What’s your plan?
Happy new year. The turn of the calendar always inspires us to reflect on the past, and be optimistic for a fresh start ahead. We often think about what we can do differently, or how to make things better?
After the year we just had, maybe we should manage our expectations and take it one step at a time.
College students and grads are still slogging their way through their search for internships and first jobs… which are now more competitive than ever.
Many young adults have told me their resolution this year is to …
“Get an internship this summer!”
“Get a job… any job.”
“Get more interviews.”
These resolutions are actually goals, but not the means to achieve them. One needs a strategy to reach these goals. New York Times reporter Christina Caron likewise suggests,
“Make a plan, not a resolution” (see article here)
Caron asks,
“For example, if you want to make more money, what are the steps you need to take in order to do that, and how much extra income would you need to hit your goal?
Do you need to go back to school to learn a different set of skills? The more you dissect your goal, the easier it is to break it into actionable steps.”
We have seen over and over, that having a clear step-by-step plan with small goals can yield great success in the job search.
Here are 4 steps for grads to jump-start their search:
- List 3 hard skills you are most competent at. For example, research, writing, and problem-solving. Next to each of these skills, write down one example where you demonstrated that skill.
- Identify 5 companies that you are interested in working at.
- Identify 10 people who have a job that you want to learn more about.
- Send an email or LinkedIn connection note to those 10 people expressing interest in learning more about their role.
These are just a few small steps to take to start the process and we know it takes more.
If you know a student or grad who needs a plan or step-by-step guidance on how to get the internship or first job, we are accepting applications for our Fast-Start Group Coaching course that runs for 8-weeks starting in April. Contact us HERE to learn more.
Happy planning.
