Getting by When Living Young and Unemployed

For those college students who fear that they may be trading in their new college diplomas for Starbucks aprons, there is good news, and bad news. Employers have hired 19 percent more graduates in 2011 that they did back in 2010–when just 56 percent had snagged a job by last spring, according to a Rutgers University survey. But, the market is still pretty tepid. How are you supposed to improve your chances at landing–and keeping–a really good job?

You’re A Seller, Not A Buyer:
”[College seniors] act as through they are meeting with their college advisor, telling prospective employers what the job will do for them instead of what they will bring to an organization,” says Nell Minnow at bnet.com. Tell your interviewer that the skills that you have are going to greatly benefit his company. Make sure that you are as confident as possible when you are doing an interview. If there is one thing that interviewers hate, it is someone who doesn’t have enough confidence. So, go in there with you head held high, and tell them right there that you are the one that’s suited for the job.

You’re Part Of A Tea:
College helped to promote individual achievement, says Minnow, which basically means that ”students…have no reason to feel responsible for the group,” and working together is a must to succeed in business. Stress your ability to work with colleagues for the common. Try not to dwell solely on your own goals, but rather one the goal’s of the company. Make sure that you are also listening to the other people in the group, or team, that you are apart of. Give them a chance to say what’s on their mind, or express a feeling about something that needs to be changed.

Act Like A Grown Up:
This may seem like one of those things that is pretty obvious, but in a recent survey from the Protocol School of Washington found that nearly half of all college graduates don’t exhibit professionalism when it comes to working on a job. What’s more, they also think that their obligations to the company end when they clock out at the same time every night. ”Incidents at work and comments about co-workers are not to be put on Facebook or Twitter,” Minnow had to also note.

Employers Expect Results:
With the ever-changing economy comes ever-changing expectations, says Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times. When an employer goes in to interview a possible candidate, says Friedman, he is also asking himself, ”Can her or she help my company adapt not only to doing the job today, but also reinventing the job tomorrow?” Someone who seems able to morph to meet a company’s changing needs is more likely to get the job.

Channel Your Inner Mother Teresa:
”Mother Teresa, CEO” (Berrett-Koehler, $21.95) has advice for even older job seekers: ”If it can be done now, do it now” and ”Take you work seriously, never yourself.” This type of advice can be used by both the younger and the older people who are out looking for a job in today’s economy.