5 steps that might have undergraduates worrying about a job

Dazed and confused
Credit: Mori

This post is a response to Ryan Healy’s 5 Steps to Never Worrying About a Job Search Again

Ryan, I couldn’t agree with you more.

I actually just did a video shoot with undergraduates about a similar topic to the one you just posted about.  Here is what I got from it:

  1. Undergraduates in general have no idea what they want to do.  And it makes sense right?  You go to college to figure out what you want to do in life.  The thing that gets me is that most undergraduates are content with just floating around aimlessly and aren’t really doing anything to figure out what they love to do. The usual mentality is, “Get good grades, party party party, and think about my career after I graduate.”
  2. Specializing is so key. But what specialty does an economics major at a university have?  I chatted with a lot of my frat brothers and none of them really have a “specialty.”  When people say ’specialty,’ for some reason we usually think of something technical or artistic.  Can a specialty be something like leadership or a ‘freaking’ outgoing personality?When I reflect upon myself and my ’specialty’, I can’t really come up with 1 single answer.  I learn fast, am a great leader, love the spotlight, and get along well with pretty much everyone.  I taught myself how to build a wordpress theme from scratch, I understand social media very well, and I execute like a madman.  Which one of these is my specialty?
  3. I spoke to about 10 random undergrads today, and all but 1 did not have a blog.  When I asked them why they didn’t have a blog, the unanimous answer was that they are “concerned about their privacy.”  It looks like even in a world where everything about us is online, undergraduates are still fearful of meeting people online and of having their personal thoughts and ideas online.  Most undergraduates DO NOT want to share their ideas with the world
  4. Your online personal brand is second to nothing.  However, since these undergraduates I spoke to don’t have an online brand yet, there is no point in them managing it.
  5. I have found that most people hate the word “network.”  It might just be semantics, but most undergraduates don’t see the true value in expanding their network.  “Why should I go out of my way to meet people when I already have my good close friends” is what most people say.  It’s either that, or they just are too shy to do it.

I am currently working on a show called Future Delivery TV that is meant to help undergraduates and young professionals understand the value of using social media.  Lets all team up and spread the word!!!

Related Posts with Thumbnails

Ebooks that I Recommend

Work for Yourself Guide by Chris Guillebeau
Working for Yourself Guide
Chris simplifies the "freedom" process and provides an in-depth, step-by-step guide to create freedom through very small businesses. This Ebook is your first and most important step to making passive income doing what you love to do.
  • 8 ways to earn (at least) $200 a month
  • Truth and lies of affiliate marketing
  • 6 top mistakes of entrepreneurship
  • How to get paid for things you currently do for free

RSS feed | Trackback URI

Comments »

No comments yet.

Name (required)
E-mail (required - never shown publicly)
URI
Subscribe to comments via email
Your Comment (smaller size | larger size)
You may use <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> in your comment.

Trackback responses to this post