With all the talk of degrees, debt, and no jobs, even freshman are worried. In a competitive entry-level job market, employers say building real‑world project experience, evidence of soft skills, and a strong online presence matters more than a degree alone.
GradPlan.com makes it easier for students to follow through on building a job search advantage.
GradPlan is a professional and career development community for college students. As employers continue to redefine early career hiring amid AI disruption, our members meet new expectations by creating leadership projects that showcase skills and values employers are now looking for. Our weekly series of interactive Zoom meetups make it easy to find time every month to work on:
Employers value professional development communities and motivated employees who take initiative to grow their skills. For less than $20 a month, you'll be signaling you're a cultural fit.
70% of recruiters engage with candidates on social media daily and 89% say social media helps them understand a candidate's values. WorldMetrics.org
73% of hiring managers use social media to evaluate applicants, mainly to confirm cultural fit and verify application details. Resume Builder Survey
82% of hiring managers are more likely to choose a candidate with volunteer experience.
85% of hiring managers are more inclined to look past resume flaws when the candidate includes volunteer work, yet only 30% list it on their resumes.
92% of employers agree that volunteering improves leadership and professional skills.
92% of companies report that soft skills matter as much or more than hard skills in today’s business world. Deloitte Insights
Work with your high school or campus connections to create mentoring opportunities aimed at increasing student engagement and success. Inspire younger students by sharing stories about your own successes and failures.
Skills: communication, collaboration, empathy leadership, emotional intelligence, motivation, networking, interpersonal skills, work ethic, teamwork
Align class projects or form collaborations to improve organizations you are part of, support the work of education and workforce development leaders, or help any program better serve students.
Skills: communication, leadership, collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking, networking, teamwork, work ethic, interpersonal skills
Create your own internship, community serviced-based AI project, or learn how to use tools, data, and resume or interview strategies to become a stronger job candidate. Then teach other students how to do the same.
Skills: communication, leadership, adaptability, empathy leadership, teamwork, motivation, problem solving, critical thinking, interpersonal skills
Helping younger students avoid pitfalls and find success, especially those you share a connection with, is highly rewarding. It motivates you to continue working on projects that build evidence of soft and essential skills employers are seeking. It is an impactful and meaningful place to start adding projects to your LinkedIn or posts for your socials.
Increasing student engagement is one of our country's greatest challenges. The global cost of disengaged employees is $8.8 trillion annually. Adding projects to your resume that reflect engagement is one of your core values helps strengthen your brand. And projects that produce metrics about your impact will give your resume and interviews a boost.
Gaining experience and social capital by collaborating and volunteering helps you overcome the anxiety and self-doubt that comes with being a first-time job candidate. Creating your own volunteer work is also great practice for creating gig work. A degree matters, but experience, leadership, and initiative build confidence and set you apart.
You'll inventory your personal assets, uncover project and course experience you may not have been counting, and prioritize the GradPlan steps you want to focus on. The time and courses you have left will drive your strategy. Our community managers post a monthly schedule of weekly meetups. Each meetup is dedicated to facilitating one of the 9 steps or 3 project launchers. The repeating series makes it easy to schedule help for working your plan.
Meetups are interactive with chats, Q&A, polls, surveys, and breakout rooms. Links to resources open for discussion are listed on the events signup calendar. The goal is to help members set aside time and be productive. Even popping-in for a few minutes between classes helps. You can join another meetup or go to the past events calendar for links to the Zoom recording and transcript when you have more time. A content libray is always available.
Meetups connect students from different majors, backgrounds, and even campuses. Interacting is a way to practice skills like introducing yourself at a job fair or networking event. Forming groups and working in breakout rooms on things like interview practice or to collaborate on volunteer projects is encouraged. Signing up for the same meetup again before you leave makes finding a time to work together again easy.
We know applying for jobs isn't what you want to think about as you start college just like applying for college wasn't what you wanted to think about in 9th grade.
But if you were one of the students who started early and did just a little every month, you likely graduated with scholarships and are at your dream school. If you started late and fell short on extracurriculars, you were likely stressed and missed some opportunities.
Make life easier by following the advice from employers sooner rather than later. Whether you have time to pace yourself, need to catch up, or have to really hustle, we invite you to join our community so we can help you graduate with a job search advantage.
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