The One Skill College Graduates Must Possess
Posted on April 29th, 2008 in Work | 5 Comments »
I’ve interviewed dozen of recent college graduates over the past few months. The positions I hire for don’t necessarily require bachelors degree but the lack of one becomes a limiting factor at the next level so I prefer to find people who do. It shows me they were able to complete a commitment that many start but fewer see through to the end.
Many of these graduates earned excellent grades at the top schools in the Seattle area. Most are very sharp kids who arrive with a lot of enthusiasm. They are refreshing to be around. The corporate machine hasn’t jaded them yet.
Yet I’m shocked at how many of these same graduates leave a bad first impression because they haven’t given much thought to the following questions:
- What do I do well?
- What do I want to do?
Every college graduate should have their own “escalator speech” that mentions a skill they do well and articulates a clear idea of what they’d like to do
I can’t overstate how important this is when you have 30 seconds or less to make an impression. At a recruiting fair, the first 10 seconds are critical and will determine if you’re worth pursuing. Your top grades and summer internships won’t matter if you can’t clearly state what you do well and what you’d like to do. Most hiring managers are not expecting a 5-year plan, but they do want to see that you’ve given some thought to your career.
At the recruiting fair I attended last week one women approached me and, after asking about my company, said, “I’m confident in my project management skills and would like to find a position that takes advantage of those skills, preferably at a small software company”. She impressed me by showing that she’d given thought to what she does well and what she’d like to do. I didn’t have a position that fit her skills, but I told her about a company in Seattle that might be a good fit.
When I see a smart new graduate who can’t express himself well I can’t help but believe he’s been cheated somewhere along the line.
Being able to express yourself doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get the job, but like spelling mistakes on a resume, it becomes an easy way to cull the list of candidates.
The good thing is that it’s never too late create your own escalator speech. When’s the last time you thought about what you do well or what you’d like to do?
5 Responses
After years of hard work, I found that the hardest part of college was not actually getting through it alive, or graduation, but actually getting a job. I found it really frustrating that even my own career services department at school was not really able to help me find a career after college.
Since we are all in the same boat here I figured I would Google some sites that could help (like Monster) but everything was for those with more extensive job experience. One website I found was UVisor at http://www.uvisor.com which seems to be a really solid resource in linking up college students with employers as well as helping us students really figure out our career path. I forget what the statistic was specifically, but I remember it being something like 80% of people do not choose career paths that are pertinent to their majors.
Anyway; definitely check out UVisor or AfterCollege or CollegeGrad (However UVisor is the only free service).
AKULA! Missed you!
On this topic I have so many views but the one main thing is that in life you should have an elevator speech. I mentor a few young people and I try to give them language and ideas of professions they may be interested. I dislike it when a prospective mentee says **i duh know what I want out of life**.
I met a young lady on twitter who TRULY impressed me because she loves the internet/social media and technology and she has shared with me many of the things that she wants to do but now she has to FINISH college school. I told her to keep this passion and to network as much as she can. So, I have hope! [Her website SheGeeks.net]
Thanks for sharing as always!
[...] The One Skill College Graduates Must Possess [...]
just came across. Nice blog
I would definitely recommend WetFeet’s series on interviewing, finding a job, resume writing, etc. Right now they are selling a package that includes an interviewing tutorial video, and it’s only $79. All of the books are really useful for recent grads or people graduating soon, but can be just as useful 10 years later.
Link: http://shop.wetfeet.com/promo/gradpack.aspx or http://shop.wetfeet.com/gradpack