What they don't teach you in college: Job-seeking as a millennial

By Kathryn Minshew, Special to CNN

updated 1:36 PM EDT, Thu October 18, 2012

Knowing your audience and what you want in a job are crucial to standing out for employers.

Editor's note: To many Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, the millennial generation is a mystery. These 18- to 29-year-olds are history's very first "always connected" generation, defined by all their phones and gadgets, and they've been accused of being overly entitled. The series "Millennials: A Generation Revealed" takes an eye-opening look at this group of Americans coming into their own, what they want out of life, and how they plan to get it.

(CNN) -- I'll be the first to admit that I knew very little about getting a job when I first set out to do so in the fall of 2007. As a general rule, most recent university graduates know far more about U.S. economic history and "The Lord of the Flies" than about how the modern workplace functions and how to succeed in it. Yet come senior year of college, it couldn't be more important or more timely to learn the basics of getting a job.

Two jobs and two start ups later, there's plenty I had to learn the hard way.

Now, one of my goals with my current company, The Muse, is to make it a whole lot easier for the next generation of graduates to find and excel in jobs they love. So, here's what you need to know about landing an interview and presenting yourself as a polished, professional applicant from someone who's made every mistake in the book.

Understanding your market: Who are you, and where do you want to work?

For many people, the hardest thing about job-seeking is figuring out where to start. All through college, I heard my friends asking themselves, "What do I want to do with my life?" And guess what? After college, and after that first job, people still ask the same question.

So first, realize that you don't have to have all the answers just yet -- you have many years ahead to explore a lot of options. Next, start by figuring out what it is you're passionate about. What extracurriculars did you love when you were in college? Maybe more importantly, what types of positions or roles did you gravitate toward in those extracurriculars? The answers to those questions will likely give you hints as to what sort of job you'd love.

Finally, recognize that there are many jobs out there that didn't exist a generation ago. These are jobs that, while you weren't prepped explicitly for in school, you very well may excel in because you grew up stalking sales from your favorite brands on Facebook or following thought leaders (er, celebrities) you admired on Twitter.

For a guide to today's digital-age jobs, check out "You're a What?! Decoding Today's Job Titles."

Getting an interview: Your resume, application and social media persona

Before you even have a chance to meet a hiring manager face-to-face, you're being judged. A clean, easy-to-read resume and a concise but thoughtful cover letter or e-mail are, of course, the first steps to making a great first impression. But as a millennial, there's one more key piece of your first impression: your presence on social media.

So, Google yourself and see what comes up. No, you won't be exiled to permanent unemployment just because there's a picture somewhere of you holding a red Solo cup and looking underage. But, your Google results tell a story: Have you been in the news? Authored articles or blog posts? What types of topics do you frequently tweet about?

Your online persona has an immense potential to create a positive impression of you as an active, engaged individual with a certain set of passions -- or you can look like every other recent grad out there. You should strive to make sure there's more to your online personality than vacation photos, a stream of graduation messages and tweets about inside jokes to your friends.

Acing the interview: Show up looking the part and don't get intimidated

The day of your interview, make sure you look sharp. Now, especially if you aren't applying to a corporate job, this may not mean blue shirt and black suit.

If you're looking to work in a creative industry, a fashionable but conservative ensemble may help you create just the impression you're seeking to make. And if you want to work at a tech startup, jeans are the way to go (nice jeans, yes, with a nice top or shirt, but please, don't wear a tie). For a guide to interview day attire, check out "Looks That Land the Job: What to Wear to (Any!) Interview."

In the interview, be prepared to answer the most common questions: What skills do you bring to the position? What accomplishments should you highlight? What's your biggest weakness? (Check out an "Interview Cheat Sheet" here to help you prepare, or "3 Ways to Answer 'What's Your Biggest Weakness?' "). Be honest and stay positive -- employers don't want to hear a long rant about your terrible previous boss. Keep in mind that every interview question is a chance to showcase why you'd be a great asset to the company.

Rinse and repeat: Every interview is another chance

Above all, remember that job-seeking is an iterative process: Each application is a chance to get better. As you move through the application process, keep refining the way you present yourself. Like any skill, you'll only get better with practice, and you'll only hurt yourself if you get discouraged too early.

This is one race that's definitely a marathon, not a sprint.


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Friends and Visitors

Raseri was pleased to have friends from our offices in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and Columbus here with us these past couple weeks. As always, we learned so much and we hope that they can say the same.

A lot of what we talked about focused on how we can work as individuals, as well as a team, to take the company to the next level. We discussed how one person can make a difference, and how each and every one of us makes a very special contribution to the success of the company. We also talked about how we can take control and apply our individual successes to the well-being of the company.

Thanks again, guys. You are always welcome here, anytime!


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Introducing Yourself

Inc.com: Best Way to Introduce Yourself

 

OWNERS' MANUAL | Jeff Haden

Sep 14, 2012

Who is the most important audience? Hint: It's not the people you meet.

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Whenever you introduce yourself, the person you meet is not the most important audience.
You are the most important audience.
Here's why.
 
     Getty

I like to ride bicycles. I'm not super fit. And I'm not super fast. But I like riding, and in weak moments occasionally even think of myself as a "cyclist."

So occasionally I ride in mass participation events like gran fondos. The average participant tends to be a serious cyclist: Many are triathletes, some are amateur racers, and occasionally even a few professionals show up. I live in a valley between two mountain ranges, so our events are not for the faint of fitness.
I was standing in the start area for a gran fondo that involved climbing four mountains when a man rolled over towards me. My guess is he picked me out since I was clearly one of the older riders in the field. (That was a delightful sentence to write.) As he stopped he struggled to unclip from his pedals and almost fell.

"Morning," he said, the bass in his voice turned up to 10. "I'm Louis Winthorpe III*. I'm the CEO of WeKickSeriousButt Enterprises."**

"Jeff," I said. I shook his hand.

"I am really looking forward to this," he said. "I could use the break to recharge the old batteries. Just in the last few days I've had to finalize a huge contract, visit two of our plants, and sign off on plans for a new marketing push."

How do you respond to that? "Wow, you've been busy," was the best I could manage.

"Oh, not really," he said, trying and failing to seem humble. "Just same stuff, different day. I just wish I wasn't so busy. I only have time to do the shorter course today. I would have absolutely killed the long ride. What about you?"

"I'm afraid the long ride is going to kill me," I said.

"Feel free to latch on to my wheel," he said, referring to drafting in another rider's slipstream. "I'll tow you along for as long as you can hang with me." Then he slowly and carefully clipped into one pedal and wobbled away.

Cocky? Full of himself? Sure, but only on the surface: His $12,000 bike, pseudo-pro gear, and "I rule the business world" introduction were an unconscious effort to protect his ego. What his introduction really said was, "While I might not turn out to be good at cycling, that's okay because out in the real world, where it really matters, I am The Man."

While he introduced himself to me, he was his real audience.

And that's a shame. For the next six or eight hours he could have just been a cyclist. He could have struggled and suffered and maybe even rekindled the ember of youth inside us that burns a little less brightly with each passing year.

How do you introduce yourself? When you feel insecure, do you prop up your courage with your introduction? Do you include titles or accomplishments or "facts" when you don't need to?
If so, your introduction is all about you, not your audience.
Instead:

See less as more.
Brief introductions are always best. Provide the bare minimum the other person needs to know, not in an attempt to maintain distance, but because during a conversation more about you can be revealed in a natural, unforced, and therefore much more memorable way.

Stay in context.
If you meet another parent at a school meeting, for example, just say, "Hi, I'm Mark. My daughter is in third grade." Keep your introduction in context with the setting. If there is no real context, like at a gran fondo, just say, "Hi, I'm Mark. Good luck."

Embrace understatement.
Unless you're in a business setting, your job title is irrelevant. Even if you are in fact the CEO of WeKickSeriousButt Enterprises, just say you work there. To err is human. To err humble is divine.

Focus on the other person.
The other person is the only person that matters. Ask questions. Actually listen to the answers. The best connections never come from speaking; the best connections always come from listening.
That day I rolled into the finishing area well over six hours later. I stopped and slumped over my handlebars beside a small cluster of riders who had finished well before me. They were already changed and working on a post-ride beer.

One of them looked over and said, "How was it?"

"It sucked," I said.

They all laughed, and he said, "And it was awesome, right?"

I smiled, because it was. He reached over and gave me a fist bump. "I'll grab you a beer and you can tell us all about it," he said. I looked forward to the conversation more than the beer. Acceptance and camaraderie are earned by effort, not granted by title.

At that moment I happened to see Louis, sitting alone as he packed up his gear. I felt a twinge of sadness because he never allowed himself to just be a rider. He never gave himself the chance to fit in, enjoy a shared purpose, and to simply be a cyclist among cyclists.

When you introduce yourself, embrace the moment and the setting for what it says about you in that moment, not in comparison to your titles or accomplishments.

Just be whoever you are, skills and struggles and triumphs and failures and all. You are your true audience, even when you introduce yourself.

Always be yourself--especially to yourself.

* Clearly not his real name. (Trading Places!)
** Not really, but not far off.
 

Jeff Haden learned much of what he knows about business and technology as he worked his way up in the manufacturing industry. Everything else he picks up from ghostwriting books for some of the smartest leaders he knows in business. @jeff_haden

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