Just Graduated from College...a Summer job!?...a Real job!? Whatever!

The last time I experienced a college graduation as a parent was 2007. What a difference 4 years makes. This year's graduates seem to have an entirely different approach and set of circumstances. Granted, we are in a completely different economic climate, but there's more to it. As I've "compared notes" with other parents of recent grads and grads from '07 or earlier, read articles, here are some thoughts:

'07 or earlier:

Strong focus on getting a job right out of college, or within a couple of months of graduation (and pretty successful). Very much like their parents' generation (baby boomers).

Was this engrained in the GenYer that they HAD to get/have a job, a REAL job, with benefits? Since there were jobs, was it a "buyers" market? Was this because they didn't have healthcare once they graduated? Was it because they had loans to start paying off? 

Today:

Many recent grads have gotten summer jobs. Not REAL jobs. (Salary + benefits)

I know, I know, some of you are saying, "at least they HAVE summer jobs!"

Did they try to get full time jobs and weren't able to? Are they "putting off" the ineveitable of pounding the pavement? Does the fact that they can stay on their parents' healthcare plan until they're 26 give them (and their parents) a different sense of urgency? They have loans to pay off, how are they handling that? Has this younger set of Gen Yers witnessed their predecessors and decided, what's the rush? Why jump into a "career" job right now? Experience life differently. Same parents, are we Baby Boomers more "understanding" (because of the headlines) that there ARE no jobs? So we don't have the same expectations? We don't "pressure" them in the same ways? Say what?

We know more and more people who have kids that have moved back home over the last 4 years. Are we more empathetic? Jealous? Enabling?

My friend Kathy shared a link about a 22 year old rebuilding her career after defeat with the LA movie biz. Read it. Interesting. She felt a real sense of ugency. She was working several jobs while she tried to get the "job of her dreams" ....

I posted on another blog, "Job Prospects 2011? Challenging!" more thoughts on this topic of recent grads and jobs.

My take? All of the above. What's your take?

~Beppie

Is Your College Student on LinkedIn? Should She Be?

Beppie and I talk often about networking and its importance for all of us. Recently however we got a lesson ourselves.  A young friend told us about a conversation with her college career office about finding internships. The career counselor suggested she use LinkedIn in her search. She took the advice, created her profile and started reaching out to alumnae in the field in which she was interested. She also used this as a tool to contact family friends. Good news! people responded quickly and with helpful advice and leads.

Networking in the 21st century! It is as important as ever but the tools keep evolving. Here was a young person not yet in the job market who found that a business tool was of real help. By presenting herself in a professional way people responded to her in that way.

So are you up to date on LinkedIn?

The other interesting advice was to use a local address in the city in which you're interested in getting a job. Of course that works if you have a friend or family member that actually lives there and they don't mind if you use their address, but if you don't??? Hmmmm.....I'm not sure what I think about that. I understand, you don't want your resume to go into a black hole because the company prefers to interview/offer a job to someone who lives in their community and if you don't, you're at an obvious disadvantage, but...

What do you think? 

~Jean