Congratulations You're A Grownup! Now What?!?

So you're graduating from college, old enough to drink, smoke, and and fight for your country. Congratulations!! You're now entering the workforce, possibly for the first time ever. So what the hell are you supposed to do now?!

Step 1: Create a resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile.

• Make sure this is reviewed by someone else and free of spelling and grammatical errors
• Post your resume to the job boards: CareerBuilder, Monster, Indeed, ZipRecruiter, etc.

 


Step 2: Get a Wardrobe!

• Whether you were the best dressed in school or liked to experiment with fun and crazy styles, Corporate America wants a specific look.  You can still keep your individuality and style, but in most cases it needs to be toned down or made a little more conservative.
• Natural make-up and hair color is preferred. Cover up your tattoos for the interview

Step 3: Network!

• Stay in touch with your classmates, professionals, and other people you've met in college, they can be excellent resources for you down the road. 
• Attend local organizations' chapter meetings as a guest, see if it's of value for you and if it is, join!

Step 4: Accept Internships or Entry Level Roles

• You have to get your experience somewhere, and most jobs want 1+ year of experience.  
• The best thing you can do is intern while you're still in school.  If it's too late for that, look for paid internships and entry level positions, a lot of companies offer room for advancement if you prove yourself.

Step 5: Be Realistic

• So you graduated from college along with millions of other students nationwide.  You are not alone, so stay positive, accept that you're probably going to get a few rejections, and be realistic about money.  
• Unless you are a computer programmer, you are not going to make $60k+ right out of college.  You have to work up to that.

Interview Prep - What to do the Day of the Interview

Take care of everything the night before the interview, the last thing you want is to forget something or be late.  So the night before, make sure you've printed out a few copies of your resume, have paper you can take notes on, and have your outfit picked out.  Make sure you know where you're going and have your route mapped out; be aware that drive times from google maps and siri do not accurately factor in traffic, so give yourself plenty of time.  Make sure you set a couple alarms so you wake up on time.  Get plenty of sleep!  Do not under any circumstances pull an all-nighter or go out partying the night before your interview.

Go about your normal routine, if you normally eat breakfast or drink coffee, do so, but don't drink coffee or an energy drink if you typically don't, you don't need to excuse yourself to the restroom in the middle of the interview.  Take your padfolio with your notes, resumes, and directions, and head out the door.

When you arrive (5-15 minutes early), be nice to everyone from the lobby attendant, random people in the elevator, and the receptionist.  Recruiters and hiring managers ask the receptionist about your interaction, if you're nice, and if you'd be a good fit for the department, so make sure you're on your best behavior.  YOUR CELL PHONE SHOULD BE OFF FROM THE MOMENT YOU ENTER THE LOBBY!  In fact, you can just leave it in the car.

This is where all your research, discussion with the recruiter, and soul searching come into play.  You should have already discussed compensation with the recruiter, so you shouldn't need to bring it up unless the recruiter said to or an offer is made on the spot, if this is a final interview with the director, then you can bring up pay and perks.  If you prepared, then just take a deep breath, you're ready.

Do you have any interview-day rituals to get you ready?  Let me know!

Interview Prep - What to Wear

A good rule is to over-dressed rather than under-dressed, but you should always dress professionally and ask your recruiter what the dress code is.  Generally, you want to wear business or business casual attire, but you should always be conservative.  If it's something your grandma wouldn't like you wearing, don't wear it to an interview.  Also, I love to add a splash of color, it's an interview, not a funeral.  Size also does a lot, make sure your clothes fit you properly, too tight or too loose will not look right and will not impress in an interview.

Women
Formal Business Attire - Conservative blouse, knee length business skirt or slacks, conservative closed-toe heels/flats, suit jacket
Business Casual - Conservative blouse, knee length business skirt or slacks, conservative closed-toe heels/flats






Men
Formal Business Attire - Dress shoes, button down dress shirt, tie, slacks, suit jacket.
Business Casual - Dress shoes, button down dress shirt, slacks