Getting Ready to Graduate College

Google "getting ready for college" and you will find thousands articles full of fantastic tips on how to make that transition as successful as possible. And then there's the support the college or university provides before you start -- from videos, to webinars, and even on-site orientation programming for the student and the parents. Tons and tons of guidance and support on everything from what to bring to make that dorm room feel cozy to how to survive your first weeks of class.

Google "getting ready to graduate college" and you will find hardly anything and nothing truly current. There's this one article from US News filled with not much advice on how to do anything but a lot of dire warnings to do something as they will face a "challenging job market fraught with uncertainty as employers reel from the financial blow inflicted by the coronavirus."

Tip #1 in most of the articles you do find is "visit your carer services office." What you don't read there, however, is the reality of these offices. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, the average ratio of staff to students is to 1 to 1583 and about 55% of the time of staff is spent with students.

Less than 1% of staff assigned to be the advisor to you on how to score an interview, how to get an offer, and how to negotiate an offer have any background whatsoever in recruiting talent. In other words, they have never been in a position to hire others either as a hiring manager or recruiter. Their best skill set is really securing employers to visit the campus and arranging internship opportunities. And to accomplish this nearly half of their time is spent engaging with employers; not with students.

And 80% of college students begin their search for a job after they leave campus; typically 3-4 months after graduation.

Where does this leave you the freshly minted college graduate? Well, if you ask most college graduates seeking employment, they get their advice on the topic from friends, the internet, and (occasionally parents). And when we look at the impact of those resources on employment rates of the class of 2020 we will find that:

• By August 2020, nearly 1/5th were unemployed
• More than a third of students have taken on debt, with 17% taking on credit-card debt and 16% borrowing additional student loans.

If that's not bad enough, data indicates that graduates entering the labor force during a recession earn less than those who enter during a healthy economy for at least 10-15 years.

I started JobMorph to provide another option to the new graduate. An option that was affordable and comprehensive in terms of support.

Pairing the new graduate with a coach who meets weekly to answer questions and keep them on track, we're able to dramatically improve their chances for interviews and offers. And because they have an experienced recruiter on their side, working for them, we're also able to support in salary negotiation ensuring they receive the best package possible as they enter the job market.

Our model is to teach the college graduate how to effectively search for jobs including how to network in a way that builds relationships they already have but establishes new contacts that they can foster for a lifetime. We're not trying to create a dependent relationship between the coach and the client or between the client and JobMorph. The idea is, during the course of working with us, we're transferring our knowledge on resumes and cover letters, interviewing, and negotiation, to the job seeker so that they can use those skills in the future.