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WORK FLOW: Avoid `real job' pitfalls
| Thursday, Jun 14 2007 9:14 PM
Last Updated: Thursday, Jun 14 2007 9:15 PM
Listen up, college grads.
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You've passed the final exams, graduated and landed your first job. Now you're eyeing that first rung on the career ladder, where you'll have to look and act like a grown-up.
Employers and career counselors say there are a lot of pitfalls to avoid when making the switch from college to the office.
For starters, set your own alarm clock every day. Downplay the body art. And for heaven's sake, leave Mom at home.
Yes, you have to work during spring break. Ann Reynolds, director of university career services at Texas Christian University, recently heard from a local employer who was stunned when five new hires failed to show up for a week. The following Monday, they asked, "You mean you have to work during spring break?"
The company plans to make it clear during employee orientations that "Spring break is not a national holiday."
Time to cut those apron strings. Your parents may have a lot of great career advice for you. But it'll probably backfire if you bring them to the interview or invite them to meet your new manager.
Cliff Garinn, a counselor at the University of Texas at Arlington, said that last semester one parent accompanied a student to an on-campus job interview. And another mother showed up for a training session on developing job skills.
"She said, 'Well, my son was supposed to come, but he had something better to do, so he sent me,'" Garinn said. "I said, 'Would you do that if he couldn't go to work?'"
Marie Artim, who is assistant vice president of recruiting at Enterprise Rent-a-Car, said parents have gotten more involved lately in graduates' decision-making, especially when they first get a job offer.
Enterprise, which expects to hire 8,000 graduates this year for its management training program, is one of the nation's largest college recruiters, so the company tries to accommodate applicants who are faced with their first big career choice, Artim said.
"We'll offer to send a packet of information to anyone," she said. "We've seen a definite uptick in the number of people who ask for the information to be sent and ask for it to be sent to their parents."
Have realistic expectations. Understand that earning your degree doesn't guarantee you'll get your dream job, Garinn said. Too many graduates expect to step into a high-paying management post right away, he said.
"I'll have to say, "You might have to go in there and start by being just a regular worker,'" Garinn said. "You've got to get out there. You've got to pound the pavement. You've got to pay your dues and work your way up."
Lose the ego. Your new employer may not be as impressed as you are with your high grade-point average or your prestigious university.
"'I got a 3.8, so I know I'm great.' That happens often," said Terry Goods, college relations director at J.C. Penney. "We have students that don't make it past the interview process because of that."
Curb the cell phone habit. Learn to let the phone ring or - gasp! - turn it off. Enterprise emphasizes cell phone training for its beginning employees, urging them to ignore the phone when they're with clients, Artim said.
"It's a group of people that are used to, if it rings, you pick it up and answer it. If it texts, you text back," she said. "It's just a multitasking generation."
Consider your online image. Assume that your boss reads your MySpace page. Employers routinely check job candidates' online personae, and many keep looking after you join the staff, Reynolds said. So postings about how much you hate your job or why your supervisor is a jerk will get noticed.
"Some of the companies are really cracking down on that," she said. "And they want to see what all's on there."
Anticipate questions and criticisms. In J.C. Penney's training program, recent grads must make presentations to senior leaders, Goods said. But it doesn't end with the PowerPoint pitch.
Some participants get tripped up by follow-up questions or requests for more data, he said.
"They've never had to sit in a boardroom and defend why they presented the information that they did," he said. "You ask them a question, they're looking at you like you're talking to somebody behind them."
Bosses have boundaries. While friendliness is fine, keep the most personal information to yourself. And don't expect a lot of handholding.
Reynolds said an employer puts it this way: "They need to know that I'm not their mom. I'm not their dad. I'm not going to call them and wake them up."
Seek feedback. Young employees are eager to know how they measure up, but telling them is not always a priority for managers.
If you want to know whether you're meeting expectations, Goods suggests asking your manager for some kind of ranking.
"A lot of it is asking the right way, thinking through it, writing down the question, writing down what you want the outcome to be," he said. "You also have to be prepared for a tough response, because the response might be, `You're not doing well. I'm glad you asked me.'"
Take charge. Artim said first-time employees often struggle with responsibility because they fear making mistakes.
"It's OK to take the initiative. To do something. To make decisions. To solve a problem, versus go and ask someone `What should I do?' or wait for the OK to do it," she said.
Be resourceful. Employers value employees who are eager to learn, ask lots of questions and look for more information on their own, Goods said.
"Those are the ones that we just fall in love with," Goods said. "Those are the ones that really rise to the top."
First-job tips: DRESS CAUTIOUSLY: Even in informal workplaces, employers expect you to look professional. So remove the tongue ring and keep tattoos under cover, at least until you've figured out how they'll go over with the new boss.
Pass on the skimpy shirts and flip-flops. In general, opt for boring over daring.
"I have never, ever had an employer come back and complain about one of our students being too conservative," Reynolds said.
E-MAIL ETIQUETTE: Consider the tone of every e-mail you send. Make sure your requests don't sound more demanding than you intend. And don't immediately use e-mail when a face-to-face meeting would be more efficient.
"Only send an e-mail if you would be comfortable with it appearing on the front page of your newspaper," said Diane Decker, a Chicago-area consultant who co-wrote the First-Job Survival Guide.
Keep e-mails short. Check spelling and grammar, and avoid instant-message-style abbreviations.
"Your supervisor may be in an age group that doesn't get all the little text messages, so you need to spell it out," Reynolds said. "They're like, 'I don't get this BFF bit.'"
That's "best friends forever" to old fogies.
FIND A MENTOR: Newbies should have several people they can turn to for advice, said Goods.
It's helpful to build a relationship with a senior executive, he said. But you should also look for a colleague who graduated less than five years ago and remembers the first-job experience more vividly.