:

Look around and listen

Interns should pay attention to the comings-and-goings of more experienced colleagues, and routinely ask for feedback on their performance.

Be social

While they have the opportunity, interns should network with as many colleagues as they can, going out with the group for Happy Hour and attending the summer party.

Show appreciation

When dealing with other team members, interns should come across as gracious  and can-do.  They should constantly look for ways to share their expertise and add value to the team’s operations.

With the right preparation and guidance, your interns will contribute substantially to your team, both workwise and interpersonally.  You know you’ve managed them the right way when, at the end of the summer, your team members ask if an intern can stay on as a full timer.

This post was originally published on Intuit's Quickbase blog.

5 Tips for Moving up the Corporate Ladder

My friend Jenny Blake, who works at Google and just came out with her first book, Life After College: The Complete Guide to Getting What You Want, sent along these tips for newly minted college grads.  I couldn't have said it better myself!

1. Don’t just focus on promotion as an end in itself.

It’s like losing weight: you can either focus solely on the number on the scale or on getting healthy overall. Getting healthy has many more fringe benefits. Similarly, don’t just focus on the promotion itself. Focus more on the competencies, expectations and behaviors that will lead to a promotion; you’ll be better off in the long run, happier and most likely get there faster.

2. Think of your career like a smart phone, not a ladder.

Build a strong foundation and don’t be afraid of horizontal moves; if a lateral move leads to greater happiness and productivity, it’s probably worth it in the long run. Even better? Think of your career like your smart phone -- take responsibility for downloading various apps (skills, classes, experiences and 10-20% projects) that will make you a valuable asset to any team.

3. Know what you are working toward; ask for more responsibility not just a promotion.

Get a clear understanding of what success looks like -- ask your manager: in 3-6 months, what would you love to see me doing? What else could I be doing to operate at the next level? It’s a common refrain that people generally have to already be operating at the next level before getting promoted. Keep asking for more responsibility instead of just asking for a promotion.

4. Be an observer.

Pay attention to people who have been recently promoted or who work in the level above you. What skills, experiences and attitudes do they have? Bonus: schedule them for lunch and ask!

5. Ditch any entitlement.

You may think you deserve a promotion (and you might be ready) but also be aware that a lot of the time people think they deserve promotions earlier than their managers do. Be willing to compromise and remember that it often depends on many factors outside of your job performance alone (for example: the economy, other people in the company, open roles, etc).

 

Google is Forever

A few weeks ago, I received this e-mail from reader Ryan Miner that I wanted to share with you:

"When I was a 19 year-old undergraduate student at Duquesne University I created a Facebook group in opposition to a proposal to allow a Gay-Straight Alliance to form on campus. I used the term subhuman to lament homosexuality.

I could not have been more wrong. My words were unabashedly despicable and unambiguously insensitive. My actions were the antithesis of the same faith I used to defend myself, and it was an indelibly poor reflection on my personal character. I embarrassed my family, my friends, my hometown, and Duquesne University. I was in no position to cast such blatant judgment, and I pray that I can be forgiven and learn from this awful experience.

As a result of the media attention and the emerging technology of this decade, I am infinitely attached to my mistake in the annals of Google. The stories you read from the Google results paint a polar opposite picture of who I am today. However, actions inevitably and invariably have consequences, and the reckless comments I made at 19 continue to plague me in my professional career. I have been denied employment and was even fired from a great opportunity as a result of the incident at Duquesne.

I am now looking to expand my career, but each time I submit a new resume, a sense of bleak fear overcomes me, wondering whether or not a company will Google my name only to toss my resume in the trash and move to the next applicant. If only I could relay to a potential employer that my beliefs have changed and I would never engage in that type of behavior in the future. But you reap with you sow, and I will continue to deal with the consequences of my mistake."

There can never be too many stories like this to remind us that Google is forever. 

Studying the Post-Recession Careers of Millennials

Earlier this year, I joined the Career Advisory Board, a panel of academic, corporate, and career experts sponsored by DeVry University.  Our goal as a group is to provide insight, advice and counsel on trends, economic forces and cultural shifts that impact career opportunities.  

In my role as a founding member, I helped to devise a research study, The Future of Millennial Careers, which took current thinking about the careers of Millennials (or current twenty-somethings, born 1980-95) a step further.  We wanted to assess how Millennials and their managers felt about the younger set’s future career potential given the recent economic downturn, and some of our findings were surprising.

For example, the research demonstrated that young professionals have a new definition of success, but that hiring managers don’t see a substantial change.  For a successful career, doing work that is personally meaningful and achieving a sense of accomplishment are just as important to Millennials as earning a high salary, but Millennial managers still perceive compensation as being the primary motivator for their younger employees.  And perhaps due to the recent recession, young professionals are being far more cautious about career moves than traditionally believed by managers who labeled them “job jumpers.”

Fortunately, Millennials and their managers did agree on the opportunity areas for Millennials to develop their workplace skills.  For instance:  Fifty-one percent of managers believe Millennials exhibit an inability to accept criticism from their managers; 54 percent of Millennials are in agreement. Fifty-five percent of managers believe Millennials lack patience with established processes; 47 percent of Millennials agree.  And thirty-eight percent of Millennials believe their generation cannot communicate effectively; 35 percent of managers agree.

The research results are detailed in a white paper that also offers actionable advice for working Millennials and their managers.  We suggest, for example, that managers help Millennial master transferable skills like such project management, marketing and finance that will allow the younger set to succeed in their future careers.  We also recommend formal and informal mentoring programs so that the generations may learn from one another, and in-house generational dynamics training so that managers and Millennials can address and remedy some of their communication challenges.

Elders Don't Always Know Best

Usually I tell young professionals to respect their elders, because I don’t see enough of that behavior these days.  

The danger of this advice, however, is that young professionals sometimes take it too far. They seek out older professors, experts and mentors in their field and listen blindly regardless of whether or not the information is valid or the source is truly qualified to give it. As a result, they can be steered down a path that is detrimental to their career progress.

Just because someone has been in a field for a long time does not mean she is necessarily good at what she does and/or that her experiences will be 100 percent relevant to your own.  People stay in and even succeed in careers for a variety of reasons; and frankly, true skill may not be a factor. Also, the judgment of some older individuals is so clouded by their own experiences that they can’t help insisting that you follow their actions and trajectory to the letter.

Case in point

I recently overheard a 55-year-old Fortune 500 female executive advising a 22-year-old college graduate to engage in hardball strategies to break through the glass ceiling at her consulting firm. These strategies didn’t suit the grad’s personality and might be perceived as over-aggressive and unnecessary in today’s corporate culture of greater gender equality.

It’s a good idea to talk to older professionals; and yes, you can learn a tremendous amount from them.  But instead of acting on information right away, please take the time to filter it and deem it appropriate for your situation. 

PwC Hosts Personal Brand Week for Career-Minded Students

In order to help students secure a job after graduation, PwC will host “Personal Brand Week 2.0” – a program that shares the importance of and tools needed to differentiate oneself from the competition.

Paula Loop, US and Global Talent Leader for PwC says, “Creating a unique personal brand helps job candidates differentiate themselves.  Personal Brand Week is a unique program that enables people to identify, create and communicate the unique traits that make them valuable to potential employers.  Personal branding is absolutely invaluable in today's highly competitive environment."

 The 2nd Annual Five Day Virtual Career Event Will Include:

• Monday, February 7th: "Building Your Network" – three simple steps to building a strong and authentic network
• Tuesday, February 8th: "You are What You Write" – the art of effective writing skills;      
• Wednesday, February 9th: "Your Online Image Makeover" – promoting your online brand;    
• Thursday, February 10th:  "View from the Other Side: Getting the Job" – what recruiters look for in prospective hires;
• Friday, February 11th: "Pulling it All Together - Elevator Pitch and Body Language” – how to successfully express and articulate your personal brand.       

On the last day of PBW 2.0, undergraduates can enter the “Best Elevator Pitch Contest” for the opportunity to win $5,000. The 30-second video contest asks participants to highlight what makes them valuable and unique to potential employers. The contest ends March 25.