by Laura Labovich on April 3, 2013
By now, you are likely aware of the importance of higher education. But an education without an internship is like having a boat with no water: it might look good, but it’ll be pretty difficult to put to good use.
Internships have become increasingly essential to post-college success. So essential, in fact, that the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) reported that 67% of 2012 college graduates receive a job offer after completing a paid internship (compared to meager 37% who got a job offer without any internship at all). In addition, the survey also discovered that almost 50% of employers would like to see an internship on a prospective employee’s resume.
Internships provide an opportunity for young adults to take a “test drive” in their chosen field, and afford a meaningful, real-world experience that goes beyond just a simple summer job.
So as the parent of an internship seeker, what exactly can you do to help, without going overboard?
- Inquire about your child’s interests. Engage with your child about his vision of summer. Ask “do you want to wear a suit and tie or shorts and sneakers?” or “do you wish to stay local or move to the mountains to work?” or “do you see yourself as part of a team, or do you want more autonomy?” Use the answers to these questions to help him narrow down the fields in which he might be interested.
- Help critique cover letters and resumes. Allow your child to fashion a first draft resume and cover letter—as this will likely be a useful lifelong skill. Then, go over it with him, and offer edits or improvements, but don’t demand the final say. Search for comparable examples online, or people in the industry, so he can see how his document stacks up against the competition. And then, if it still stinks, run – don’t walk – to get him some professional (resume) help.
- Drop hints to colleagues. Keep your child’s name and interests fresh in the minds of your friends and colleagues who frequently source for interns, but do so subtly. A simple, “Sarah is starting to look for internships” or “Sean mentioned that he’s curious about this field” is good, but a more specific mention like: “Dave is looking into an horticulture internship this summer” will plant the seed in the case that your friend or colleague can introduce your child to someone of interest in his industry. That way, when hiring time comes and Dave wants to apply, he has a leg up on the competition.
- Source – don’t force – opportunities. Although dropping hints to your connections may come in handy for your child, do not offer him up for an opportunity, especially one you are unsure that he’ll want! Handing your child their first internship will do him no favors down the road to an ideal career. (Ok, one caveat, if your friend is in the horticulture field, certainly make an introduction – insiders do statistically get hired first.)
And, at the end of the day, it’s critical to be supportive of your child’s decision. If he expresses interest in a field with which you don’t see a stable future, permit him to make the selection and learn from it. Oh, that’s exactly where the short-term structure of internships comes in handy, after all.
Watch the full NBC 6pm news clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjhjHybv-CM
by Laura Labovich on December 18, 2012
When you are in a job search, it’s critical to monitor, track, and manage your contacts, conversations and relationships. I am asked frequently my advice on the best way to do this; “Is Excel the way to go?” Hmm…well, Excel was certainly a fine option many years ago (before the internet was invented!) but now there are other, finer, and more effective options.
But, I’m only going to write about my favorite today: JibberJobber.
Without spending hours writing about this wicked cool tool, I’ll just share with you that there are several things you can do on JibberJobber, as a job seeker:
- Organize your job search. At its very core, JibberJobber is a tool for job seekers, job hunters, recruiters, and headhunters to organize the job hunt and manage a professional network. And, IMHO, it gets a GOLD star on this one…
- Manage and track relationships. Here, you can organize, manage and track the info around your relationships. This tool serves as an excellent relationship manager.
- Integrate Contacts with Companies and Jobs data. JibberJobber easily allows you to create one log entry (and action item) to many records at once.
- Create and get Action Item reminders (for follow-up). Need to remember to follow up with that contact you ran into at Panera last Tuesday? Don’t let disorganization get in your way. Creating action items in JibberJobber, to help you keep up on your commitments, has never been easier.
- Short term value and long term value. Jason Alba, creator of JibberJobber, says it best: “[JibberJobber] is not a band-aid solution, or a throw-away job search tool. It is a long-term career management solution to be used from now until you are done with relationships (or your career).
Ok, you got me. It’s NOT a new tool…but, if you haven’t tried it yet, it’s new to you!
So, if you are in a job search and you want to learn more about how to use JibberJobber to get more control, jump on a video webinar here!
by Laura Labovich on December 14, 2012
Today I received an email from a friend asking for help with her friend’s resume. It went something like this:
“Do you think you can take a look and let me know what you think, or just make any changes that you think are needed?”
Of course, after I read it, it occurred to me that I’ve probably given out this same advice to hundreds of job seekers over the years. So, for the folks out there who want a little advice on a resume, here’s the quick and dirty. Before you ask for any advice, go do the following things to your resume, and then come back to me:
1. Heavy-, middle-, or light-weight…your resume better have a title! So, if it doesn’t have one, dig deeper. This generally means that you don’t know what you are targeting, or you are targeting a job that you haven’t had yet. So, let’s go ahead and address these individually:
- If you don’t know what you are targeting, time to do a little more soul searching. There are loads of free and low-cost career assessments out there that can help you get to know yourself a bit more. And, if you need help, there are a ton of great career counselors out there waiting to support you (Just ask me. I’ll get you to the right person.)
- If you want to be a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep, but you’ve only done sales of educational software, that’s OK! Put the title of the job you WANT in the header…no one is going to hold your hands to the fire for claiming you’ve done it already. It will be clear once they read your resume that you have limited experience selling pharmaceuticals, but gobs of experience selling software. Without a title, however, no one has any idea what the @$%* you’ve sold!
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by Laura Labovich on December 5, 2012
Many job seekers are convinced that December is a good time to take a break from an active job search, but all signs say otherwise! This year don’t wrap up this year’s job search, along with that new pair of slippers, in anticipation of the approaching holiday season. Contrary to popular belief, shelving a job search in advance of the approaching holiday season is simply not a good New Year’s resolution.
This is, in fact, the perfect time for job search networking for three reasons:
- The holiday spirit inspires people to want to help others get what they need, too.
- Work slows down at a lot of companies, leaving time for long coffees, lunches and informational interviews with you!
- Hiring does NOT stop; statistics show that hiring happens right through December, with January known as the “golden time of recruiting.”
Here are three tips to help job seekers gain momentum during the holiday season (and all year round):
1. Party with a professional purpose. There are more parties in December than during any other time of year, which means more opportunities to network. It is acceptable to discuss job search related topics but, remember: friends, family members, and business acquaintances are more inclined to help if it is mutually beneficial. So, before heading out, give some thought to a few ways to help others, thus making the conversation reciprocal.
2. Create a Follow-Up “Hook.” When networking, take copious mental notes about the conversations had with people at holiday parties. (And, upon returning home, get those thoughts down on paper.) What’s important to remember? Things like topics you discussed, common interests, or any promise you made to get something to them, or advice you offered, are all good fodder for future conversations. These ‘hooks’ will make future follow-up that much easier!
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by Laura Labovich on October 15, 2012
Career Directors International, the premier organization for career coaches and resume writers, and the organization that has taught me more than I could possibly recall in one blog post, just announced their fourth annual Career Innovator Awards, and 100 Conversations for Career Success, the book I co-authored with Miriam Salpeter, is one of the 2012 winners!
The prestigious Career Innovator Award competition recognizes individuals on the forefront of career innovation, and professionals providing products, services and information for job seekers and people who elect to drive and manage their careers.
This unique book is the first-of-its-kind to provide job seekers situation-specific communication protocol, including scripts, templates, outlines, and worksheets, so they know what to say when contacting people and companies during their job searches. With 92% of U.S. companies turning to social media to source and hire candidates, the book includes several chapters that guide readers on what to say and write to successfully leverage tools including LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ to land jobs.
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