Graduate and Grow Rich
Advice for Students
1) If you wish to graduate from school a pauper, then sign up for all the credit card offers so you can get a t-shirt or "free" pizza. Watch the movie Maxxed Out and see what can happen to you.
2) If your determined to be a music, art or theatre major, take some business courses so you have something to fall back on. By being a double major, the term starving artist may not apply to you.
Kevin Chapman, IT Columbus, Ohio
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Find your passions and stick with them, if you do not love what you do, it's going too be a very long road ahead. Eileen Bonofilio, Owner, Web Development Frim, W.Palm Beach, FL
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The best piece of advice that I ever got was ... that you make your own luck. By working hard and paying attention to the development around you, you can place yourself (or mis-place yourself) to be in the right position as things change ... good luck comes to you.
Robert Fornal, IT, Ohio
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Don't lie on your resume. Most companies use behavioral interviewing techniques and if you have not had the experience it will come off as a glaring red light.
Learn how to interview before you start applying for jobs. Most colleges offer workshops and often will have real companies come on campus to do "mock interviews". Take advantage of the practice.
Once you are in the role, understand that ambition can be as detrimental as it is good. Your timeline is not necessarily the right
timeline. Talk to your leader and make sure that you are communicating your developmental needs. Don't wait around to be developed. Be proactive and take initiative.
Loren Palma, Commercial Recruitment, Chicago,
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I'd answer your question first by asking another question; Are great leaders born or are they made? There may be a few examples of great leaders who were naturally born with the talent to lead, but the reality is that in todays very competitive and letigious society in order to become a successful leader you have to have the training, skills, and knowledge to distinguish yourself above the rest of the crowd.
Who makes the best leader? whoever is the most effective in completing the mission of your organization and that is almost always those that have the training to do so. Good leaders don't happen by accident they are a result of having a plan, setting goals, and following a path that leads to success.
I would encourage todays college grads. to consider courses beyond traditional degree's in communication, management skills, HR., etc and distinguish themselves as having not only a degree but specific training to become effective leaders. If you have a BA in Human Resources, take some management classes, if your BA is in Business, take some HR classes and so on.
R Ramirez, Management Consulting, San Antonio, TX
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Do the hard work BEFORE you ask for the reward --Don't assume your degree/resume/past experience should automatically start you out as a star in ANY new role regardless of age, experience, etc.
Ask for the assignment, the challenge, the position you really want even if you're not 100% qualified for it at the moment. Corollary: make sure YOU know you're willing AND able to deliver on whatever you ask to take on, but waiting until you're invited will cause you to lose out to the more vocal members of your group.
When assigned tasks A, B, and C, do them with good humor, humility, and thoroughness, and then bring them the D -- the extra insight, assistance, suggestion for improvement that shows your ability and desire to go above and beyond what you were asked to do.
Remember that at virtually all levels of any organization your primary job is to make others look good. If you're an entry level person, you're making your boss look good, if you're upper management, you're making the company and/or your clients look good. Making others look good, feel good, and helping them succeed is the quickest path to success for any individual and organization.
Richard Law, CEO Seattle, WA
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Your boss and colleagues are often more important to job satisfaction than the immediate tasking (although you want to do something interesting).
Try to find a mentor - or at least someone in a position where you want to be in 4-5 years. Work hard to make them successful and look good. Recognition will follow. If you choose wisely, these relationships can help you throughout your career.
Try to work with end clients - often your youth and enthusiam for a problem are powerful selling points that compliment an older colleague's customer knowledge. I worked with an ex-Navy commander and we'd go on sales calls and he'd introduce me to military folks as the smart techie guy. They trusted him and this created an atmosphere that allowed me to shine that wouldn't have been possible without him. And they liked my unbridled enthusiasm and didn't expect me to really understand their business needs because I was young. Enjoy what you do. If you dread going to work, change jobs.
Try out multiple areas in your field - ideally within the same company, but often not. When you're young, you have no real idea what you want to do. Or, if you do, that's probably because you made up your mind when you were 12 and didn't really understand the problem.
Individual businesses and career tracks have strong cultures and values. As you get older, it becomes increasingly important to make sure these align with your own personal ones. If you want a 9-5 job that let's you party on the weekends, don't work at google. If you want to change the world, don't work for a utility. Karl Garrison, Chief Technical Officer, San Diego
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No matter what type of help is offered, take it. Even the most menial of duties, performed in the name of kindness, loyalty, friendship, etc... benefit both parties. It may not come out exactly what or how you you wanted, but see the good meant in the result, and you and the giver will be strengthened.
Be true to yourself. If you are going to do something that 'just feels wrong' to you, then don't do it. You will sleep better at night. Do not ignore the goals of the spirit, to the advancement of material gain.
Take pride in all the duties that you perform, and perform them to the best of your abilities. If they fall short of expectations, always learn from the shortcoming.
John Lawrence, Administrator, Pittsburgh, PA
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Kids passing out of school need to understand that the world and life in general give back what we give it. It is like a mirror. If we smile at it it smiles back. If we snarl at it it snarls back. The most beautiful roses are surrounded by the sharpest thorns. Nothing happens easily. Effort needs to be put in only then will we get good results. Money and profits will eventually come far exceeding expectations. Sayeed, Business Owner India
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My advice for my students, mostly soon to be graduates, is to become clear about what's important to them. What kind of work do you really want to do? Where do you want to live? Do you want to travel? How committed are you to going up the corporate ladder? Are you more interested in having a solid work personal life balance? Do you want to work in a field that makes a difference in the world, or just makes money? Sit down and write out where you want to be in 20 years, 10, 5, 2, 1, and put together a plan to make it happen. Do not leave your life to chance, despite how "cool" that may sound...
Ray Miler, University of Cincinnati
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1. Companies look at the value of your degree as that you were able to set a long term goal and achieve it, not that you actually learned anything that can apply to their business.
#2. Base your choice of your first job on what are you going to learn and who are you going to get to do it with. 80% of a great hire is based on personality match, so make sure that you and your manager click.
#3. Smaller companies will get allow you to learn more and do more then a big firm. The more skills you have the more valueable you will be on your next job. When your decision is based soley on money, you really have been bought and paid for and will be treated like that.
#4. Commit to staying 3-5 years. Anything less will make you a job hopper and no one will touch you.
#5. Get clear about what is important to you, so that you can as the appropriate questions.
#6. You should always ask what happened to the person who had this position before you.
#7. Put together a list of all of the things that you might want to do, so if you the career that you thought was perfect for you turns out not to be so, you have a Plan B, C, and D.
#8. When dealing with a senior member of the team, never say "Well that's not what I learned in college". J. Renee Gordon, SR Staffing Consultant, Tallahassee, FL
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Seek to understand and learn from the generations that have gone before you. Learn their ways and methods. Keep those things that ring true to your heart and shelve those that do not for another day.
Recognize that none of us have all the answers and to behave as if you do is a terrible way to influence others for positive results. Rather share freely of what you have learned and remember to show you care before you show what you know.
Offer to help others and freely give credit to those around you than have offered their hand to you.
Seek excellence in what you do and do not tolerate a lack of integrity on your watch.
Be diverse in your life. Seek opportunities to learn rather than to advance. Good things come to those who learn continually.
Do not allow the negative voices of the past cloud your present be a beacon of light and creativity to all who surround you.
Embrace life holistically. Do not fall victim to a life of imbalance that will rob joy from you. In season imbalance is okay, but not as a lifestyle.
Discover who you are and what you were made to be then live there every day
Ron Hurst California
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