Whose Job Is It to Teach You How to Find a Job?
I don’t think it’s any big secret that I believe recent and pending graduates — for the most part — have no idea what they’re doing when it comes to searching for entry-level jobs. Before you get offended by that statement, let me follow it by saying, how can you know something you’ve never been taught? The big question: Whose job is it to teach you?
Some say colleges/universities.
I can definitely see that argument. After all, you’re paying a ton of money every year to attend, and a degree isn’t worth hardly anything by itself anymore. (Read: You need internships, and someone has to tell you that you need them and how to get them.) My suggestion: All colleges/universities should step it up a notch and offer a one credit hour course to all incoming freshman about everything job searching — literally, tactics and techniques students should be employing from freshman year through graduation and beyond.
Some say students/new grads themselves.
There is a ton of free and paid information about finding a job available out there. And you can’t expect everything to be handed directly to you. My suggestion: Show some initiative and take responsibility for your job search, starting as early as possible. Also, set aside a budget for professional help. You might end up not needing it, but career coaches’ time is worth something so be ready to pay if you do! (What is it worth to you to land a job one day sooner? One week? One month?)
Some say students’/new graduates’ parents.
Many Millennials are closer to their parents than previous generations, so why shouldn’t Mom and Dad find them a job, too? My suggestion: While you shouldn’t be an over-the-top helicopter parent, there are some ways to help your child enter the workforce, such as conducting research, giving resume feedback, helping financially, providing networking contacts and being a sounding board.
Some say industry professionals.
Many of us do give back to young professionals in our fields — for free. But there’s only so much time, especially if we’re not being paid. My suggestion: It’s really hard out there in the job market — for everyone. Definitely volunteer where you can, or at least be a Job Angel.
Some say human resources and hiring managers.
Is it really fair to expect students and recent graduates to know how to impress you? Yeah, it is. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t provide a little assistance. My suggestion: Follow the advice provided by Jason Ryan Dorsey in Y-Size Your Business for improving your career site and overall hiring process.
So whose job is it to teach you how to find a job? Everyone’s. We all play a role — or at least we can. What are your thoughts?
Ryan Paugh
You’re right Heather. It’s everybody’s job to an extent. If HR pros, industry leaders and college career centers are good at what they do, then they’re doing this everyday. Unfortunately, not everybody who has these jobs are good at what they do.At the end of the day our destiny is in our own hands. That’s why I encourage college students and recent grads to start building a network for themselves as early as possible.It’s a great time to be using the power of the Internet to meet new people and learn how our peers are finding work. Or how they’re not finding work.Personally, I believe that the best way to figure out how to find a job is to learn from eachother’s successes and failures. Blogging, online communities and other forms of social media are good for that!
Posted 1-7-2010
Kristina Allen
I love the idea of having a one credit hour course for pending graduates versus simply expecting students to find their way to the career services center. In fact, it might not even be a bad idea for career advice to be doled out during freshman experience type classes or orientation. After all, college students should have the importance of job experience instilled in them as early as possible. However, I completely see how most freshman would be uninterested in this information and wouldn’t retain a darn thing taught.My personal experience was through learning on my own, and eventually finding an awesome mentor during my internship. To this day I still consider my mentor a go-to person even though it’s been over a year since we worked together. All that being said, I think it comes down to the individual student. We all know there is a difference between hearing and listening; parents, professionals and hiring managers can give students the best advice in the world, but the student needs to want to listen otherwise the advice goes in one ear and out the other. Perhaps I’m way too idealistic, but I think as students progress from their freshman to junior and senior years, they will naturally start thinking about their career and seek out good job hunting strategies. With the Internet at our fingertips, it just makes sense to Google it!
Posted 1-7-2010
Paul PAris
Heather you are spot on in your assessment of the ways that new grads can go about helping themselves as well as seeking help from others to land that first job after graduation. A great deal of Colleges and Universities Career Offices many of whom are so out of touch with the real world today have subpar programs to help upcoming graduates in their search for employment. The use of the internet and Networking/Social Media sites like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook if used properly can be a wonderful resource. Still with all that the internet has to offer, in a recent survey that was done in the NY, NJ, and CT. Tri-State area by a local TV station their survey showed that 80 % of people in 2009 within their viewing area got their most recent job by face to face networking. So while the internet is easily accessible to everyone it is not thebe all end all in someone’s job search.
Lastly one of the biggest resources is internships, if students or soon to be grads. would look ahead and use free time to go out and work at an internship in the field they are studying some may get that allusive job offer before graduation.
Posted 1-7-2010
Gary Alan Miller
It’s each individual’s responsibility to take advantage of all resources at hand to learn about the skills and tools needed for a job/internship search. So, from that perspective it *is* everyone’s job. But, I think a better way to phrase it would be: It’s your responsibility to learn from everyone. And deeper still, it’s your responsibility to critically analyze these skills and tools and decide how they can work for your particular goals. It’s not a “one formula fits all” scenario.Job/internship searching really is an experiential learning experience in and of itself. You can read about it, be taught techniques, be coached until you’re blue in the face — but until you actively put each of the pieces into practice, you won’t fully understand how to make it work for you.There are schisms in expectations sometimes. But, it all boils down to personal responsibility and utilizing all available resources.
Posted 1-7-2010
Rachel Esterline
I believe it’s my job to take initiative. But, I expect my school to make an effort since I’m technically paying for the services. But, there are always people out there willing to help (like you!)
Posted 1-7-2010
Karla Porter
As your other readers have pointed out, this is a great post and topic for discussion. Anyone who can help launch a career should. That said, institutions of higher ed need to kick it up a notch and realize the reality is that as Utopian as the collegiate life and the campus is, today’s students want to complete their degrees and move on to a career. Kristina has the right idea about a for credit course. It needs to be mandatory and maybe more than 1 credit. Employer expectations, professionalism and ethics in the workplace, professional networking, job search strategy and technique, careerpaths and professional development… these are the tools that students need to successfully make the transition with an advantage over the many of us who eeked it out on our own without guidance but know there is a better way and no excuse not to implement positive change for today’s emerging professionals. Students and parents have to insist, business and industry has experience and HR can deliver… they need to collaborate.
Posted 1-8-2010
Gary Alan Miller
Other random thoughts to put into the mix of this conversation: The history of universities is not one of job placement and career training. It’s of liberal arts, critical thinking and “educating the democracy.”<br>It’s really a more recent phenomenon that education has come to be defined by career expectations. None of that likely matters to the current senior in their job search. But, it is important to note that we’re talking about hundreds of years of culture and tradition that have changed really dramatically in basically a few decades. <br>For perspective, UNC only opened a career center somewhere around 1950. But, the university has been around since 1789 — the same year George Washington became president!<br>So, 60 years worth of career center. And it’s really on been in the latter part of that time that our society has come to see higher education as primarily a place for career advancement rather than a place primarily for knowledge development.<br>Again, I understand why a current student would say, “who cares.” But, those of us who are interested in the history of higher ed find this stuff facinating.
Posted 1-8-2010
Janet Aronica
Well, I honestly think that it’s up to the college career services to be (more) up-to-date about the latest trends and resources with entry-level job searches. When you go on college tours your junior/senior year of high school, they always walk you by the career services center and talk about how helpful and available those people are. But at the end of the day, no matter how helpful or not helpful they are, it’s up to the student to take initiative and seek help. For me, it was my mentors I met through internships and extracurriculars that really guided my job search. I am forever grateful to them, but at the end of the day it was because I took initiative to form those relationships that I had that guidance. Great topic, Heather!!!
Posted 1-8-2010
Rebecca Denison
My best answer draws upon my own experience, which may be unusual. I switched my major kind of late in the game, but I was really lucky to find a great mentor in my first PR professor. He saw something in me, and I liked his emphasis on measurement, so I stuck with him, took all of his classes and stopped by his office for advice A LOT.I guess my best answer is that it is a lot on a student’s own shoulders to find their way. I recommend finding a mentor you can trust and ask for advice as often as you need.
Posted 1-8-2010
Brian Batchelder
Great question. As a former college career advisor — and current in-house corporate recruiter — I believe colleges and universities need to step up. Faculty, staff and career services offices need to stay current with the needs of the marketplace. Some are doing it, many are not. I would NOT be where I am today unless my alma mater taught me how to network. That said, the job search is like any skill… you need practice, practice, practice and some of the onus falls on the individual.
Posted 1-8-2010
Sue
I agree with a poster above that most freshman wouldn’t retain a word of what they learned, not if it was forced on them. Most of the students who take my career class do it only because they need the credit and they think it will be easy. By the end they’ve gotten something from it, but the indifference to taking responsibility for their own careers is discouraging. My career office offers programs and the students don’t show up – “we’re too busy”. But as soon as they graduate suddenly it’s our fault for not being “relevant” and “up-to-date”? If they’d shown up, they might have learned that we are on top of what’s going on in the world. Good lord, folks – this is our profession. Do you think we just sit back and think posting a resume to Monster is how it’s done? I teach students how to effectively use LinkedIn and Twitter – most of them have no clue how or haven’t even heard of these tools – because that’s where the market is going. I share insights from recruiters and what I’ve learned about HR trends from reading industry reports and following a multitude of blogs and knowledgable people on Twitter (I’m here, aren’t I?). I wish career information was built into the academic curriculum, that the academic departments responded to our attempts to partner with them to get information to their students, but ultimately I believe the onus lies with the student to use all the resources available to them to achieve their goal. Do we blame the library when a student doesn’t bother to use them to write their paper and gets a bad grade? They know we exist, we reach out at every opportunity, and still it becomes the career center’s fault for not, what – showing up at their dorm room door with a 100% personalized tutorial on how to find the job of their dreams? I am grateful for the students who do use my services. They keep me plenty busy. I can’t worry about the ones who just don’t care yet.
Posted 1-8-2010
Dan Schawbel
I agree that it’s everyone, but especially you. Each individual needs to be ambitious and driven enough to figure it out for themselves, using these resources that you mentioned here.
Posted 1-10-2010
Mary
I believe the college career centers are doing a lot to assist students, posting job vacancies, working with employers, conducting workshops on cover letter, resume writing and interviewing workshops. Providing students with the tools they need to do a successful job search. Also encouraging all students to do internships so that they have experience along with their degree. It is the students responsibility to take advantage of all these resources and not expecting that the career center will PLACE them in a position after graduation. I believe career centers have also been quick to use social networking sites like Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook to help their students.
Posted 1-10-2010
Mikinzie Stuart
While I agree everyone can help with the job search, I feel it is up to each individual to take initiative to find his or her own job. Some people may have less resources than others, especially when they are going into a field different from their parents, attend a smaller university or college, live in a rural area, etc. However, Gen-Y is fortunate to have plenty of free resources for information, such as the internet and social media. But it is up to that individual to take advantage of those resources and use them as a way for self-education and as channels for communicating their personal brand. When it comes to it, I think the best method for finding a job is networking. Engaging and creating a relationship with those with experience and connections in your desired industry will not only put you in touch with employers, but can also teach you what you can do in the meantime to better your chances of getting hired.After all, it isn’t only about what you know, but about who you know. More importantly, it isn’t always about who you know, but who knows you.
Posted 1-10-2010
Robin Luymes
Let’s start with the premise that it IS the student’s job to learn all they can from whatever resource they can about how to get a job. Too many academically bright students do such a lousy job when it comes to the real world and landing a job.The school certainly has a responsibility, and career centers typically provide great services, even after students graduate. Industry professionals should be working with students who are learning to become part of their sector as well. After all, the students are their future employees, and it would behoove them to be part of their training (it also allows them to get a sneak peek in order to get the top students for their companies). And parents really should be handing down wisdom on all topics, right?But it still comes back to students taking the initiative to engage in the dialog with these various groups. Some of the best lessons students learn in college are not in the classroom, after all. It’s part of growing up.
Posted 1-10-2010