Welcome to Next Great Step
We are excited to bring you monthly updates on how to help college students and recent graduates achieve career success.
Students come to us seeking help on how to get the internship or first job. Parents seek our help for their student as they want them to achieve personal and financial success…or more honestly, move out of the house.
What can a parent do to help their college student or recent graduate navigate the job market?
Here are 3 key things a parent can do to help their student navigate the job market:
- Help your student articulate what skills they have to offer. Beyond being responsible and a hard worker, what skills do they have that are unique? For example, does your child write a blog, have they done a part time job where they learned a certain skill, or even in sports, do they demonstrate leadership? The more they understand what they have going for them, the easier it will be to communicate that to a potential employer.
- Parents can help their teens navigate the job market by making connections to friends and colleagues. Students also need to seek out people in targeted roles and industries so they understand the priorities and challenges they face. I really liked the l LinkedIn Alumni Tool to help students see which alumni graduated from their college, the jobs they hold and the cities they live in. Alumni tend to be receptive to speaking with fellow students. This can be done with a 20- minute informational interview or networking conversation. The goal is to understand the position better and the challenges the person may face.
- Help your student prepare for networking and interview opportunities. A student needs to prepare for these interactions and not assume that they will have a job just because of the connection. This can be uncomfortable for some students as they are not used to speaking about themselves to a prospective employer. They should be prepared with strong questions to understand the person’s background or role, be ready to share their own skills and see if there is an opportunity to speak further or be connected to someone else. Here are some great questions to aske from the Forbes Top 10 Questions to Ask
Students have spent 12, 16 or more years going to school where they have ascertained certain skills and knowledge in their specialty but most have not spent even a tenth of that time preparing to get their first job, let alone to lay the groundwork for future ones. And, that’s where parents come in. Parents can help their teen(s) with skills like showing confidence, having a firm handshake and making eye contact with interviewers.
Next Great Step can help your student. For the past 20 years we have advised managers of Fortune 500 companies how to develop and implement strategies to achieve success. Now we are teaching students how to communicate their ability to solve the business problems that a company faces.
Our students learn proven, time-tested techniques to achieve their personal goals and get that first job or internship.
We Bridge the Gap from College to the Real World
