This is going to be a little “tough love” and a little “what I wish I had done” type of post. I work with college students in my full-time job as an advisor at KU. I started three years ago; just months from my own college graduation. I was excited to have a job and still be in Lawrence. I loved my alma mater and was excited to work with students. For awhile, it still felt I was at school. Well, I WAS at my SCHOOL but I was no longer a student. I was transitioning to someone who had a full-time job with full-time responsibilities. Eventually, the differences between “me” and current college students were more distinct.
According to the Pew Research Center, the Millenial Generation were born “after 1980 – the first generation to come of age in the new millennium.” As they have entered adulthood, they are being described as “confident, self-expressive, liberal, upbeat and open to change”. Lovely descriptions for a generation entering adulthood, especially with the current economic condition. But this generation has also been considered “trophy kids” in which they were rewarded for participation and not hard work. This generation’s parents are referred to as “helicopters” and are involved in everything in their child’s life up through college graduation and a job search. Here is where I’ll make my first point of advice:
1. Students, if you are over 18 years old, I don’t care who is paying for your college education, I want to talk to YOU. YOU are the one earning this college education and you won’t get much farther in life if you can’t be responsible for what it entails to earn the diploma with your name on it.
Here, I’ll also make a note to parents. Don’t try to “fix” your child’s mistake. If they can’t earn a C average in their major, don’t try to convince the school to award the degree anyway. Some of this Millennial generation need to learn consequences and if that means summer school, so be it. Now to address the dreaded and horrifying job hunt:
2. Students, YOU are searching for a job. YOU must prove you are hard-working, smart, capable and responsible. Letting your parents drop off resumes (that they may or may not have written for you) DOES NOT prove that you are hard-working, smart, capable or responsible. Your resume WILL end up in the recycle bin.
I was lucky to get a very secure job right before the economy took a toll on jobs. It’s hard out there for people of all generations looking for a job. It seems that the biggest impact on the Millenial generation: ”37% of 18- to 29-year-olds are unemployed or out of the workforce” according to Pew. “Research shows that young people who graduate from college in a bad economy typically suffer long-term consequences — with effects on their careers and earnings that linger as long as 15 years.”
The greatest thing I did for my career aspirations while a KU undergraduate student was to get involved and seek opportunity. I was drilled with the importance of internships (I held two). I found my home on campus and developed skills outside the classroom (helllooo event planning and people management). I cared about the people I worked with and the supervisors I could learn from (I had stellar references I KNOW landed me a job it did not seem I had the experience for). Building relationships is where I’ll make my next point. This one comes from my friend, Caroline.
3. Treat even a part-time, student job as you would a full-time job. If you are not aware of common courtesy leaving your job for another position, know this: it is courtesy to give two-weeks-notice. Your new job will expect a bit of time before you start (unless you’re a big-time, hot, new start-up company but that is a whole other story of ethics for another day) and you WILL need a bit of time (even if you work just a few hours a week) to transition out of the job you are leaving.
Did I always make the right decisions in school or as a young adult in the workforce? No, especially financially (my credit card and student loan payments are example enough).
So you may still not have the job of your dreams (I don’t - I don’t even know what the job of my dreams is yet). So unless you plan to settle (and being from the Millenial Generation, I know you won’t) WORK more than 40 hours a week. Not necessarily at your full-time job but work at continuing to LEARN and TRY and CHANGE and DEVELOP. I’m not a classroom learner, my brief stint in grad school demonstrates that, but I know I’m an explore and discover kind of person. And there were still summers and breaks I think about now that I totally wasted because I was waiting for something to happen. Learn and do what you like and you may one day be paid to do it, too. It’s your life. They’re YOUR mistakes and YOUR successes. YOU get to decide and are responsible for what you do with it. What are you waiting for?
It’s recently come to my attention that I know a bit more than then the average person about communications, technology and social media.
1. This one is silly, but I was excited about the technology advancement my office recently upgraded to for orientation sessions: ipads! I’ve never owned an iPad or iPhone or touchscreen iPod but I’ve played with them enough to know what I’m doing and to believe they’re going to be more useful than laptops. I’m surprised our on-the-young-side staff is a little nervous to use them. iPhones didn’t get to be so uber-popular because they were impossible to use. I’ve seen 18month olds figure out the touchscreen on an iPod. Why must technology scare people?
2. I haven’t (to my face) received any skepticism to the workshop Debbi and I are teaching: Social Media Basics for Business via Philsquare. Friends have been supported and doubts have been squashed. I know what works and what isn’t the best idea. I know social media isn’t a magic bullet, nor is it the answer to all your marketing and business dilemmas.
3. I like doing communications. I like doing newsletter lay-outs and making it look decent. I know visual elements (illustrations, photographs) are important. I can’t do graphic design, but I can make a newsletter (or flyer) look attractive and - most importantly- communicate your brand. (I also know why “branding” is important, but that’s another blog post!)
I like having different projects. I like having different goals. I also would like to earn some more money and have the chance to improve my skills (student loans won’t pay themselves!)
I also like doing communications. Blog entries, newsletters, social media and marketing, too. It IS unrealistic to think I’m going to have the perfect job with amazing coworkers with the salary I’d like. I have been concerned over the past few years while not having a communications-focused job that I am missing the chance to advance in marketing and the type of work I REALLY want to do be doing. But I think I have missed the smaller changes. The little jobs and opportunities to prove myself and say, “I can do this” and just do it.
I had an interview of sorts with a recruiter from a Chicago agency my last semester in school He said he interviews graduating students from all over the midwest and the difference between students at KU and students from Indiana (specifically Notre Dame) is that KU students are humble. Students from schools closer to the east coast are better at “selling themselves”. His advice was to not shy away from selling what you can do and bragging about yourself. I’ve always kept this in mind and it’s something I have been working on.
So, because I have this blog and I can say what I want, I’ll say this: “I can do it”. I can do the marketing basics: news releases, newsletters and event planning. I can do the online stuff: blog entries, Twitter, Facebook. If these are things you don’t like to do or can afford to manage on your own, let me know. I’m the person that you want to hire. I’m not going to take advantage of the fact that I’m working from home and you can’t see me everyday. I can work five hours a week for you or five hours a month. I’m honest. I’m fun. I’m creative. I play well with others.
Find out more about me and check out my resume and work samples.
