Ask Isa: Does prestige matter when choosing a college?

Below is a question from the anonymous Ask Isa inbox. Feel free to share your advice with this student in the comments section, and as always you can submit your own question to the Ask Isa column. 

Question:

Hi Isa,

I'm thinking about pursuing a career in business, and this is my second semester at my community college. I'm taking my General Education requirements now, and a few core businesses classes such as math and economics. 

So far these classes meet the requirements for my reach schools, UC Berkley and the University of Southern California (USC), and my back up school: California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo (SLO).

I have read that it is less likely to get into graduate school with a degree from a California State University (i.e.SLO) rather from a UC.

Financially, I'd prefer to go to SLO because the cost is WAY less than the cost of a UC, however I don't want this to hurt my chances of getting a job in the future. 

It just seems that UC's and private schools have more prestige over California State Universities. I still have a couple of semesters left to complete my requirements, I just want to have a clear path of what I am going to do so that I'll be motivated to accomplish my goal. 

Any advice?

Sincerely, 

Overwhelmed CC freshman

My answer:

Dear Overwhelmed CC freshman, 

Huge kudos to you for thinking about your path now, as a freshman. That will pay off big time - because you are right, having a path will keep you motivated. The more research you do about your direction in college the better.

I live in Florida and am not an expert on the California college system, so my first piece of advice is to ask this question of someone who is. Meet with an advisor at your community college, admissions officers at all of the colleges you are considering, and any professors who went to the colleges you are considering. 

Share your dilemma with them honestly and ask for their advice. Take as much advice as you can and then think about what sounds like the best path for you. 

When it comes to figuring out the best college to help you get a job, I recommend seeking out someone in your local area who has a job that interests you in business, and ideally who has also gone to a graduate school that interests you. Ask him or her for advice and listen closely. 

The best way to choose a path with the end result in mind is to talk to people who have gotten to the place you want to be and find out what they did. They will be more than happy to help you if you just reach out. 

What I've learned from going to community college and meeting many successful people is that where you go to college matters much less than how much work you put into it - and how much networking you do. 

You're on the right track! :)

Sincerely,

Isa

FIRST JOB out of college: how to find one, get one, change one, and learn from one (and not lose yourself in the process)

Subscribe to the FIRST JOB summer series here to get each new post the second it goes live, as well as exclusive tips/links just for subscribers! =)


It’s officially summertime for college students, and for all the graduates of the class of 2012, it’s time to get that first “real” job.

When I first embarked on this process when I graduated with my B.A. the summer of 2009, I was hit with a tidal wave of emotions, all stemming from this one question: What the heck am I going to do with my life now?

To cope, I read stacks and stacks of books on how to find a job. I went on dozens of informational interviews. I scanned online job boards late into the night. I sent my resume out into (what felt like) the black hole of online job applications.

And I had never felt more insecure and horrible in my life.

Before I go on, I think it’s important to mention that this is a first-world problem. My husband and I will semi-jokingly quip to each other “first world problem” when the other is complaining about something going wrong in the apartment or with our cars, like last week when our wireless internet wasn’t working. It’s a first-world problem. It’s a problem that, in many ways, we are lucky to have. It’s a problem that, when compared to so many other problems in the world, is just not that big of a deal.

If we didn't live in the country that we did, with open-access to education, a diverse economy, and the ability to choose what we want to do, how to spend our time, and where to share our talents, we wouldn't have this problem of figuring out what we want to do with our lives. We are lucky to have this problem. 

But with that being said, if you live in a “first-world”, first-world problems are still real problems. They are still your problems. And it’s okay to go after solving them. It’s just vital to always maintain perspective so that you do not dwell in the depths of hopelessness when in reality there is so much to be thankful for.

However, when you’re in the depths of self-doubt, it’s hard to be thankful.

Our generation was told we could do anything we wanted, be anything we wanted, and that if we graduated college we would get a high-paying job.

So we proudly walked down that aisle in the cardboard-square hat. We listened to a triumphant and hopeful graduation speaker. And then we walked back down that aisle with our shiny new diploma, ready to shine all our great potential and make a difference and a contribution in the real world.

And then we trip and fall flat on our faces, scraping our limbs on the concrete.

While I mean this metaphorically, this actually happened to me last week while walking from my car to my apartment on the last day of my job at the community college (I’m now a full time author, blogger (hooray!), speaker, and consultant). I stepped awkwardly on the concrete path leading up to my apartment door, and WHAM, before I knew it I was on the ground, with all my office supplies strewn across the path. 

I  laughed at myself at the time and felt so thankful no one was around to see. But – it made me think about how I felt three years ago when I first was looking for that job.

How I felt like I was constantly falling on my face. And how I worried that everyone would see. 

When we can’t find a job or are in a job we don’t like, we feel inadequate, like we aren’t contributing what we actually have to offer the world. And often, it makes us feel embarrassed and sad and alone. 

When I was looking for my first job three years ago, I found comfort in a lot of books that defined this general feeling of awfulness and insecurity as the “Quarterlife Crisis.” Essentially the books said that in our 20’s we struggle to find our identity, and in this new post-graduate stage of life, we tie our identity closely to our job, which causes stress when we can't seem to find the "right" job. 

And while these books coined the phrase, created the awareness, helped post-grads understand they are not alone, and comforted us that by no means does our job define who we are - I still needed to pay the rent. I still needed a job. I still felt lost. And I didn't really know what else to do.  

So this summer (along with the other content I’ve mentioned such as transfer student and professional success stories) I am going to be doing a series on finding, getting, changing, and learning from your first job out of college.

Highlights: 

• What you do vs. who you are
• Why starting from the bottom is vital to getting to the top
• What do you do if you hate your current job?
• When do you just take any job vs holding out for your "dream" job?
• Secrets of current successful professionals on how they got their dream jobs (hint: their dream job is almost never their first job)
• How to turn a first job you dislike into a dream job
• How to organize your job search process 
• How to find a professional mentor
• When to take unpaid internships
• When to choose grad school
• How to do informational interviews at companies where you want to work
• Why most jobs aren't filled online & how to use the internet to get them
• Why people hire their friends and how to make more friends
• How to know if working from home/being an entrepreneur is for you
• Reviews on some of the best job-hunt and post-grad books
• How to change your job

And as your first FIRST JOB tip for today - start reading anything you can about finding a job. We read and study for classes every semester. And yet we often forget to use those skills to read and learn about many areas of our lives. Turn your first job search into a class for yourself, and dedicate the time and effort necessary to get an "A." To start, I hope you'll keep up with this series :) 

The series will be peppered throughout the blog this summer, so if you want to be sure not to miss one, you can subscribe specifically to the FIRST JOB summer series here. 

You can also join me live Monday, May 14 at 9pm ET for YouTern's #InternPro Twitter chat! The theme: "I'm graduating…now what?!"

How to make sure your resume stands out every time

I’m not going to blow your mind with any profound or original idea when I tell you this:

Getting a job is tough.

But the thing is – something being tough, or challenging, doesn’t absolve us of the responsibility.

Most things that are tough require effort – and in this day and age, the best things require extra time and effort.

And yet, when it comes to applying for jobs, sometimes the process can feel so time-consuming, stressful, nerve-racking, and boring that you can find yourself rushing through a key element of a job hunt.

The resume.

If you feel an internal "ugh" when you read this word don't worry - I'm with you. Resumes are so time consuming and often connote impending rejection. 

And while resume writing is only one aspect of your job hunt, it is proven to be a powerful one. Getting it right can serve you well. 

But there is a very common mistake some people make with their resumes: they send the same one out to every person. 

Your resume is kind of like a handshake, or a knock on the door – it is the first instinctual moment of forward momentum and opportunity.

Have you ever met someone who didn't look you in the eye when they shook your hand, and whose personal spiel felt fake, like they say the same thing to everyone?

That is what it is like when you write one resume and send it out to dozens of employers.

Because like most things – there isn’t a one size fits all when it comes to resumes.Whether you realize it or not, you have a plethora of experiences, classes, and job duties you can put on your resume. Which ones you share and how you share them should depend entirely on each individual job description.

See why I feel "ugh" when I hear the word resume? This is not fun. It's not easy. So why am I sharing it with you on a blog?

Because it will get you a job.

This will take time, so resist the temptation to breeze through the process. Sending out lots of one-size-fits-all resumes is like playing the one of those ridiculous power-ball-whatever lottery games. Hope is high because there is so much money at stake, but the chances of winning are so, so very low.

Those who get the job are those who are willing to do that extra work; instead of gambling one resume on dozens, or even hundreds of application, each one is focused, tailored, and personalized.

How do you do this?

• Have a document that lists all of your accomplishments, awards, classes, degrees, and any significant experience you've had in your life thus far (e.g. jobs, volunteer work, leadership in a club/organization, etc.) that you continue to update throughout your life.
• Under each job, leadership experience, or volunteer experience, write out the results of what you accomplished in each job (e.g. recruited 20 volunteers for lake cleanup). Do not limit yourself. Describe the results, duties, and accomplishments of everything you've done so far fully.
• Then, for each job, choose the top 2-4 results that showcase skills that the job is specifically looking for. Change the language around if you need to in order to use words specifically in the job description. 
• In the objective section of the resume, do not say what you are looking for, instead, explain which top 3 of your best and most specific skills you hope to contribute to help that specific company reach one of its specific goals in the specific role they are looking to fill. (notice a key word here?) ;)

This takes practice, time, and effort. But I promise it will also get results. And if you aren't sure how to write a certain job duty to relate to a specific job posting, feel free to send me the job description and a job duty or two and I'll show you how to tailor it at advice@communitycollegesuccess.com. 

If you get a degree, you get a job…right?

A few days ago I did an interview with Mark Babbitt, founder of the innovative internship search website YouTern. I wanted to talk to Mark about the upcoming conference YouTern is putting on called 1KV (one thousand voices). This conference will bring together college students, post-grads, and young careerists who realize, as Mark put it, that being negative and complaining about the economy isn’t in our best interest. The economy isn’t going to change; we have to change.

So YouTern is bringing together a group of like-minded individuals who are ready to make a difference in the world and find success in a time when it can seem so far away.

Why does success feel so out of reach for young careerists and post-grads, and even some college students? Because, as Mark put it, his generation “lied to us.”

Mark boldly admits that his generation told young people that if you get a degree, work relatively hard in college, you will get a job. And not just any job, but a great job!

But today many post-grads find their post-college job in food or retail, working alongside those who are still working on their college degree or who never got one. Many post-grads find themselves living at home. And many post-grads feel lonely, confused, frustrated, and wonder what those four years were for anyway.

A college degree is incredibly valuable. But it’s vital to remember that the single credential, the single piece of paper, isn’t enough anymore; hence, the “lie.”

What is the truth?

The truth is that you must figure out how to focus your college degree on something you are great at and find interesting, and you must build career-related experience as soon as possible.

In short, you must go the extra mile.

And I have a step you can take towards that extra mile right now. How about attending YouTern’s 1K Voices conference in New York this March 23-25? How about joining the other like-minded people who are ready and excited to do more. How about recharging yourself during a weekend that will remind you what it takes to reach your dreams, and provide you with the tools and the support group to help you get there.

And want even more good news? Because Mark and YouTern are so awesome and really like you guys they gave me a special promotional code just for you to save some big bucks on your registration (please note I am not being paid at all to talk about this…I will only ever recommend anything to you that I truly believe in and think will actually help you, end of story).

But before you scroll down to get the promotional code and sign up for a weekend that could be a turning point in your life (and also sounds like a heck of a lot of fun), check out some of the incredible and exclusive insight Mark shared with me based on his incredible experiences and success working with our generation and their career search.

• Q: What inspired you to start YouTern?

A: Mark started YouTern because he felt we were losing the “human” part of human resources when it came to searching for jobs online (ever applied for a job and never heard anything back….it's the worst!). In Mark’s previous successful start-up he had interns who got a lot out of the experience working for a small business doing actual work (NOT getting coffee) and getting mentored along the way. He found his interns were going on to be incredibly successful, and he wanted to create a portal where more businesses and non-profits committed to mentorship-based and real-experience based internships could share their opportunities. He also wanted to help the struggling populations of students who wanted professional advice and high quality mentor-based internships.

What is really cool about YouTern is that they screen all of the company’s that post internship opportunities on their site so that, as Mark put it, “it’s not some creepy guy in his garage.” While of course they can’t guarantee it will be a perfect experience, they can guarantee they’ve done everything possible to guard against the “creepy” guys and only showcase internships that feature small businesses, non-profits, and socially responsible organizations.

• Q: What inspired you to create the 1KV conference?

A: Mark realized there wasn’t a conference for young careerists who are transitioning to the professional world. There was nothing to teach college students and post-grads what to do after you walk down that aisle in your cap and gown. There was nothing gathering together people who wanted to contribute to the world in a positive way and do whatever it takes to succeed – no matter what is going on in the economy. He wanted to bring together a group of people who refuse to sink to the negativity in the news and who realize the only thing we have power to change is ourselves. And when we increase our knowledge and skills and surround ourselves with good people – our situations almost magically change. This is a conference for positive people who are ready to get fired up about how to make an impact in the world and discover success in their career after college.

• Q: What is the number one benefit conference attendees will receive?

A: Realizing that only YOU can make yourself successful and getting the tools to know HOW to make yourself successful. One of the best ways to reach success in your life is to surround yourself with positive people who will keep you accountable, as well as learn from those who have had success before you. This conference features incredible speakers (e.g. Jenny Blake author of Life After College) who will ensure that you will come out with more than just a fired-up attitude and new friends to keep you accountable – but the tools to actually know what to do and how to get your life on track.

• Q: What is your best advice for what my readers should be doing right now in order to find a great job after they graduate from college?

A: Mark said that we have forgotten that getting jobs is a competition in which only those who take it as seriously as an athlete will win. The number one thing to do right now (and one I firmly believe in as it is the heart of my book)? Networking! Because as Mark said, 8 out of every 10 jobs are being filled through personal relationships. 

So right after you finish reading this blog do at least one thing to build relationships with people in your desired field and show the world that you are taking your career as seriously as an athlete. Create your LinkedIn profile and connect with a LinkedIn group that interests you. Join a Twitter chat (I love #InternPro). Join this blog's Facebook community. Visit your career center and ask if they have a mentorship database so you can meet with a professional who does a job that interests you. Find a mentor on StudentMentor.org. And…

Register for the 1KV Conference using the promo code: CCSuccess. 

I hope to meet you there!

P.S. If you're like I was in college and are broke and have no idea how you could ever afford to go to a conference in New York, just remember that anything is possible if you want to make it happen. Get creative. And never forget that an investment in your own success is the only guaranteed investment in the world. 




To read more about Isa's personal story & how you can build relationships to: make positive friends, be more successful in academics and work, find the right people to connect with, and access the hidden job market, grab a FREE e-copy of the first chapter of Community College Success: How to Finish with Friends, Scholarships, Internships, and the Career of Your Dreams! Claim your free copy on the Facebook page!