How to Get Your College Grad Off Your Payroll & Into Gainful Employment

Salveson Stetson Group Offers Tips to Executives Whose Kids Are Job-Hunting for the First Time

Monday; July 14, 2008

RADNOR, PA – July 14, 2008 – Many senior-level executives are facing a new career challenge in this flat job market – how to help their recent college graduates land their first jobs in a tough economy, according to Salveson Stetson Group, a full-service retained executive search firm.

“Finding a first job has become much more difficult than when many of us embarked on our careers,” said John Salveson, a principal with Salveson Stetson Group. “Parents who want to help their children should be prepared to play an active role in their kids’ first job searches.”

“The most important tools a working parent can offer his or her child are advice and introductions,” Salveson added.

Salveson Stetson Group offers these tips to executives who want to help their college grads:

• Recognize that your child’s best networking resource is you. “If you’re a successful executive, chances are good that you have many skills and contacts you can share with your son or daughter,” said Salveson. “Think about people who you can connect them with, and helpful advice you can offer about their job searches. Coach them on preparing fully for meetings and being ready to describe their strengths and interests. Remind them to dress appropriately, maintain good eye contact, and turn off their cell phones during appointments.”

• Connect them to a trusted, independent advisor. Taking advice from Mom or Dad doesn’t always go smoothly, so think about successful business friends or colleagues who might be willing to guide your child and give him or her some tips and advice,” said Sally Stetson, principal at Salveson Stetson Group. “Especially helpful are contacts who have management experience and / or human resources insights.”

• Encourage your child, if he or she hasn’t already, to use the College Placement Office. “It’s surprising how few students really take advantage of the placement services their colleges or universities offer,” said Stetson. “The ideal time to connect with the Placement Office is in the student’s sophomore or junior year. So parents should remind current college students to begin exploring the resources offered early in their college careers.”

• Explore contacts you may have at larger employers. Many large companies have a designated individual in the human resources department who handles executive referrals. “If you sit on the board of directors of a large company or know its senior executives well, you may be able to arrange a courtesy interview for your child,” said Salveson.

• Help your child adjust to the realities of the business world. “This generation has grown up on e-mail, text messaging, and the Internet,” said Salveson. “They don’t realize job-hunting is a contact sport that requires them to sit in a room, face-to-face with live people, and carry on a conversation.” Consider role-playing and mock interviews to help them prepare, he advises.

• Encourage them not to be overly reliant on the Internet. “Many new graduates limit themselves only to on-line job-hunting,” Stetson observed, “believing that once they’ve sent their resumes to job boards, their work is done.” Instead, parents need to counsel their children to use the phone and in-person meetings to supplement their on-line efforts. “The Internet can be tremendously helpful in targeting potential employers and identifying the types of jobs they are seeking to fill,” Stetson said. “But it doesn’t replace the personal networking and face-to-face contact graduates will need in their job search efforts.”

• Recognize that your graduate may not fully understand or appreciate the art of networking. “Many young people don’t understand the concept of meeting with people who don’t necessarily have a job for them,” Salveson said. “It may take multiple interviews before they begin to understand the power of networking, which continues to be the number one way people find jobs.”

If your child is really floundering and doesn’t know what he or she wants to do, consider enlisting the help of a career counselor, Stetson advises. Aptitude testing and an independent perspective can help your child identify his or her strengths and career opportunities that capitalize on them.

And keep in mind, Salveson counsels, that your child’s career path will probably look markedly different from yours. They are likely to hold more jobs of shorter duration than their executive-level parents.

“Don’t get too hung up on what they are doing in their job searches, as long as they’re doing something,” he said. “Remember that at age 22, there aren’t too many career mistakes they can’t rebound from.”

« Back

About Salveson Stetson Group

Salveson Stetson Group (www.ssgsearch.com) is a full-service retained executive search firm founded in 1996. Specializing in $150,000+ salaried positions, Salveson Stetson Group places executives at organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to non-profit entities. The company is based in suburban Philadelphia.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Jack Loughran
(610) 649-9292 X 111
jack@buchananpr.com