Thank you to reporter Eilene Zimmerman for including me in this Sunday’s New York Times “Career Couch” column, featuring positive advice and suggestions for graduating college students. The article also mentions the Q&A blog and free downloadable job search worksheets I’ve created with PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Here is an excerpt from the Times column:
Q. You are about to graduate from college and will be entering one of the toughest job markets in decades. Is the situation as hopeless as it looks?
A. Unemployment is at a 25-year high, and employers expect to hire 22 percent fewer graduates this year than they hired last year, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. So, yes, the situation is troubling, but it certainly isn’t hopeless.
Accept that you may need to adjust expectations — not just about the job itself, but also about its pay and location.
“If you studied finance, consider working in accounting, insurance, small business or government, rather than just Wall Street,” said Lindsey Pollak, author of “Getting From College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World” and a blogger on www.pwc.tv, a PricewaterhouseCoopers career site for new college graduates.
Keep in mind that the rest of your life is unlikely to be determined by your first job, said Rebecca Sparrow, director of career services at Cornell University. “Understand that no matter what you choose, it will be an opportunity to learn about work and about yourself, and that will help with your next step.”
Click here to read the rest of the article, featuring good advice and encouragement from several career experts.
Image: Chris Reed, The New York Times
