Every May I start receiving phone calls from the children and grandchildren of our clients who are graduating seniors in college still searching for their very first job. Needless to say, this year, with the economy recovering, the calls have increased. The outlook for finding a job isn’t that good if you are this close to graduation and still looking.
However, I fully believe that many students find it hard to get that first job because in their academic experience they may not have received the guidance they need on how to network or market their talents. I am also convinced that the students don’t take the initiative to learn how to do it, either through the use of the internet, blogs, books, discussions with professionals and business people… the list goes on. They just assume that they have a college degree and therefore they should be able to get into the job market. I have included in this blog two podcasts below that may be of benefit to both graduates and family members.
One is a discussion I had with a soon to be graduate about ways to interview for your first job. The second podcast is a commencement address speech that I gave to the graduating class of Samford University in 2008. In that commencement address, you will actually hear me extend to those graduates that if I could help them find a job, I would… that they might not remember my name, they might not remember what I said in that commencement address, but the one thing I wanted them to remember is that I would help them open up doors, create opportunities and find a job.
I’m sharing that with you, and I’m sharing these podcasts with you, because more than ever I think it’s important that we show leadership to the graduating classes throughout these universities, throughout our college system.
I like making a difference in people’s lives and yes, I am a president and CEO of a financial planning and wealth management firm and in many ways there we make a difference. And also the value of relationships and seeing the excitement of an individual graduating from college and finding that first job and knowing that they are on their way to building their future, their career and their life is very exciting to me.
We all need to take time out to make a difference and helping a college student is just one of the many ways in our society today, in these economic times, that we can do it.
Interview with a soon to be college graduate:
[Audio:http://www.yourfinancialhouse.com/audio/Austin%20Brooks.mp3] (23 min)
Right Click Here to Download
College graduation commencement address:
[audio:https://fiplanpartners.com/audio/Greg%20SU%20Alumnus%20Accept.mp3]
Right Click Here to Download
[polldaddy poll=3152933]
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
