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College to Career: Your Guide to Starting Out

7 Posts tagged with the jobs tag

I always loved the Jetsons. What's not to love about flying cars, robot maids and cool futuristic outfits like Judy’s?

I admit when I watched the Jetsons I wasn’t paying much attention to where the characters worked or what happened when they got there. But today, I am totally fascinated by predictions about the future of work and careers.

Will we all work from home and go to virtual meetings with our colleagues in Second Life?

Will I be able to give speeches virtually, with a holographic image of me (a la CNN’s Wolf Blitzer during the 2008 presidential election) standing behind a holograph of a podium?

Will people have robot assistants?

To help my thinking and yours on this topic, I’ve been doing a lot of research. Here are some of the most compelling career and workplace predictions I’ve come across. It’s never too early to start thinking about how these trends will impact your own career:

1. You probably won't work at an office from 9 to 5. More than 100 million people are expected to telecommute to work by the year 2015. This sounds accurate to me. With an increase in contract workers, freelancers, working parents and caretakers of elderly relatives, it makes sense that we’ll increasingly work from everywhere except an office. Source: OfficeTeam's "Office of the Future: 2020" study

2. You won't travel for business. Thanks to better and better teleconferencing technology, faster broadband connections for Skype and 3D virtual reality meetings, you'll rarely need to get on a plane for a meeting or presentation. (This one can't happen soon enough for my taste!) Source: BNET Insight

3. Work will be good for your health. Instead of going to the gym at lunchtime, you might spend some of your day at a "walking workstation" and grab an apple from a healthy vending machine. Your office will be more environmentally friendly, too, with recycled office products, live plants and LEED-certified building materials. Source: Generation X, Y & Z Blog

4. You'll have two (or more) jobs. More people will maintain two sources of income -- a trend we're seeing already across all generations. You might combine a full-time job with a side entrepreneurial venture or a freelance gig. Marci Alboher wrote a book on this topic, naming the trend "slash careers," as in "lawyer/writer/yoga instructor." Source: My MyPath colleague Tammy Erickson's Harvard Business Review Blog.

 

5. You'll be in school forever. This is a trend I talk about all the time. According to the above-mentioned OfficeTeam study, "To remain marketable, workers will have to make education a lifelong priority, continually upgrading their skills." I can see people having a lifelong relationship with their college or university, not just returning for reunions but also for more education. My hunch is that the majority of this will take place through online learning. In fact, IBM is supporting its workers in this effort by matching them dollar-for-dollar in their educational pursuits, even if an employee is educating himself or herself to a job outside of IBM.

 

What do you think of these five predictions? What trends do you think will affect your career over the next five or ten years? Please share!

6 Comments Permalink Tags: work, career, future_of_work, jobs, workplace

Come listen in on my conversation with Pete Kistler, the founder of Brand-Yourself.com, who was named one of Entrepreneur magazine's Top 5 College Entrepreneur of 2009. He joins me to talk about personal branding as it relates to college students and young professionals.

 

In this podcast, we define personal branding, talk about Pete’s own personal branding process and explain why students and young professionals need to think about your personal brand -- especially the image you’re projecting online.

 

For more on this topic, here are two great new resources that can help you create and enhance all aspects of your personal brand:

 

PricewaterhouseCoopers Personal Brand Week - a terrific collection of downloadable worksheets to help you create an elevator pitch, express your passion, build a network, promote yourself online and more. PwC is also collecting free personal branding advice on Twitter with the hashtag #pwcpbw.

 

Student Branding Blog - a new resource expressly designed to help college students with personal branding. This site was created by Dan Schawbel, who also launched the Personal Branding Blog.

 

Click here to listen to this week's podcast.

 

How have you approached personal branding as a student or young professional? As always, I welcome your comments below!

0 Comments Permalink Tags: career, jobs, social_networking, work, college, personal_brand, advice

I recently came across a study by the Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute predicting that about one-third of new jobs created over the next eight years will be at small businesses owned by women.

 

As a woman small business owner myself, I was really intrigued by this news. It also reminded me that many students and young professionals miss out on great opportunities because they overlook the potential to get a job at a (man- or woman-owned) small business.

 

In this week's podcast, I share my thoughts on the opportunities available in small businesses, how to find these opportunities and the pros and cons of working for a smaller organization.

 

As always, I look forward to your feedback and comments!

 

Listen to the podcast now.

0 Comments Permalink Tags: career, job_search, jobs, small_business, advice, generation_y

I’ve always loved new beginnings -- the first day of a new month, the turning of a new season, even the sunrise of a new day (on the rare occasion I’m up early enough to see it). Of course there is no bigger new beginning than the turning of the calendar to January 1.

 

This year in particular, the New Year feels like a crucial fresh start. 2009 will go down in the books as one of the hardest years ever for job seekers, especially those looking for entry-level work. If you’ve had a tough time in 2009, or even if it’s been a great year for you, here are some tips for starting 2010 on a successful note.

 

Out With the Old. To make room for new things in your life (a great job, fresh ideas, more money, a strong network, etc.) you need to get rid of any clutter that is weighing you down. This might include critical people, a job that drains your energy, college junk piled in your closet or self-defeating thoughts like “I’ll never get a job in this economy.” For inspiration, check out two of my favorite resources on the topic of simplifying and decluttering: the Zen Habits Blog and Julie Morgenstern’s book, Shed Your Stuff, Change Your Life.

 

Set Quality (not Quantity) Goals. We all know that New Year’s resolutions are generally forgotten by February. So, instead of making a long list of “rules” for my year, I prefer to declare three to five big goals or priorities. I keep them in a little note file on my computer and on a little card pasted on the inside cover of the notebook I use every day. I peek at my list constantly to remind myself what my priorities are, how I want to spend my time and what opportunities I should not pursue. If you need help clarifying your goals, check out Your Best Year Yet! Ten Questions for Making the Next Twelve Months Your Most Successful Ever.

 

Do One Career-Related Thing Every Day. This is a piece of advice I share in every workshop I lead and with every student who asks for my most important career tip: take daily action. Just like being healthy or learning an instrument or excelling at a sport, being successful in your career requires daily commitment and daily action. Here are some to consider:
•    reading a career advice article on MyPath
•    attending a local networking event
•    tweeting out a career-related question to your Twitter followers
•    posting a comment to a professional discussion group on LinkedIn
•    reaching out to an alum of your school for an informational interview
•    reading one chapter of a career advice book
•    setting up an appointment with your college career center

•    applying for a job

•    anything else you can think of!

 

Finally, please don’t hesitate to send me your career questions (and yes, sending me a question counts as a daily action!). I will be answering reader questions in upcoming “College to Career” blog posts and podcasts here in MyPath in 2010.

 

Happy New Year!

0 Comments Permalink Tags: career, job_search, networking, social_networking, job, linkedin, productivity, generation_y, jobs, advice

Many people think that job hunting and career planning stop in December, but that's not the case. In some ways, the holiday season can be the best time of year for job seekers. Check out this week's "College to Career" podcast for five holiday career tips, including:

 

Send tons of holiday cards. Celebrate a new networking relationship or reconnect with a friend, internship colleague or other contact by sending a thoughtful holiday card. Be sure to choose a non-denominational greeting if you're unsure of someone’s religion.  In fact, I always send “Happy New Year” cards to be safe and a bit unique. If you're on a tight budget, send e-cards with a personalized message to each recipient.

 

Ask for career-related gifts. If anyone asks what you want for the holidays this year, think about gifts that could help your career or job search, such as an inspirational business book, an attractive business card holder, a laptop bag, monogrammed stationery, a session with a career coach or a pre-paid coffee card. These are truly gifts that keep on giving, especially if they help you land a paycheck!

 

Relax and regroup. Give yourself the gift of rest and relaxation this season. Take some time to destress and analyze your job hunting efforts to see if you want to make some changes in the new year. You can also congratulate yourself on making it through the challenging economic climate of 2009. Soon we’ll be flipping our calendars to January and you'll want to be ready to make a fresh start and hit the ground running in 2010.

 

For more tips and advice, listen to this week's podcast. If you have additional holiday career tips, please share in the comments!

2 Comments Permalink Tags: career, generation_y, job, networking, jobs, job_search

If you're looking for a job in today's difficult economy, you must be prepared at any moment for an opportunity to arise. Often an interview or job will go to one of the first people to respond, so you have to be ready at all times.

 

Listen to my new podcast to hear more about the following tips for being properly prepared:

 

1. Have every required job search item. This includes such must-haves as a proofread and professionally vetted resume printed out on nice paper and a clean and ironed interview outfit hanging in your closet.

 

2. Have your virtual image cleaned and polished too. These days, your virtual image can be just as important as your real one. Double check to make sure all of your online profiles are professionally appropriate. Remove those crazy Homecoming photos and status updates about skipping class, and set up a professional profile on LinkedIn that promotes your work-related accomplishments.

 

3. Practice your pitch. People will judge you based on how you introduce and talk about yourself, so be prepared for the inevitable moment when you'll be asked to "tell me a bit about yourself." Practice introducing yourself in a positive way and get very clear and concise about what kind of job you're looking for and what you have to offer. Being able to introduce yourself is deceptively difficult. Don't wing it!

 

4. Have business cards. Carrying business cards shows people you meet that you are active in the professional world even if you don’t have a full-time job. All you need on the card are your name, phone number and email address. Bring your business cards everywhere you go -- the gym, Thanksgiving dinner, the nail salon -- you never know when a chance meeting could lead to an opportunity.

 

5. Set up Google alerts. Finally, prepare your brain by reading a major newspaper every day and empowering yourself with daily information about the companies you want to work for. Set up free Google news alerts with the names of employers and industry topics so you can keep up to date on important news and any potential opportunities.

 

Listen to this week's podcast for more on this topic!

0 Comments Permalink Tags: generation_y, job, jobs, career, search

For my first blog post and podcast for MyPath, I wanted to address the biggest career issue facing college students and recent grads today: getting a job in the worst recession in decades.

 

While I wish I could offer some secret playbook that I've been saving for a bad economy, the reality is that you have to use the same job search strategies you've always used to find a job. However, you have to use them in a way that is smarter, faster and better than you've ever done before.

 

  • Being smarter means being more strategic about where you look for job opportunities and what kinds of opportunities you seek. Be sure to cast the widest net possible and think broadly about where you can work and where you'll come across job postings.

 

  • Being faster means jumping at opportunities when they arise. Return all phone calls and emails promptly, show up early to job fairs and networking events and apply immediately when you find a job posting that suits your skills and experience.

 

  • Being better means avoiding common job seeker mistakes. Proofread all documents and email messages, make sure your contact methods are 100 percent professional and check any online profiles for inappropriate content.

 

For more tips on being smarter, faster and better, listen to my recent podcast.

 

Next week I'll be back with more tips for making a successful transition from college to career!

2 Comments Permalink Tags: jobs, college, generation_y, career, job_search

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