*so excited it's friday! Have a good weekend and here's a little secret website for you to play with while I'm gone
www.indeed.com
It's a job search website that lists all postings from ALL employment search engines. You no longer have to go to every employment site. COOL!
Love,
Workin' Girl
Friday, July 11, 2008
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
SO. This morning I was on the phone interviewing a recent college graduate (we're talking May 2008 grad). This person had no experience other than retail at her local mall; no internships, no extra curricular activities. When I'd ended up asking her about what she was looking for in a salary, she replied "I won't accept anything less than $35-$37K". Let's kindly forget the fact that at an entry level demands aren't taken kindly and concentrate solely on her gross distortion on what an entry level candidate can expect to make.
Let me preface my rant with the fact that this young lady isn't in a boat all by herself. If you would have spoken to me a few years ago when I was freshly graduated from college I would tell you that I WENT to college to be able to make more than entry level pay. I PAID my dues for FOUR years (both literally and figuratively) to be able to enter the working world on a plane higher than the average man. Yes, I too was part of the optimistic college graduate group. The kids who graduated with a degree with no practical application in the real world who expected to hit the big time at 23.
TIME FOR THE REALITY CHECK
Today (unlike 20 - 30 years ago) a college education with more of a liberal arts degree (meaning you're not going straight into a pre-set profession like pharmacology or medicine or law) merely demonstrates that you can reason, read and write. While this is all well and good, you still have to expect to come into the working world at an entry level. You haven't yet proven that you can take that learned information and apply it to practical situations. I know it's a hard pill to swallow but RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES STILL HAVE TO PAY THEIR DUES AND CLIMB FROM THE GROUND UP.
Now in this girl's case, we're in the Buffalo, NY market which means entry level begins anywhere from $23 - $27K depending on the position and company. Of course in larger cities the entry level pay will increase and conversely decrease in smaller areas.
What could this girl have done to increase her intial worth in the working world? Any internship or even a part time job in an office setting will be excellent assets to a resume. Extracurricular activities like student government or serving on the executive board of either a fraternity or sorority are excellent qualifiers too.
so with that having been said,
good luck college grads! don't eliminate yourself from a fantastic entry level position with growth potential bc you're overshooting your salary requirements.
Love,
Workin Girl
Let me preface my rant with the fact that this young lady isn't in a boat all by herself. If you would have spoken to me a few years ago when I was freshly graduated from college I would tell you that I WENT to college to be able to make more than entry level pay. I PAID my dues for FOUR years (both literally and figuratively) to be able to enter the working world on a plane higher than the average man. Yes, I too was part of the optimistic college graduate group. The kids who graduated with a degree with no practical application in the real world who expected to hit the big time at 23.
TIME FOR THE REALITY CHECK
Today (unlike 20 - 30 years ago) a college education with more of a liberal arts degree (meaning you're not going straight into a pre-set profession like pharmacology or medicine or law) merely demonstrates that you can reason, read and write. While this is all well and good, you still have to expect to come into the working world at an entry level. You haven't yet proven that you can take that learned information and apply it to practical situations. I know it's a hard pill to swallow but RECENT COLLEGE GRADUATES STILL HAVE TO PAY THEIR DUES AND CLIMB FROM THE GROUND UP.
Now in this girl's case, we're in the Buffalo, NY market which means entry level begins anywhere from $23 - $27K depending on the position and company. Of course in larger cities the entry level pay will increase and conversely decrease in smaller areas.
What could this girl have done to increase her intial worth in the working world? Any internship or even a part time job in an office setting will be excellent assets to a resume. Extracurricular activities like student government or serving on the executive board of either a fraternity or sorority are excellent qualifiers too.
so with that having been said,
good luck college grads! don't eliminate yourself from a fantastic entry level position with growth potential bc you're overshooting your salary requirements.
Love,
Workin Girl
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Hi! My name is...
For about 6 months now I’ve been working for somewhat of an employment guru. She owns an extremely successful permanent placement direct hire staffing agency and a career counseling sister company to boot. She’s been in the biz for 25 years and I have to be honest, this woman knows her stuff. I look back to my almost fruitless job searchesIt’s a wonder that she even hired me, because; while I’m all around fabulous, let’s just say my freshly post-college attitude and resume were all wrong.
Today she handed me an article from the paper all about blogs. She tells me, “Corey, I don’t think we’re capitalizing on this like we should be”. (Yes, she’s always this hip and business savvy) So naturally it was my new responsibility to capitalize on the blog craze. Great; I say, it’s another project in a long list, but as I’m writing, I find it oddly freeing to have an outlet for all of the crazies I deal with on a daily basis… and by crazies I mean those poor souls who have NO CLUE about the goings on in today’s career world.
I’m sure I’d have enough material to write my own book right now – my boss already does and did – but I think a blog will do nicely. I hope that my trials, tribulations and dealings with the “career sick” will serve a good purpose for you in what NOT to do, lol.
All names have been changed to protect their identity : )
Today she handed me an article from the paper all about blogs. She tells me, “Corey, I don’t think we’re capitalizing on this like we should be”. (Yes, she’s always this hip and business savvy) So naturally it was my new responsibility to capitalize on the blog craze. Great; I say, it’s another project in a long list, but as I’m writing, I find it oddly freeing to have an outlet for all of the crazies I deal with on a daily basis… and by crazies I mean those poor souls who have NO CLUE about the goings on in today’s career world.
I’m sure I’d have enough material to write my own book right now – my boss already does and did – but I think a blog will do nicely. I hope that my trials, tribulations and dealings with the “career sick” will serve a good purpose for you in what NOT to do, lol.
All names have been changed to protect their identity : )
Oh, and HI! My name is Corey... in case you haven't figured it out. And below is a picture of me and my awesome co-workers who will be contributing (I'm sure) to my postings.
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