It’s a tough world out there. The economy’s struggling, the job market’s fluctuating and unemployment keeps hovering at recession levels. People who have worked for 20 years are suddenly unemployed and struggling to find new work. That’s hardly the environment that a recent college grad wants to be thrust into, yet that’s just what’s happening. Still, all is not lost, college grad. Relinquish your death grip on your diploma and heed the advice of those who have gone before you. Whether you got your degree from a traditional brick-and-mortar university or an online school, you’ll find that by maintaining your dignity and determination, you’ll be able to find a job and keep the independence you’ve come to treasure, and avoid moving back in with mom and dad.

Boost Your Resume’s Power

You fretted away nights studying for finals and worked yourself into a tizzy with unpaid internships, only to hear, upon graduation, that GPA’s aren’t nearly as important as you were led to believe and you and five-hundred other applicants gotnearly the same experience at your respective internships. That doesn’t mean that you can’t distinguish yourself from the pack. In fact, there are a number of steps you can take to turn a ho-hum resume into your ticket to a great career.

First off, remember that, in some circumstances, bragging is perfectly acceptable. True, bragging to make yourself look good at the expense of someone else isn’texactly attractive, but bragging on a resume is a good thing. As an article in The Daily Mail points out, if you were given responsibilities such as managing a project or supervising others when you were either employed or interning, lead with those skills—and don’t just include them under your job experience. Put them front and center in your statement of purpose. Emphasize how your skills and experience will translate into making you a reliable investment. After all, that’s what you’re asking the employerto do, invest in you.

Also, be aware that tailoring your resume to individual job postings and companies will get you far more miles than simply sending out the resume equivalent of a formletter. By utilizing key words from the job posting and including words that are key to the company’s mission statement in your statement, you’ll turn yourself into the ideal candidate. True, this sort of customization might be a bit time consuming, but it pays dividends in the long run.

Change How You Look at the World

Most college grads have very specific dreams. If they graduated from law school, they see themselves arguing a case before the Supreme Court. If they hold degrees in public relations, they imagine themselves as image consultants to the stars or press secretaries to congressmen. The truth of the matter is it’s not likely that life will play out that way for most students, but it doesn’t mean that you won’t be successful, or happy. In fact, you may be stunned at where you wind up twenty years down the road, but what’s even more stunning is the fact that, twenty years from now, most of you wouldn’t change the path you walked.

One way to start accepting the inevitability of the real world, as New York Times op-ed columnist David Brooks views it, is to change your expectations. Don’t seek happiness to the exclusion of success, but don’t sacrifice your ethics either. Look at companies that have never held you interest before, and examine individual job postings without worrying about things such as location or company prestige. For instance, if you have ethical issues with tobacco, don’t submit your resume to Phillip Morris, but don’t discount companies simply because you don’t know the technical aspects of their business. The individuals who write product descriptions for pharmaceuticals more often have English degrees than biology ones, and the community relations director for Microsoft probably doesn’t speak binary code. It doesn’t matter. They’re great at what they do because they played to their strengths and never focused on their supposed weaknesses.

Location Shop

The Chicago Sun-Times recently published an article indicating that employers were planning on hiring 19 percent more recent college graduates this year than they did just a year ago. That’s good news. Even better news is that hiring is up even higher than that in some regions. For instance, while Davide Bauerlein at the Florida Union Times claims hiringis only up 7.9 percent in the Southeast, it’s up by 25.6 percent in the Northeast and, 20.2 percent in the Midwest and 19.6 percent in the West. The jobs are out there; so don’t limit yourself to just one city or even one state. Instead, apply to jobs that might require you to move. Just indicate your willingness to do so when you submit your application. This will open up all sorts of new pathways for you to follow and give you the chance to start your life somewhere new.

Learn to Write

In the Sun-Times article mentioned above, another important point is made. Students must demonstrate their ability to communicate through the written word. Grammatical errors and typos on a resume are a death knell. If you don’t care enough to proofread a resume, why would you care enough to proofread an e-mail to an important company client? With that being said, this is the time to invest in your writing skills. Don’t just hire someone to look over your resume or ask a friend to proofread it—though those are good ideas. Instead, give yourself a crash coursein the basics. Purdue University’s OWL (Online Writing Lab) offers everything you need to brush up on your sentence construction, citation structures and business writing formats. You can even enroll in an online workshop. For instance, Writer’s Digest offers a variety of workshops, including one that covers form and composition at a moderate price. This investment in your grammatical prowess could add up to improved job outlooks, as one of the primary complaints of employers is that new graduates don’t know how to write.

Network

You know how social networking is a big part of your life? It turns out you can use it to your advantage. According to the article “For Recent Grads, Social Media Sites Play Key Role in Job Hunt” by Tim Post, social networking can accomplish many ofthe same results as traditional networking. While the face-to-face networking of career fairs, alumni gatherings and professional organizations is still of paramount importance, social networking offers a new frontier in which to expand your professional persona. Using Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, it is possible to post information that will get you noticed professionally and leverage the connections of your friends and family to get your name out to those who might be looking to hire.

The Bottom Line

It’s true that we like to focus on the negatives when thinking about job outlooks and economic projections. Instead of this defeatist attitude, focus on the improvements that are being made and what you can bring to a company that is truly unique. You don’t have to settle for a job waiting tables after college, nor do you have to pack upand head off to grad school or mom and dad’s. If you play your cards right and focuson your experience, you can find a job that will be the beginning of a career. It might not pay what you’d hoped it would, but if the position will keep your bills paid, take it. The salary increase will come with time.

Note: This is a guest post.

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Let’s face it – internships are no longer a nice to have. These days, they are a must before you get out there to look for full-time work. And if you’ve found your way to any Internet job board, then you already know that growing companies are the place to find internships. Becoming an intern provides you with a lot of opportunities – the opportunity to learn, to get paid or receive credit, to learn new skills, network and make professional contacts. How do you ensure that you’ll find success during your internship? Here’s a list of the top-five things to keep in mind before your even walk through the door.

1. Your Boss is Busy: The reason why your boss hired you is because they are busy and need help. That means that any and every way that you can jump in and add value is yours for the taking and will likely be appreciated. So go ahead and get in there. Here’s an example: “Hi Cari, you mentioned you have a big meeting on Friday. Is there anything that I can research for you or help you prepare for the meeting?”

2. Interning Gives You a Chance to Learn: So yes, even though your boss is busy, you have an opportunity to soak up a ton of information. But, you need to ask questions if you want to really want to maximize your experience. Try this: “Hi Lauren, do you have five minutes? I’d love to hear your thinking behind making those changes to the website.”

3. An Internship Gives you a Chance to Shine: Yes, as an intern, you’re developing your skills, contacts and hopefully your bank account. But bare in mind, the give-and-take of an internship is very much a two-way street. You need to bring to the table just as much as you’re taking away. Don’t be afraid to chime in when you see opportunities or have practical strategies for moving the ball forward. “Jonah, have you heard of (fillintheblank)? It’s this great new website/product/application that I think could be really helpful to us. Do you want to set up some time for me to walk through it with you?”

4. An Internship May Be A Short Term Gig: A lot of times, college students and recent grads look for internships hoping that they’ll lead to a longer term position. And sometimes they do. Alternatively, for a variety of reasons well beyond your control, sometimes an internship is truly a short-term position. But that doesn’t mean it can’t have long term benefits. In addition to the skills you picked up, perhaps your boss will serve as a reference or make some valuable connections for you. “Hi Asher, thanks so much for the opportunity to intern for you. I understand that you don’t have a full-time position open right now, but I was hoping we could stay in touch. Perhaps down the line you’d be willing to serve as a professional reference for me or make a few introductions to people in the field?”

5. Or It May Have Long Term Potential: Business owners need good people. Period. And sometimes they’ll be open to ideas that are presented to them. So if you haven’t previously discussed ongoing employment, consider broaching the topic armed with a few potential work arrangements. “Leo, I know we haven’t talked about whether this position could develop into a full-time position, but I was hoping you’d consider it. I think I’d be very valuable to your team when it comes to X and Y, and if you’re open to it, have given some thoughts to what a more ongoing position might look like.”

This is a guest post from Loren Porat. She wants you to keep these in mind as you travel along your internship path – she’s sure you’ll be pleased with the results.

Loren is from Urban Interns, an online marketplace that connects high-growth companies with talented candidates looking for internships, part-time jobs, freelance work and contract positions.

You can check it out at http://www.urbaninterns.com

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3. Everyone Who Has Had a Job Has Been a First Time Job Seeker

For new job seekers, those who are looking for their first job, realize that nearly everyone has been where you are. Everyone who has ever held a job, had to find that first one.

A couple of the pitfalls of finding that first job include wondering what skills you can bring to the table and having confidence in looking for, finding, applying, and interviewing for a job. Everyone gets nervous, no matter what level of job you are seeking. So realize that this is completely normal.

So, regarding your skills, you need to consider anything you have done currently or in the past. Did you say…ever do volunteer work at a function? What did you do when you volunteered? Did you say… take any extra- curricular topics in school, for instance, working on the school newspaper? If so, what did you do or learn? If you were on the newspaper, maybe you did interviews, editing, researching and the like. These could be valuable and marketable skills!

Did you do any long-term work for a relative or neighbor? For instance, did you spend a summer helping out in your grandmother’s store, even if you didn’t get paid? Did you work in the neighborhood’s community garden all summer and possibly learn about sprinkler repair, landscaping, or something that a hardware store or landscaping company may appreciate?

The point is, don’t sell yourself short. You may have more skills than you realize. Then, when you go to fill out an application or do an interview, remember you have these skills. They will help to give you confidence that you do bring something to the table.

What about the interview? Many sites on the web have sample questions and suggested answers. Practice them with a friend or relative. If you are in the interview, and feeling nervous, take a breath before answering to give yourself a moment.

Two more quick tips. One, keep your resume and cover letter tailored to the job you are trying for. Remember not to skimp on the skills or assume that just because you are trying for a job that the prospective employer knows your background. Tell them each time.

Second, look at every opportunity to fill out an application or do an interview as a learning experience. You may get the first opportunity you try for or you may not. You might feel disappointed and that’s fine but don’t let it keep you from moving forward to the next opportunity.

This is a guest post. About the author:

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Monday’s post about the interview questions Microsoft and Google will hit you with sort of caught my fancy. Just for fun, I started investigating the process of getting hired at high tech companies. I figured, companies like these are on the cutting edge, and they can basically pick and chose who they hire. The workers come to them.

So, I thought that learning a bit more about their processes might help me learn more about where hiring processes are headed in the 21st century. Might have a post on this soon.

For now, though, there’s one thing I can say definitively: in the 21st century, progressive companies are very open about their hiring processes. Want to get a job at Microsoft? Shoot, they have entire websites and page after page posted to give you info on the process. If you have the interest and the time, you can browse around the web and learn just about anything you could want to know about working for Mr. Balmer.

And this is a roundabout way of getting to the point of this post.

On the Microsoft JobsBlog, I found an interesting post about GPAs on resumes. This is obviously a big deal for recent grads and students.

In short: should you put your GPA on your resume? Do GPAs even matter, or is the degree the only important thing? And perhaps most important: can a bad GPA hurt your chances of getting hired?

The post has 3 good rules of thumb that I’ll summarize here:

1. If your GPA is below a 3.0… do NOT put it on your resume.
2. If you did really well in your major but not in your additional classes, then go ahead and put your MAJOR GPA on your resume.
3. Experience is more important than GPA.

I’ll let your click through to the article to read the details.

As for my own summation: Most companies don’t care about the GPA, even if you’re freshly out of school. They’re more interested in the degree achieved and the coursework you were exposed to.

Microsoft, however, is one of those companies that does care. Very much. I’ve read in several places that GPA is one of the first questions they ask, even if you’ve been out of college for 20 years!

And for all recent grads, you can get great resume writing advice for those entering the workforce from a professional resume service.

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I was contacted this morning by an old client of mine. About 5 years back, I helped this guy write 4 resumes in about 18 months for 4 different internships.

The internships were in all sorts of different industries. The guy didn’t quite know what career he wanted to end up in and thus figured he should sample as much as he could.

This guy is in PR in Washington DC now, and doing quite well. I’m not surprised to hear from him… he always was a master networker, and he always keeps in touch with you. I’m actually gonna meet him for drinks when I’m in DC a week from now.

Anyhoo… I told him about this blog and that got us into a discussion of internships and networking in general. I asked him what was the most valuable thing about his internshiping experience, and his answer surprised me. So, I asked him if I could share what he emailed me. Here ’tis (some details change to protect privacy):

The networking part of internships that has been the most interesting to me has been the connections I made with other interns. See, most people think the connections you want to make in an internship are amongst established people already in the industry. Certainly, that’s true to a certain extent. There’s a lot of people looking to learn and looking for mentors.

But my internship experiences were very much like college. We were all young. We were all fearless. We worked hard and partied hard. We became roommates with one another. Yes, some of us slept with others of us. But we’ve all stayed in touch. I guess it’s like that college dorm experience. You always stay friends with your buds across the hall from you. We were all young and “in the wars” together, so there was this sort of internship brotherhood that developed.

And those have been my longest lasting connections. Because, think about it, we’re all coming up in the professional world together. Today’s intern, thirty years later, is the CEO. As my friends rise, we all rise together and we help each other out. And we don’t have any stigma of being low man on the totem pole. We were all low together. Whereas, my “mentors” will always see me in something of a lower role, a young whippersnapper. And hey, those guys above me, those “mentors” are literally dying off. Meanwhile, the Brotherhood of Interns is sticking together to inherit the world.

Even if we’re not exactly in the same line of work, you never know when a connection will pay off. One girl I know is now a mid-level reporter with (NEWSPAPER NAME). Another guy is a deputy chief of staff for (CONGRESS PERSON NAME). Maybe one day it will be Editor and Congressman in their own right. And they’ll remember me as an equal and a friend. Of course by that time, I hope to be (EXECUTIVE TITLE)!

Anyway, if my experience is any indication, I’d tell your reads to kiss up to the established people and learn as much as they can from their mentors. Absolutely. But don’t forget to make strong connections with your fellow interns! And don’t lose track of those connections!

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Quick, what’s the hot new trend in internships? According to Newsweek, it’s paying thousands of dollars to “internship placement services” to help you get your foot in the door.

How much would you pay for a career-making internship? $500? $2,000? Try $6,000. That’s what a growing number of students are paying to secure coveted summer spots with Smith Barney, Merrill Lynch, Tommy Hilfiger and America’s other leading companies. (…) Meritocracy isn’t dead, but it may be losing out to a handful of internship placement services that promise career-enhancing opportunities-for a price.

I beg to differ. If meritocracy isn’t dead, it’s certainly clutching it’s chest and gasping for air.

So let me get this straight. If you want a decent upper middle class career these days, you gotta shell out tens of thousands for private schooling, thousands for test prep and study courses… hundreds of thousands in tuition to a decent college, hundreds of thousands more in student loan interest payments… and now you have to pay to work for free?

Does it ever seem like we spend all our money to have a chance to make money… only to spend that money paying off the debts incurred at the beginning of the process? And then we have to do the same all over again for our kids.

You know where this is going to end up, don’t you? Eventually the companies will cut out the middleman. Is it so important to you to intern at Merrill Lynch or Google? Can’t start a career without our connections? Pay us to work for us, then. Pay us for the chance to impress us.

Still, for all my (obvious) bitterness and cynicism… an internship placement service is probably worth it for a lot of people. If the world we live in demands that you pay to play, then you’d be foolish not to. Like the “right” alma matter, the right internship can be a key stepping stone to a career. If you can increase your odds, then it’s money well spent.

As much as it pains me to say that. What do you think?

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