With all the talk of degrees, debt, and no internships or jobs, even freshmen are worried. HR leaders say what matters most in a competitive job market is having experience and a visible authentic personal brand. Despite all the free advice on this, concerned families are paying thousands for early career coaching because they know that students naturally procrastinate and that without a clear plan, easy steps, and accountability their freshman won't graduate with those advantages.
Their reasoning probably holds true for most students, unfortunately most students can't afford a coach. That's why we created GradPlan.com.
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.
41% of hiring managers consider volunteer experience equal to paid work experience. LinkedIn, Global Recruiting Trends
Volunteers have 27% higher odds of employment, and the employment boost is even stronger for individuals early in their careers. AmeriCorps
Not all degrees lead toward a competitive entry-level job market but if yours does you need to seize every advantage you can get.
We are an online subscription-based professional development program for college students. We're able to provide an affordable alternative to private early career coaching by designing for scalability, leveraging existing technology and free resources, and empowering students to help themselves.
Work with your old high school or a campus organization to create mentoring opportunities aimed at increasing student engagement and success. Inspire younger students by sharing stories about your own successes and failures.
Skills: empathy leadership, emotional intelligence, communication, motivation, networking, interpersonal skills
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: leadership, problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, networking, teamwork, communication, work ethic
Create your own internship or learn how to use tools, data, workforce development initiatives, or resume and interview strategies to become a stronger job candidate. Then create opportunities to educate and lift others.
Skills: 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. The feeling of pride and success that comes with it will motivate you to continue working on projects that build evidence of soft and essential skills employers are seeking. It's an easy and strategic place to start.
Increasing student engagement is one of our country's greatest challenges. The global cost of disengaged employees is $8.8 trillion annually. Creating projects that reflect engagement is one of your core values strengthens your brand. And projects that produce metrics about your impact will give your resume and interviews a boost.
Gaining skills, experience, and social capital through 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.
Use the free resources we point out to help yourself start building an advantage. Sign up for and attend workgroup style meetings on Zoom that are aligned with what you're currently working on. Multiple time slots for each of the 9 steps and 3 project styles are available every month giving you flexibility to build your advantage at the pace and in the order best suited for your unique strategy.
There is no set agenda for the meetings and they are highly interactive. They simply help you set aside time and focus on the step you're needing to accomplish. You'll learn a lot and stay motivated just by listening to students ask questions about that step and hearing the advice the facilitator and other students have to offer. Open office hours and relevant meeting recordings are available also.
Meetings provides opportunities for students from different campuses, majors, and backgrounds to collide and form connections. You can join the chat room early and stay late or ask to go into breakout rooms to form collaborations or workgroups. Participating is an easy way to build up your LinkedIn connections and helping other students or the platform is a way to volunteer.
We know applying for jobs isn't what you want to think about as you start college, but neither was applying for college in 9th grade.
If you were one of the students who started early and stayed on track, you likely earned scholarships and are at your dream school. If you started late and fell short on extracurriculars, you were likely stressed and missed some opportunities.
You need to start following the advice from hiring managers if your path leads to a competitive entry-level job market. Whether you want to pace yourself, have to catch up, or need to hustle, we hope you'll join our community so we can help you graduate with a job search advantage.
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