Six Career Management Tips for GenY
This is a guest post by Lianne Palmatier, a recent graduate in communication studies from James Madison University. While enrolled, she participated in entrepreneurship coursework as well as internships that ultimately led to employment in her field.
If ever you want to hear how the "real world" differs from college, I can tell you, it involves fewer naps.
I wake up every morning at 6 a.m., not because I'm a morning person. I have nearly a 2-hour commute. Living at home and saving funds was the only way for me to survive on an intern's paycheck. As a person who is used to staying up until 3 a.m. and taking glorious mid-day naps, the intern lifestyle did not come easily. However, I was determined to succeed.
Landing my dream internship wasn't straightforward. After graduating in May, I began the search for a job. After several interviews, I had little luck. I continued to reach out to contacts, apply to online postings, and sit around my house feeling miserable.
When I finally nailed that perfect job, I wanted my employer to be grateful for choosing me. Say the word, and I could handle it. Give me a deadline, I'll meet it. Something I learned early in life was that being acceptable isn't good enough. Take it further and shake up the place. Eat lunch at your desk if you can crunch a few numbers in the process.
The biggest thing I brought to my internship was a positive attitude and a desire to make life easier for my surrounding colleagues. I'm happy to say that the early mornings and the late nights paid off. After proving myself as an intern, my organization chose to bring me on full-time.
Little (besides a new desk) has changed. I am still managing a ridiculous amount of work that makes my mother shake her head. But I'm thriving. Although it took me several months to find an internship that fit me, my career can reach heights that I only dreamed possible.
Such opportunities provided to me also included reading books about people in similar situations. In Y-Size Your Business, I read about going the corporate route to success and in Upstarts, GenY'ers became entrepreneurs, finding a hole in an industry and filling it. As I neared a full-time offer, these books paralleled my experience toward success.
Some key takeaways from Y-Size Your Business by Jason Ryan Dorsey:
* Check your professional image online.
Google your name every week. Your personal brand will be judged, so make sure you maintain a professional Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc. to go along with that professional voicemail message.
* Practice professional speaking.
You have to, you know, like, talk to people that may not have your GenY mannerisms. If you join an organization like Toastmasters, you can practice public speaking and work toward removing those filler words.
* Benefit yourself with real-world experience.
A 4.0 GPA looks great, but strive to get out of the classroom and explore real-life situations that will impress potential employers.
Key takeaways from Upstarts by Donna Fenn:
* Know your market and adapt.
In this economy, you have to do your research. That holds true for both starting your own company and your job search.
* Your brand will be judged by the company it keeps.
A sports-media company might partner with superstar athletes, you might partner with high power connections on Linkedin.
* Identify value.
To succeed in business, you must bring something to the table, whether it is a new system for credit-card processing or an organic baby food. Likewise, in your job hunt, you must show your interviewer why you would bring value to the team--in revenue generating, or strategic idea development.
GenY may not usually read business or professional development books, but I like reading books about myself and my so-called generation. Tools you pick up from these may expand your mindset and land you that next offer when an interviewer asks how you stay involved in your industry.
Recent grads, what do you have to share about your experiences?
If ever you want to hear how the "real world" differs from college, I can tell you, it involves fewer naps.
I wake up every morning at 6 a.m., not because I'm a morning person. I have nearly a 2-hour commute. Living at home and saving funds was the only way for me to survive on an intern's paycheck. As a person who is used to staying up until 3 a.m. and taking glorious mid-day naps, the intern lifestyle did not come easily. However, I was determined to succeed.
Landing my dream internship wasn't straightforward. After graduating in May, I began the search for a job. After several interviews, I had little luck. I continued to reach out to contacts, apply to online postings, and sit around my house feeling miserable.
When I finally nailed that perfect job, I wanted my employer to be grateful for choosing me. Say the word, and I could handle it. Give me a deadline, I'll meet it. Something I learned early in life was that being acceptable isn't good enough. Take it further and shake up the place. Eat lunch at your desk if you can crunch a few numbers in the process.
The biggest thing I brought to my internship was a positive attitude and a desire to make life easier for my surrounding colleagues. I'm happy to say that the early mornings and the late nights paid off. After proving myself as an intern, my organization chose to bring me on full-time.
Little (besides a new desk) has changed. I am still managing a ridiculous amount of work that makes my mother shake her head. But I'm thriving. Although it took me several months to find an internship that fit me, my career can reach heights that I only dreamed possible.
Such opportunities provided to me also included reading books about people in similar situations. In Y-Size Your Business, I read about going the corporate route to success and in Upstarts, GenY'ers became entrepreneurs, finding a hole in an industry and filling it. As I neared a full-time offer, these books paralleled my experience toward success.
Some key takeaways from Y-Size Your Business by Jason Ryan Dorsey:
* Check your professional image online.
Google your name every week. Your personal brand will be judged, so make sure you maintain a professional Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc. to go along with that professional voicemail message.
* Practice professional speaking.
You have to, you know, like, talk to people that may not have your GenY mannerisms. If you join an organization like Toastmasters, you can practice public speaking and work toward removing those filler words.
* Benefit yourself with real-world experience.
A 4.0 GPA looks great, but strive to get out of the classroom and explore real-life situations that will impress potential employers.
Key takeaways from Upstarts by Donna Fenn:
* Know your market and adapt.
In this economy, you have to do your research. That holds true for both starting your own company and your job search.
* Your brand will be judged by the company it keeps.
A sports-media company might partner with superstar athletes, you might partner with high power connections on Linkedin.
* Identify value.
To succeed in business, you must bring something to the table, whether it is a new system for credit-card processing or an organic baby food. Likewise, in your job hunt, you must show your interviewer why you would bring value to the team--in revenue generating, or strategic idea development.
GenY may not usually read business or professional development books, but I like reading books about myself and my so-called generation. Tools you pick up from these may expand your mindset and land you that next offer when an interviewer asks how you stay involved in your industry.
Recent grads, what do you have to share about your experiences?
Lianne,
Great piece. That's wonderful that you read business, professional development books. I have copies of the two you mentioned myself.
If you haven't already picked this up, I would highly recommended Lisa Orrell's "Millennials into Leadership." It's a really great book about -- you guessed it -- how to be a Millennial leader in the workplace. Also, feel free to check out my new book, #ENTRYLEVELtweet. It's filled with tons of networking and career-related information for Gen Y candidates like yourself!
All the best and good luck!
Heather
P.S. I am a huge fan of James Madison University! Spoke there in the fall and will hopefully be going back soon.