Career Tips for New Grads - CareerAlley

Career Tips for New Grads - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. According to The Wall Street Journal, 284,000 students graduated into minimum wage jobs in 2012. Furthermore, 39 percent of college graduates live with their parents and roughly two-thirds have debt that carries on into their careers. Even more disturbing is that only 2.1 percent more graduates will be hired in a year by companies than were hired in 2012. If youre a new graduate, its important to seek ways to stay informed on ways to build a successful career. CollegeOnline.org, for example, offers a wide variety of guides and more information about educating yourself to reach your goals and land your dream job. The following tips will help guide you through the new-grad hurdles and into a brighter future. Match a Mentor to Your Goals Many graduates accept any mentor and feel fortunate to have one at all. However, a better method is to find a mentor who is currently in your desired industry, and if possible, living the type of lifestyle you wish to lead. By doing so, the mentor can give you specific advice on how to achieve that particular lifestyle. By having a mentor in your industry and keeping regular meetings with that person, you may ultimately decide that a career as a financial analyst, for instance, is not really the best match for you in the end. Travel to Learn Dont just vacation, but rather travel for the sole purpose of learning new languages and about new cultures. Because we live in a global marketplace, employers are looking for the most well-rounded individuals to serve this new marketplace. Traveling and experiencing new cultures helps put you at a distinct advantage, especially if you can manage to pick up a new language or two. Employers find it difficult to find candidates fluent in several languages, so you become more marketable if you have both global experience and an extra language on your resume. Outcomes are the Key When creating your resume, rather than list menial tasks dressed up to look important, choose to continually measure your work through its numeric impact on the company. Did you decrease costs? Have you managed to increase revenue? Keep track of all these results by logging this information, possibly creating charts, so that when youre up for a promotion, or just asking for one, you can show your employers why you deserve it. Look at examples of competitive resumes online and find ways to set yours apart from the competition in your industry. Taking Risks = Career Success Not taking risks is risky in this economy, as odd as that may seem. Whether you succeed or fail, you are putting yourself in a position to learn when you take risks. Additionally, youre demonstrating to your employers, and potential employers that you are willing to put success ahead of yourself, as well as your reputation. Our society is becoming increasingly entrepreneurial, which is the very definition of career risk. Taking risks is the only way to keep pace. Byline: Kelli Robinson is retired teacher from Maine who blogs about the current state of education. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good luck in your search. Joey Trebif