For 2012 Grads: 10 Best Job Tips From Around the Web
6. Business cards matter.
Talk about back to the basics! Don Draper and 007 knew how to palm a calling card into the right hand at the right time. You need to master the art. Nothing can replace the simple elegance of the card. “Include your name, phone number, e-mail address and type of job you're seeking.”
7. All jobs are local.
Even as companies become more global, it’s still true in most jobs and especially when you are starting out. Even airline pilots are grouped into hubs, sales teams by regions. It’s time to start thinking about your own micro-economy, and not the macro-economy. You can’t handle that anyway.
Diamonds in the Rough; Negative Thinking That Works
There are some key lessons that the recession has taught us. The Rutgers study found a gem in the midst of its aforementioned report on the unemployment trap that many fall into. No jobs for grads? Try indentured servitude.
8- Take an Internship. Any Internship.
They matter. It makes as much sense almost no sense but it's similar to much derided, way too expensive college costs. Studies show that a person one tiny credit short of attaining their BA will received hundreds of thousands less in pay than their friends with the diploma. Similarly. Rutgers showed a startling difference among those who did interships. Even in the midst of the depression they did measureably better than those who rejected the internships, by double digits. The lesson of the depression: Just show up. Of course you are there for a learning experience. Even if it just teaches you to suck it up in a bad workplace, or to perfect a really convincing ‘hotel smile,’ it is still higher learning. Think of it as something you learned from your philosophy professor. Everything is relative.
9-It’s a big mistake not to take a job interview seriously.
This is a key point on a Monster job tips list that goes deeper into the dark side to tell you the 10 biggest mistakes you can make.
The Monster mashup of bad job search behavior covers some of the previous points, though in a more negative format. The thread running through its Monster's list is to not rely too much on social media and technology. When going on an interview in the ultra-connected era, some people let their guard down. But don’t take that casual email casually whether its from someone high powered on LinkedIn, a friend of friends, parents friends or Facebook friends. Be professional. White shirt. Hotel Smile. Updated resume. Business card.
1o- Relax. Breathe.
In an era of rapid change, you get a break. Everyone is confused. It helps to be relaxed. If you can manage the anxiety it can become a creative force. AOL Jobs Brazen Life blogger says, "It's OK not to know what's next When I graduated college in 2006, I had no clue what I wanted to do next. The result? Constant anxiety. “Confusion or no confusion you will continue breathing and you're gonna be just fine."
Now get the hell out there and find a job.
