Paula was the first to admit that she might have done a better job preparing to transition to the working world compared to her graduating class. Her college education was solid and her professors had connected her to some great summer internships. However, she never really connected with the university’s placement department. With all the senior year activities plus finishing her finals, Paula never found time to attend those classes and sit with a counsellor. Her roommate was graduating with a degree in Accounting, so her path forward was “preordained.” Paula’s degree in Communications helped her develop many great skills, but not a clear career path.
In speaking with a family friend who had recently retired, Paula received the following advice:
| 1 | Don’t Panic! You have valuable skills and experiences that many companies will be thrilled to bring on board for you to contribute to their success. |
| 2 | Develop a Pristine Resume: Likely none of your experiences, especially those afterschool high school jobs, will be impressive just plainly listed on your resume. The skills you picked up and what you learned from each job experience is what will attract a potential employer. Write down these skills and experiences in as much detail as you can remember to provide context for these experiences. Then create a resume that conveys all that you offer. |
| 3 | Prepare an Elevator Pitch: This summary should be clearly based on the research you’ve done on the company. In a few short, simple and concise sentences, It should:
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| 4 | Live the Person You Want to Be: Start dressing, grooming, and acting like the person you see yourself in the job you envision. That way you will look comfortable in your own skin by the time you arrive at your first interview, as someone the interviewer can envision in the job that is open. Just as college was an opportunity to reinvent yourself a bit, transitioning to the world of work offers the same chance to tweak yourself again. |
| 5 | Seek Professional Support: Just because you were successful at schoolwork, and will likely be equally accomplished as a hard worker, you shouldn’t assume you have been endowed with the skills required to find the job that is the right fit. A professional recruiter is a free resource available that knows how to find that job, and with the skills and experience to prepare you to succeed in the process of developing an attention-demanding resume and excelling at interviews. The recruiter also has access to companies and job openings that neither your college placement service nor online job boards know about. You will have a coach and an advocate through the hiring process and beyond. |
After ticking off these five steps, the mentor suggested that Abel Personnel would be the right professional recruiting resource if Paula was intending to remain in Central Pennsylvania. Paula made the call, and arrived at her first meeting with the recruiter with the results of the first 4 steps. The recruiter was impressed, suggesting Paula’s preparation would shorten the placement process by weeks. The interviews with interested employers began the next week.
