It’s so hard these days for young folks to find jobs. As many of you know, I teach the Career Planning & Development course at George Brown College and see a number of smart, keen, enthusiastic young folks just poised to begin their exciting careers. But it’s so hard for them to find jobs.
While I do focus a large part of the course on what they need to get that interview and how to conduct a search (resumes, cover letters, thank you letters, etc., etc.), the point I stress the most is DIFFERENTIATING THEMSELVES FROM THE COMPETITION. What is their competitive advantage? What sets them apart? Why should an employer hire them over the hundreds of other people applying for that role? As they think about this, they need to be able to clearly articulate their message…their elevator pitch….who they are, what they do and what they want. They have to be able to ask for what they want!
Today I spoke to a young woman from a diploma program at a competing college…..and boy, oh boy, does she stand out. How you ask? What sets her apart? Well, she had a class assignment to conduct an informational interview. What did she do? She crafted an amazing letter….professional, clear, crisp, concise….telling me about herself, her program and what she was looking to do. She asked if I would be willing to spend time with her on the phone or in person to conduct the informational interview and provided the questions in advance. Of course I said yes.
I sure hope I was helpful. I know that I told her all I could about an HR career, typical day (no such thing), getting started in the field, what’s satisfying and not, challenges, skills, etc. We talked about what I’m currently doing and how I got here. The good, the bad and the ugly about HR and the great benefits of consulting (and how to get into it….hint, hint…have expertise and lots of experience to bring to the table). Advice for her? Well, I took it one step further and gave her three contacts.
Now it’s up to her to get out there and continue to network. I only wish the schools could do more to find all of these students co-op placements and that companies would look at co-op students and interns as a great way to find talent early on. Perhaps if more companies invested the time with interns and co-op students when they really needed it (at the start of their careers), they would spend less time competing later on for the experienced talent. They might find they already have that experienced talent home-grown talent in their own organizations.
Anyone looking for an amazing co-op student focused on HR (with a 3.93/4.0 average)? If so, let me know. I’d be happy to connect you. I have a feeling she’s going to go far!
How about a non co op student who has a motivated mother?
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Sure, I think there’s always opportunities for motivated mothers! Interesting Teresa the differences I see in students (both inside and outside the classroom). Some are so keen and motivated and you just know that they can differentiate themselves from the competition. Then there are others who are less interested and motivated. I think the schools needs to do more at the high school level to better prepare students for the stiff competition they will face and help provide the tools and knowledge they will need. I’m doing my part at GBC and hope to help spread the word…student by student. Think I need to go on the ‘speaker circuit’ and reach more students to help them be more competitive and identify their strategic advantage. So much to learn.