A discouraged college student
I have a soft spot for college students because no matter what school they attend they get precious little career advice that’s worth a hoot. Life is scary when you’re on the edge of jumping into the job market and your first career. It’s especially worrisome right now. Hiring is down, big layoffs are up, and entry-level jobs are especially hard to get. There are no easy answers and there’s not much useful advice for new grads except to start pounding the job boards.
And if you’re a regular reader here, you know what I think about job hunting via job postings!
The successful college student
About a year ago I met a junior at the University of Pennsylvania. We were each recruited to volunteer on a project by a mutual acquaintance. After working together a few months via Zoom, our part of the project ended. But we stayed in touch and I’ve done my best to offer some mentoring as she starts her job search.
She recently completed a demanding summer-long internship with a good company. She has worked hard all through school and found the internship very challenging. Long days, weekends and constant pressure. But she got through it successfully. She’s already gone through a couple of dozen online job interviews and this has left her discouraged and shaken her confidence.
A worried college student
I’ve watched her work, and I get a kick out of how smart, curious and focused she is. She’s a dual major in two demanding academic programs.
But I’ve also noticed how concerned she’s become as graduation nears. This confident, outgoing, successful student is questioning her ability to cope with the future. I think most students are.
She didn’t ask me for advice. But I realized I know something she doesn’t, and that it could make a difference. So I volunteered a bit of simple guidance. Later, her reply made me realize it’s probably the best advice I’ve ever given a student or new grad.
Here’s what I told her
Always remember, now that you have demonstrated you can do hard work and succeed at whatever you choose to do, you should never worry about anything. Even failure now and then is okay if you learn from it.
You will almost always be able to figure anything out simply because you’ve learned something crucial about yourself: You know how to figure things out. You know how to get things done.
You figured out how to get into a good school, you performed well in your courses, you met every challenge put to you, you just did a great job on a tough internship and you will soon have a dual degree that you earned.
You know what to do to be successful at almost anything you choose to do.
And that’s the point: Being able to learn so you can do what you want. I refer to this as being able to ride a fast learning curve without falling off. I think it’s the most important skill any of us has. Trouble is, it’s one of the hardest things to convey to an employer when applying for a job!
(You don’t need to attend an Ivy League school to learn how to be successful at whatever you do.)
The Student’s Reply
Hi Nick!
Sorry for the late reply, I’ve been reading your message over and over. It really had an impact on me. What you said about never needing to worry because I’ve already demonstrated I can do hard work and succeed at whatever I choose to do: that’s something I really needed to hear!
I’m going to remind myself of that when I start doubting myself.
Thank you for always being such a thoughtful sounding board and for all the great advice!
Have you mentored a student or any young person just starting their career? What‘s your best advice to young people about landing a first job? What’s the best advice anyone gave you as you launched your career? Do you think my advice is too simplistic?
Check these related Q&A articles
It’s a tough job market. How can new college grads get in the door?
Help this college kid get a job
Your First Job: 20 pointers for new graduates
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I think your advice was perfect. She is about to face a tough job search, and self-confidence – tempered by a healthy dose of humility – is going to be her greatest weapon in dealing with the inevitable rejections she’ll encounter along the way.
I truly feel for kids graduating from college today…some of them mired in six figures of debt. Within weeks of my debt-free graduation back in the ‘80s, I had multiple job offers. Those good ol’ days are now apparently gone for good.
I feel it’s important for young people to begin networking at the earliest stage possible in order to improve their chances of career success…REAL networking, not faux networking online. A college student I spoke with recently was astounded when I told him that it took me eight years to land a job at the company where I really wanted to work.
There is MORE than expertise required to be a good team member, so unless a job is one that has very little interaction with anyone, being able to communicate, be friendly, and show something IN ADDITION to solid creativity and problem solving.
IF you happen to be one of the few who EXCELS in all of these things, then the ability to share those skills in different ways with different people, while still managing to display a humble, helpful attitude would make you the top employee in MANY companies, and someone with not only leadership, but potentially ownership potential, so even having SOME of these skills can be very useful!
> What’s the best advice anyone gave you as you launched your career?
Yours.
Your whole blog and book in general, but in particular “job boards are useless, don’t waste your time there” and “recruiters don’t know what they’re looking for, you have to help them see why you can do the job”. That and the other piles of good advice you share for free that I keep in turn giving to my friends.
I changed careers about 10 years ago, and that career change in turn changed my life, and I’m pretty sure everything would be different if I hadn’t found your blog right at the beginning of it, with a web search that went more or less like “job boards are stupid”. Nearly everyone else gives really trashy job seeking advice, even places where you pay for it.
> Have you mentored a student or any young person just starting their career?
One younger friend, who might even be reading this column right now because I always link your stuff to them. I’ve also mentored friends about my age on their career changes.
> What‘s your best advice to young people about landing a first job?
It doesn’t matter what job it is, this will be valuable experience for you to learn what work is actually like, which is a universally transferable skill that will help you anywhere, whether you change careers or work self-employed. Use this time to understand this environment and yourself within it, as these skills will be useful for the rest of your life.
> Do you think my advice is too simplistic?
No
Respectfully, perhaps I’m missing the point. “Knowing how to figure things out” is encouraging advice for sure. Yet possessing this attribute doesn’t necessarily equate to finding an appropriate level of work in a brutal job market. (I speak from current experience.) Moreover, not finding work, especially after a protracted, herculean effort, naturally and understandably leads to worry, from the psychological (self-esteem and doubts) to the pragmatic (how will I pay the bills?). To parallel a basic business tenet, when the supply of competition (other college educated job seekers) greatly outstrips the demand (openings for decent jobs), it’s simply daunting. That said, any insight appreciated.
@Joe: All points well taken. Purpose of the column is to help people realize that the job search experience attacks the self-confidence of perfectly qualified people. It’s a reminder that if you’re good at your work, you can be good at job hunting. Getting over that emotional obstacle can make an enormous difference.
That said, I agree that today’s job market cannot be conquered with confidence alone. It’s mess, it’s daunting and it’s painful. I try to share useful insights and suggestions throughout this website – and others here supply even more good ideas than I do. For example, please check Brian’s comment below or just search the site. Hope you find it helpful.
Thanks for your reply. I’ve learned that networking and the other non-traditional job hunting tools designed to break though the clutter, even in a decent job market, do not work overnight. So how does one cope in the interim? (Perhaps you’ve already addressed that dilemma in a prior article.)
@Joe: I wish I could answer that good question. I won’t offer any flippant retorts like “Flip burgers!” This is where the brainwashing done by the “employment industry” meets the controversies of social safety-net programs. If the employment system is going to keep fooling job seekers into using unproductive job search methods, how does that affect people’s legitimate needs for help?
Maybe Congress should be looking at how job-board madness contributes to the costs of such services — leading Congress to require outcomes reporting from the employment industry, which talks big but delivers mostly confusion, while leading earnest job seekers off a cliff like lemmings.
Does anyone have any suggestions for Joe? What can Joe do while starting to practice good networking, which takes time?
https://www.asktheheadhunter.com/17892/new-grad-tough-job-market directly addresses getting a job in a tough job market.
1. Be specific about what you want – when you try to be all things to all people, you sound like you don’t know what you want. Both parties are looking for a solid match, whether it be attention to detail, big thinking, technical expertise, quick learning, presentation skills, etc. Don’t try to get a job that you know you’d hate.
2. Write and read your resume as if you were the hiring manager. This isn’t about whether you’re a good or talented person — it’s about whether you can do the work that needs to be done. In your resume, convey what you did, whether you did it well and the outcome/impact of your work. Say what you, yourself did. Quantify and provide context. The manager is taking a reputational risk in hiring you – put as many fears to rest as you can.
3. Whether you include a summary objective or not, write one and treat it as a hypothesis. Use the text of your resume to support and prove your hypothesis.
4. You can have different resumes for different applications.
5. Resume writing is excruciating – do a brain dump first, then rewrite for clarity, then rewrite to be concise. Have a master resume with all your good writing. To write an application for a specific job, pick and choose relevant sections from your master resume. If you write anything new, add it back into your master resume for future reference.
6. Read http://www.AsktheHeadhunter.com
7. You might not always need a resume, but writing one can clarify your thinking.
@Lynne: I love your (5.)!
Thanks, Nick! Feel free to use if desired.
Nick,
This sounds like I’m the world’s greatest suck-up, but the best and consistent I give is to subscribe to Ask the Headhunter and follow your advice.
My alma mater has a website specifically for students and recent grads looking for mentoring. Since I joined it at it’s inception, I put myself as one alumni who gets asked for advice frequently. I have probably helped 30-40 students over the years, and also participated in on-line events. I definitely relate to your observation that students are unsure of themselves and often just want to know what to expect when they join the other worker bees out in the real world.
In my experience, the thing they struggle with most is building a network. I’ll point to resources and offer your “How to say it” advice, but they often too quickly ask someone for a job instead of focus on building a lasting relationship. Hence your observation that new grads are nervous and filled with doubt.
I don’t believe your advice is too simple. In fact, making it simple is, in my opinion, the best thing you can do for young people. Life is complex and starting a career is hard work. It’s asking a lot for young people to navigate that challenge, and stripping things down to the bare essentials is smart. There will be plenty of time for them to grow into their careers and start to grasp the complexities of interpersonal relationships needed to succeed in the world.
Thanks for a great column this week!
@Larry: If that’s sucking up, bring it on! What you’ve offered is a succinct summary of “reality” that students and new grads need to see, especially your last graf!
Larry B, your observations are sound, and the advice and explanations in these articles are spot on, but the average person – including young graduates, typically “hear” or read the usual resume routine instead of the “building a network” and mentoring advice discussed here.
I don’t blame these young adults but I do blame the twisted system that is pushed upon so many by these organizations that are not relationship builders, they’re just money changers and cookie cutter resume pushing machines. No wonder why there is so much confusion.
Also, a few good institutions actually have courses in connecting with companies; I was extremely fortunate to attend one of them decades ago; are there even many of these around? If there were, perhaps a modern version would help set these young adults at ease and partner with them in creating an entering work force seeking to build relationship networks, mentor and network.
@Brian: I don’t mean to assign you “homework,” but can you list any such institutions? Maybe we can all work on such a list!
Northeastern University undergraduate education requires 2 or 3 six-month coop placements. To prepare students for job-hunting, there is a required class that covers a range of skills and ethics.
Here’s some info on Northeastern’s Co-op process, including some info about the job-search prep class, which I believe is 1 credit. https://www.northeastern.edu/the-co-op-process-from-start-to-finish/ https://www.northeastern.edu/wp-content/uploads/Co-op-Undergrad-Student-Handbook-2025.pdf
I personally attended Michigan Technological University in the late 1970s and they actually had recruiters come to instruct students; Lynne just responded that Northeastern University has an even better program, so apparently there ARE some institutions that have recognized this and have done something about it; I’m retired now and I don’t have anyone I know of in any university where I could get any additional information, but there’s two places right there.
Good advice, Nick! I had a colonel tell me something similar when I was a painfully nervous young military officer fixin’ to brief a three- or four-star general. He said, “YOU are the expert in this area. The general needs to know what you know, and how certain you are about your conclusions Just tell him.” It really calmed me down.
I would also advise anyone of any age who suffers from shyness, self-doubt, etc to read up on how to make small talk and on common assertiveness techniques. It was life-altering stuff for me, and I was over 40!