Career Advice for New Grads

When we are young we ask advice from our parents, friends, relatives and everyone close to us that we believe may be able to offer a solution to our problem or dilemma. But, when it comes to career advice even though we ask the same people we can get one million different solutions that confuse our path even farther. That is why recent graduates are the best option for career advice whether they are complete strangers, friends, family or alumni they know how to get their foot in the door and can tell us exactly what to expect.

There are a number of ways that graduating students can reach out to recent grads and ask them for valuable advice:

• Career websites
• Blogs
• Industry nights
• Social media 
• Networking events

Perhaps the  best way to meet recent grads and approach them about career advice is through networking events. These type of events allow soon to be graduates to meet people in their field that have already completed their job search, have their first job and can offer important insights into the industry. Humber offers soon to be graduates and opportunity just like this every year with 'Grads Give Back.'

Every March at Grads Give Back alumni of the Humber- Business Marketing program returns to offer words of advice to current students. This advice differs for each returning graduate but the important aspects remain the same:

• What interested them during their time at Humber (classes, opportunities, clubs)
• What area of the industry they wanted to get into (internet, digital, sales)
• How they started and went about their job search (Monster, Talent Egg, referral, internship)
• Challenges
• Information about their current positions

Events like 'Grads Give Back' allow students to talk to other people who were just students and get honest feedback about the current state of the industry and workforce. Watch the video below or click on the link  to see some highlights from the event last year:

-Rachel

Networking using your "network"

Networking has always been an important aspect of the job search, whether it be searching for that first job opportunity or looking for a change in career. With new job opportunities, competition and changes in the workforce traditional networking has also changed.


Students, executives, human resources managers understand the importance of networking and there are numerous tips available to help job seekers get in touch with and stay in touch with potential employers. Some of these tips include:

• Connect with your school's alumni association 

• Have a clear idea of what you want and what you are looking for 

• Know who you are

• Use business cards

• Use business networks

Perhaps the most important of these tips when hunting for that first career and looking for helpful and meaningful connections is use business networks. Job seekers and students should "think of Facebook as a virtual cafe where people easily talk between tables and think of LinkedIn as a conference that is always in session." (http://www.randstad.ca/finding_jobs/ctVideo/successful-networking.aspx)


While communication and connections have become much easier with the rise of business networks, it is important to remember that these networks, especially Facebook should be kept private and be monitored for inappropriate content. Despite these privacy concerns Facebook remains the most popular social networking site for Canadians. Recently however, LinkedIn has begun to grow in popularity amongst professionals and students who are seeking to connect. In fact, "one in six Canadians are now members of LinkedIn,"(http://business.financialpost.com/2012/01/19/linkedin-tops-five-million-users-in-canada/) and that number continues to grow with a 66% increase since 2011.


So with such a steady increase in membership and a continually growing community of professionals waiting to network how can young professionals maximize the potential that LinkedIn has to offer?


1) Sign up for discussion groups- these groups will connect you with people in your field and allow you to remain current on what is happening within your industry.


2) Invite and accept connections from people that you know or have worked with in the past- they may be able to recommend you for a position or provide you with career advice.


3) If you feel that you may share a common interest with someone you are not connected with contact them privately to ask for a connection.


With it's growing network of professionals and openness to connecting with important industry individuals LinkedIn is helping students worldwide enter the world of networking with full support and assistance from major companies and corporations actively seeking bright and tech savvy graduates.

-Rachel

Ad Buzz give advice to new grads

On June 8, lucky new graduates and current students attended the sold out inaugural Ad Buzz event "What You Weren't Taught in School." The goal of the one day conference was to teach recent advertising and marketing graduates the tips and tricks of "how to get in, fit in and be amazing in the advertising industry."(http://theadbuzz.com/WYWTIS.html)

The event, was held in downtown Toronto at the historical Arts and Letters Club . Students were provided with advice and insights from some of marketing and advertising's most influential people including:

Ron Tite: President, The Tite Group
Leslie Ehm: Principal, Three Training
Trina Boos: President, Boost Agents & Ad Lounge
Ken Dobell: President, Digital, DAC Group
Luke Sullivan: Author, Hey, Whipple, Squeeze This


The speakers spoke to students about the importance of being a brand, understanding your role, building relationships and how to figure out what you need to become the best possible version of yourself and why people should care and take notice of who you are.

But, perhaps the most anticipated and best advice came from author and instructor Luke Sullivan. Luke spoke to the attendees about the importance of tension in advertising and that creating advertising around tension "can often leverage these tensions and help creatives produce more and often better work."( Luke Sullivan, 8 June, 2012)



In his presentation he told the audience that there are two major questions that advertisers and marketers must ask themselves when looking at and starting a campaign:
1) What is the truest thing I can say about this product or category?
2) Where is the emotion in this product, service or category?

In the end the message
of all of these speakers was to create an image for yourself, an idea of yourself that people want to pay attention to, create something that is interesting because "when everything is okay, we're not interested." (Luke Sullivan)

Click on the video below to see a message from Luke Sullivan.

-Rachel