Winning from the Pole Position-Tips for Graduates Post COVID 19

I promised yesterday I'd post a few pieces on how entrepreneurs, companies and job seekers best coped with the three years after the 2009 Financial Crisis. We all hope the job market recovers as sharply as it declined as we are able to reign in the impact of the virus. We don’t know exactly as we’ve never shut down the economy before but we all hope for the best.

I posted what I thought was a very relevant 2010 article from HBR yesterday about how the smartest companies actually fared well during the Financial Crisis. In the case of job seekers rather than select an article from that period I thought I would provide some observations from research my partners and I have conducted on career readiness for recent graduates and the motivations of job seekers. I also wanted to combine that with some observations about how some of our most successful graduates from our business program navigated best through that previous recession and in general to build their careers.

Earning the Pole Position

In auto racing one study showed that 22% of eventual winners started from the front position which is the shortest distance by only a few feet around a circuit which is usually hundreds of miles. Nonetheless your odds of winning are better than one in five from the pole position versus about one in 30 randomly in a typical auto race. In other words the pole position earned by the best performance in practice and preparation means a lot.

The analogy for job seeking graduates in the current environment is that your preparation and practice means a lot towards securing that first position that will launch your career... perhaps more than ever.

Here's my top 5 list:

• Your School's Career Fair and Services are a necessary but not sufficient condition - A 2016 University of Wisconsin System study of Business Graduates showed that connections through family, friends and professors and employer visits to classrooms were rated more important by graduating students to lever to find the best job possible versus career fairs but students should lever all possible services from Career Services as a starting point.
• Internships are essential The same study showed that carefully selecting an internship with a company you think you might like to work for is by far the best starting point and may be a must as more students may compete for fewer jobs in the short run. Internships also build "self efficacy" (Achenreiner, Kleckner, Lilly and Knight 2019; Knight, Mich and Manion 2014) or feelings of capability that can help you hit the ground running.
• These "special" semester(s) matter a lot. Our campus will be in online mode until at least Fall like many others. Use this time to build your network on Linked In and otherwise, engage in virtual career fairs and competitions, hone your resume and apply for open positions and importantly keep your GPA high to put together the best possible stand out profile.
• Have a self leadership plan and follow it. Use this time to reflect on what you value, what your strengths and weaknesses are and make a list and then a plan based on this information. This is more important than you may think to both select the right employer and have the self knowledge to manage the inevitable ups and downs and ambiguities in the real working world. A recent national study conducted by research partners and I soon to be published seemed to confirm this.
• Take the best available position that suits you The competition for fewer jobs may be an unfortunate reality in the shorter run. The next six months will tell a lot. You may end up taking a job that is less than ideal in the shorter run but ask yourself whether a particular role/industry will really suit you or even more importantly can you can lever this role to meet your longer term goals particularly as the economy recovers. Some times less is more.

Winning the Race

So now you are a few months into that first job where even though you fared better than most or all of your peers but you still may feel underemployed or challenged in a tighter short term job market. I know some of the 2009-12 grads also felt that way in the short term. I actually had two 2010-11 grads who had done quite well with great careers after modest starts speak to one my classes this semester while we were still face to face. Their suggestions as well as my connections with other grads and my own research/experience and research of others guide my Top 5 here.

• Build your portfolio One of the two speakers mentioned how he had secured a great sales position well into six figures by providing the prospective employer with a detailed portfolio of every sale he had made in the past 8 years during the interview. The employer said I have never had anyone do that in an interview and that this was the stand out move. Treat each daily success in your current position as a stepping stone to meet your career objectives and document it.
• You are always on the job market Keep your resume up to date as well as your social media profiles. Keep an open mind about and always be on the lookout for new opportunities as the economy inevitably recovers. New opportunities will open up for you.
• Consider doing a Graduate Degree If you happen to find an employer that will pay for part or all continuing education take advantage of it. Many schools including mine have great MBA programs that you can conveniently take online or flexibly. Remember that there will likely be a rush back to grad programs by recent undergrads and those unemployed unable to find work as there was in 2010. Don't neglect building credentials for future roles.
• Build your personal brand One of our two speakers is truly a LinkedIn star with over 20000 followers and 1000's of reactions to very simple posts about family life and inspiring career related messages. He talked about how this gave him a tremendous edge in the HR recruitment industry. You may not have to be a LinkedIn star in your particular industry but a regular presence and good content gives your connections a strong feeling that they already know you and you are credible when you may actually need to interact with some of them more closely to further your career.
• Every new or past connection is relevant Similar to all the points above no chance encounter on a plane or in an airport or restaurant or client waiting room (you probably only vaguely remember these by now!) is unimportant. Document them all for future use and connect with them on social media. You just never know as the economy expands and NEVER burn bridges. Feel you are in the right? …. keep to yourself and go to the gym for an hour and put it behind you.

References

Achenreiner, Gwen, Kleckner, Mary Jae, Lilly, Bryan, Knight, Peter (2019) "Student self-efficacy, employee engagement, and community vitality: A Collaborative data collection model for regional workforce development." Journal of Education and Work.

Knight, Peter, Mich, Claudia and Manion, Michael T. (2014) "The Role of Self Efficacy in Sales Education", Journal of Marketing Education, (Special Edition- Sales Education), 2014 36: 156-68