Speaking engagement

The way in which one speaks has a great impact on chances of being hired. The phone screening, phone interview, and in-person interview are all indicators of job performance; if a candidate speaks inclearly or unprofessionally in these steps, what indication would the employer have the the candidate would do any differently on the job? A person must speak clearly and professionaly in all interviews and in the office. It's as simple as that. Slang is unacceptable. Swear words are unacceptable.

Myspace versus Workspace

Okay, I know the Myspace reference is a little outdated, but it was easier to rhyme than Facebook.

As an emerging professional it is important to clean up your trail on the internet. College was fun, the parties were great, the pictures are hilarious. You don't necessarily have to get rid of all of that, just make sure it's pretty well covered. Your potential employers will search for you on the internet. Chances are they did the same things in college that you did, but they didn't have the internet to deal with. Tighten up the security settings on your online profiles. Create new - more professional online profiles with Twitter, or Foursquare. You might even consider creating a new facebook account - as I did. You can keep the old one, but change your settings so that you aren't searchable and nobody can see your information except for your own friends. Then create a new account, that is professional. Add your professional contacts as friends on the new account, and keep your old (Private) account for your friends.

Another tip is to run some searches on yourself. Google your name, search through several pages of hits - don't assume that your name won't come up if your not in the first three hits. Try looking yourself up on yasni.com. It's one that many employers use. If you find results that you don't want your employers to see - deal with it then and there.

Brand Name

Having a personal brand is one of the best things that you can do to help your job search. The best part of this one is that you already have one! You just need to fine tune it and polish it up a bit to get it ready for the professional world. Your personal brand is who you are. When translating "who you are" into a professional job search there are a few easy things that you can do. When drafting your professional documents (resume, cover letters, thank you notes, etc) pick one signature font and size. It should be easy to read but it should be something that you like and that you think says a lot about you. Have one type of resume paper that all of your professional correspondance gets printed on. Mine happens to be a blue tinted linen paper that is a little bit heavier than most. It is a bit more expensive than regular printer paper but it definitely makes you look more put together. You might go so far as to include a color. Again, mine is blue. I have blue resume paper, I typically have blue in my outfits for meetings and interviews, I have a blue padfolio and use a blue pen. Admittedly blue is the most popular logo color in America, but it is one more thing that makes you as a candidate and employee more recognizable.

You already have a personal brand. Now you just need to highlight the professional parts of it.

HIde and Go Seek

This is somewhat of a continuation of my last post, but I feel like I need to comment on it. In addition to not lying about your past experiences, it is also absolutely critical that you not lie about things that will be on your record. Many employers may run a criminal background check and a credit background check on you. Be honest with them. If there is something that could reflect negatively upon you on your record, most employers will be more forgiving if you are upfront and honest about it. Some employers may not not be able to be forgiving depending on the type of work though, but this is not a valid reason to try and conceal something. It will come out.

For those of you who don't know, I was recently hired as a Career Services Representative at Bryant & Stratton College where I will be focusing on Student Development. I'm very excited.

Be Honest

It is so important to be yourself in an interview. Recruiters can see through false pretenses very easily. They can see through a fake personality and they can tell if you are lying about your experiences. Even if you are qualified for the job, being fake in an interview will probably result in your name being taken out of the hat for the job. Let the best parts of your personality shine through in an interview - it's not an interrogation. If you have a great sense of humor make a joke or two, just make sure they are work appropriate and appropriately timed. If you're detail oriented and have a color coded planner let that be known also. These are things that are going to come out once you're in the job anyway and they aren't bad, so why not be up front about it?

Just make sure that you are being work appropriate!

Being honest about your experiences is also of paramount importance. If you lie about your experiences you will almost certainly be immediately disqualified from the interview process. If you make it through in the beginning but your employer finds out you lied about your experience you will likely be dismissed from the job. If your experience doesn't directly line up with the position for which you are applying be honest about it and draw connections from the experience that you do have. Any position that you have had has given you transferrable skills, I guarantee it. If you are yourself and draw connections from your past experiences to the new position you will have a much better chance than if you are fake and lie in your interview.

Count Cards

When you meet new people or make new collections, don't be afraid to ask for cards. There is no better way to ensure you will remember their name or email address than to take their business card. If you meet somebody and they express interest or willingness to talk to you, ask for their card so that you can take the initiative to follow up. Once you have their card though, make sure you actually do take the initiative and follow up. Collecting cards won't do you any good if you just collect them and don't do anything with them.

This might also help others who are trying to network through you. Even if they aren't looking for career opportunities like you are, but are looking for a product or service, if you have business cards you can pass the name along. Networking is not just about helping yourself - if you want to network through other people, you should be able to help others network. Networking is not about using people - it is about having connections and being able to help others as well as yourself.

Dress the part

The way you look has a huge impact on your job prospects. I know we'd all like to say that what you're wearing doesn't matter and it's your work ethic and skills that are paramount. That's true to a point, your work ethic and skills are paramount, but be real, you aren't going to get a job if you go to the interview in sweat pants. It is possible though to over dress for an interview. Try to keep it pretty traditional and conservative, but very business professional.

Men: Athletic socks and sneakers are NOT appropriate even though they are comfortable. Wear a suit with a tie. If you're going to an interview for a more creative type job, maybe throw on a brightly colored shirt and a patterned tie, but don't wear a line green suit.

Women: Your party clothes are not professional. That skirt may be black but it's about 7 inches too short. Wear professional attire, approximately knee length on the skirts or wear pants, and a nice top with a jacket maybe.

Dress for the job that you'd like to have, not necessarily the one that you are applying for. But don't be defined by your outfit. You want your skills and work ethic to shine to the recruiter, not your metallic shirt.

Always be Prepared

It is important to prepare for each and every interview or meeting that you go to. The questions might be repetitious as you continue to have informational interviews and continue to go on job interviews, but the answers will vary from time to time. It's important to have some standard answers that you can recycle, but some of the details should change depending on the job; you always want to customize your answers to questions depending on the job or organization.

If you're in an informational interview you will probably still be asked, "Tell me about yourself." This is when you should respond with your elevator speech, a thirty to sixty second description of you who are professionally. This elevator speech will pretty much be standard, though when you go on job interviews you can try to tailor it a bit to the job description.

There are some standard interview questions that you will begin to learn as you interview. You can also do some research on these on the internet. Begin to have some standard examples for these questions, create a general outline that you can keep, but before you go on an interview use your outline and make your responses more relevant to the job for which you are interviewing. For example, if you are really proud of a project you worked on professionally, you can always use that project for the "Tell me about a time you were successful," question, but highlight different aspects for different interviews.

No matter which answers you recycle, and which you use for the first time, you should always be prepared with experiences that you know for a fact you will highlight during an interview. Make sure the experiences you want to talk about are the ones that are most relevant to the job at hand. Go through your resume ahead of time, and create an outline as to how your experiences directly tie into the job description. This will help you to more fluidly answer the questions.

Become Known

Networking is so important, especially in today's economy. We've all heard the expression, "It's not what you know, it's who you know." I hate to say it, but to some extent this might be true.

It's really never too early to begin making connections with professionals and organizations that you are interested in. Do research on organizations in the area. What kind of company do you want to work for? Do you want to work in a multi-national corporation, or do you want to work in a non-profit? Spend some time reading about the organization on their website, look for newspaper articles about things they have done. Talk to people you might know who work, or have worked with an organization. If you find that you are interested in the company or industry, make a couple phone calls or send a couple emails and ask for an informational interview. This will give you a chance to briefly experience the office culture and it gives you the opportunity to build a relationship with somebody that already works there.

It's easy to begin expanding your personal and professional network. Start with people you know. What do they do for a living? What types of industries do your family members and family friends work in? Don't be afraid to ask people you know for contacts - I was able to set up a few informational interviews in California from asking colleagues for contacts. Use these opportunities to build relationships though, don't send one email or go to one meeting and think your done. Stay in touch and make a positive impression, your name may rise to the top of the list when new opportunities become available.

Woke up Working

This is the first of hopefully many posts relating to the transitions from college to the work place. The coming posts will contain many tips and tricks for navigating through the application process including resumes and cover letters. It will also provide advice for making a smooth entry into the office by dressing the part and being able to appropriately socialize with coworkers. There's a lot that goes with graduating college and joining the full-time work force. I hope to provide some personal experiences to make it easier for others. Take it with a grain of salt if you'd like, this will by no means be the end all and be all for professional advice, but hopefully it's another perspective to help you make the best decisions for yourself.

I graduated from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a minor in French Studies. I was a leader on campus, involved in several student organizations and I worked in our Career Services Office. I made a decision in August/September 2008 to graduate a year early - right before the recession hit. Needless to say the job hunting process was exceptionally difficult in those months. I am beyond thankful that I can say right now that even though times were and still are tough (knock on wood) I have not been unemployed during this time.

College is great; it's a ton of fun and it provides you with the skills that you'll use as a professional. It's easy to get caught up in college, though, and not look beyond Thirsty Thursday. Don't get me wrong, enjoy college, make the best of it. But as graduation draws nearer don't forget to think ahead. Soon, you'll have a degree and you'll have to pay money to the student loan people, as opposed to them paying you. It's imperative to start searching early. Begin making connections with professionals in your field, start researching companies, it's never to early to get your name out there. Start planning a professional wardrobe, new clothes can be expensive so buy a piece at a time. Use the resources that your university makes available to you such as career services offices, job posting databases, networking events, workshops, et cetera. It's becoming increasingly difficult to graduate with a job already lined up, do all that you can do to make sure you are one of the few who can walk in the graduation ceremony on Saturday and walk into the office on Monday.