Sweats to Suits Your transition from campus to the workplace

London Calling

Ever since my grandparents introduced us to Oliver on VHS, I was enamored with the United Kingdom.  This interest only heightened as I learned about the Top Shop, the abundance of Indian cuisine, and the numerous clever expressions common to this far off land (mostly from the chick lit authors I discovered over the years).

I finally took my first trip “across the pond” last November (see obligatory phone booth photo above).  Upon our arrival at Heathrow airport, I told my husband “all I want to do is eat Indian food, ride the tube, and listen to people speak with a British accent.”  He replied, “Joy, we can probably accomplish those action items in the first 30 minutes.”  We did, in fact do all of those things in the first 30 minutes AND we saw Oliver on stage during the trip!  Keeping all of this in mind, you can imagine my excitement when a UK-based career coaching firm, Position Ignition, recently emailed me and asked to post a guest entry on Sweats to Suits.  London calling, indeed…

Guest Blog Entry from: Position Ignition

Here in London, college graduates and school-leavers are finding the job market to be as tough as it is for all of you across the pond.  You know how it is-there’s a higher number of school and college graduates every year, and there’s a backlog of jobless graduates in light of the recent recession and the inevitable high unemployment rates.

Over here in the UK, our welfare system is actually presenting additional challenges in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Changes to the values of state pensions and the Government’s phasing out of our default retirement age means more senior people are staying on in the labour market, making it even more competitive for younger folks.

However, wherever you are in the world, there’s always something you can do to increase your chances of landing a job as a new (or older) graduate. Here are our top 11 tips for school and college leavers:

1. BE HONEST

Be honest with yourself about what you’re great at, and what you’re not so good at. If you get a job that plays to your strengths you will succeed more quickly, earn more money and live a happier, better balanced life.

2. BE CLEAR

You may have completed a school careers test that gave you some ideas about what you should do for a job. Either way, you need to find out where to focus your energies for your job hunt. A scattergun approach will likely miss your target.

3.     BE QUICK
Did your parents say annoying things to you like “The early bird catches the worm!?” Well, in this case, your parents were right! You’ll be competing for jobs with oodles of other very organised people and you’ve got to get in there quick. Job applications may only be open for a very short while.

4. BE yoUNIQUE

Try to think about what sort of person you appear to be to someone who doesn’t know you. What is it about you that makes you you? You know you’re unique, now you’ve got to prove you’re unique to interviewers. They won’t want another clone – they’ll want someone who will do things differently, break new ground and new frontiers-show them that that’s you.

5. GET ‘WITH IT’

The world will never stand still, so you can’t either. If somehow your I.T. classes passed you by at school and you’ve found yourself as good on a computer as your mother, it’s time to get up to date. Do a touch-typing course, start tweeting, get a smart phone.

6. CONNECT

Schooling rarely teaches current affairs well but as you enter the job market, you’ll find it essential that you’re up to date with what’s going on in your field of interest.  So, whether you’re reading the latest Apple blog, Farming Weekly magazine or The Economist tweets, stay connected with the world that you want to be a part of.

7. GET FEEDBACK

Often it’s hard to be objective and look at yourself and say what’s good about you, but you’ll need to get good at talking and writing about what you’re great at. You may be able to imagine this on your own, if not, ask your friends, teachers, family or other adults to be honest about how you come across. Be brave and ask them all to write down three things you’re great at, and three things you’re not so great at, so you know what needs practice!

8. LEARN TO SELL

You’re going to have to develop that skill because you’ll be selling yourself in interviews and for job promotions for ever more! Even if you decide to set up your own business you’ll be selling your services to your customers – you can’t get out of it, so get into it!

9. SHARE YOUR PLAN

You know how if you secretly make a plan to go for a run, but no-one will know if you don’t, so when it rains it’s an easy decision not to? Don’t let your career planning go un-heard of either. Tell your parents, your friends, or a career guide what your plans are to ensure you’re held accountable and are motivated to achieve your goals.

10. VOLUNTEER

It’s a competitive market so it’s highly likely you’ll have to spend some time working for free in order to gain the experience that lets you stand out from the crowd. So volunteer on a cancer helpline, crew a yacht for someone or do virtual research as a marketing intern. Whatever your target career, give your time for free and it’ll often blossom into opportunity.

11. NETWORK

“It’s not what you know, it’s who you know” rings true now more than ever in a difficult market. Don’t be shy, be brave. Make a list of all the people you know (it’ll be a big list!) and then think about who they might know that might be able to help you get a foot in the door of your chosen career. Maybe your parent’s friend works in a Sea Life centre and you want to be a marine biologist, or your friend’s brother works for a Law firm you’d like to volunteer at? People are usually flattered to be asked and very glad to help.

Nisa Chitakasem -Founder of Position Ignition, a UK-based modern day careers advisory firm for professionals offering help around careers, transition and personal & professional development

How to find Position Ignition:

Website: www.positionignition.com
Blog: www.positionignition.com/blog

Twitter: http://twitter.com/posignition

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PositionIgnition

Career Blunder for the Week: Nisa’s comments in #1 reminded me of a student (we’ll refer to as Kelly), I met with a while back who seemed to be denying her true passion.  Kelly had declared Accounting as her major based on her proficiency with the coursework.  Kelly’s resume and portfolio of experiences told a different story.  All of her work experience was sales and recruiting-related.  She loved to sell people on her campus, her sorority, and on various consumer products and services.  Over the course of my career, I have observed many young people turn to careers in professional services because they excelled in their classes or because they heard not-so-subliminal “job security” themed messages from their parents.  Many of these young professionals reached out to me for advice upon my move to career counseling because they are exhausted by the data-intensive elements of the job and are starved for more interpersonal interaction. Seeing the proverbial writing on the wall, I encouraged Kelly to pursue two internships, one in recruiting or sales and one in Accounting.  Not surprisingly, Kelly enjoyed her internship in sales much more and decided to forego Accounting as a career path and accepted a full-time position in sales. Moral of the Story: “To thine own self be true”