Job Hunting Tips For Recent College Grads In A Challenging Market

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History repeats itself. College grads who are facing a daunting job market are not alone. A tough job market has a million publicists. Focus on the task at hand and tune out the noise. The noise is not there to help you. With that said, the data is in and it’s not great. It’s not terrible, but it’s not great.

The percentage of hires who are recent graduates is down. That is a fact that The New York Times, NBC News, and Axios made official in recent pieces. Regardless of whatever you’ve done during your student days, you’re navigating the real-world job minefield for the first time. It’s proving impersonal and unforgiving and it’s causing ever-increasing levels of stress. The last thing you need to do is read data-heavy articles from the I-Still-Do-Not-Have-A-Job-A-Sphere to confirm what you already know. You need a job and nobody is going to knock on your door and hand one to you. You have to get out there and claim it.

Here are five tips for recent grads to decompress and get out there and claim it:

1.     Enjoy it. You are young. You have your whole life in front of you and minimum responsibilities. There are legions of people who would trade places with you in a heartbeat no matter how unemployed you think you are. Get your face out of your phone, look at your actual surroundings, and enjoy it. You will only be young once but you’ll probably be unemployed a bunch of times. It’s a normal part of the process. Of course, it’s hard. You’re asking strangers to legally agree to give you a bunch of money after they’ve met you a couple of times. That’s crazy when you think about it. So calm down, relax. Your first job is out there waiting for you to find it, so meanwhile, enjoy life.

2.     Be flexible. There are jobs to pay the bills and there are career jobs. You may need a couple of the pay-the-bills jobs while you land your first career job. If you have the circumstances, resources, and good fortune to be patient and picky, then, by all means, hold out for that first dream job. If you need money now, and the only way you’re going to have it is to get a job, then suck it up, take one of those jobs, and double your efforts to get the job you want. Think of it like the oxygen masks that allegedly fall from the ceiling in an airplane if it loses oxygen. You’re instructed to put the mask on yourself before you administer help to others. The short-term, pay-your-bills job is like the first mask. You need that oxygen to help the person next to you, who, in this analogy, is also you, get the “real” job.

3.     Be flexible, Part 2. There’s the ideal career job and there’s the other ones. If you’re facing a constrained market, you may not get everything you want. Your desires may not match up with employer offers. That’s when negotiating begins and whoever has the leverage will dictate terms. Recent graduates have declining leverage right now. That hybrid schedule? Maybe not quite yet. Relocation allowance? Don’t dismiss it entirely, but don’t count on it either. When employers don’t need compromise and perks to attract new talent, they’re uncompromising and stingy. There is nothing you can do about it except play the hand you’re given. By all means, ask for everything and the moon in a glass box you can carry around in your pocket. Just don’t expect to get all of it. Or any of it, maybe.

4.     Be the islands in the stream. This is a toughie. You may not believe it because there is a vast digital void between you and the people hiring, but they empathize with you. They want to help you because everybody has been in your predicament (and more times than you). You have to believe that and you should because it’s true. That’s the first step towards developing the diligence and patience you need to effectively conduct a difficult job search. Somebody on the other side is looking for you just as hard as you are looking for them. Eventually, you will find each other. Trust the process and accept you’re not in control. Events will unfold as they are meant to. And proofread your resume again.

5.     Do the work. You think updating your resume and writing a LinkedIn profile is work. Wait until you get a job! Consider the extra effort required to get your first job in a challenging and unpredictable job market to be on-the-job training for every job you will ever do. This stuff gets harder, not easier. When your first deadline is hurtling towards you like an intercontinental ballistic missile, you will pine for the days when you anguished over your LinkedIn headline. Finding a job is a job, and when you do a good job, you end up with a new job! Keep things in perspective. Focus.

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 Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

The Pros and Cons of Applying Internally To Other Jobs at Your Employer

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If you're applying for a new job at your current company, being an internal candidate (i.e., a current employee) is your greatest advantage and your greatest disadvantage. On the one hand, everybody already knows you and you have a track record with which everyone is familiar. On the other hand, everybody already knows you and you have a track record. The trick is to reset perceptions and prejudices of you as if you were an unknown external candidate.

Advantages of being an internal candidate:

1.        You know the company and culture. When you walk into your interview, you may know more about the inner workings of the company than the people interviewing you. You speak the language. You know the buzzwords they want to hear and even the company’s long-term plans. You know or can inquire about, facts about the job that only an internal candidate has access to. This gives you a sharp edge over external candidates.

2.        Many companies favor internal candidates. Managing expectations is part of the recruitment process, thus many companies that favor hiring internally may not broadcast that fact. However, many have mechanisms in place to favor internal candidates. Think of it as being graded on a curve. You get points for already being on the payroll. What the rest of your employee file says is up to you.

3.        You have allies inside the company. In more situations than not, whoever is on your side can step up to the plate and bat for you. This behind-the-scenes influence may be more potent than anything else. The stronger and more influential your sponsor, the stronger and more influential the recommendation. 

4.        You can market yourself directly to the stakeholders. You have unprecedented access to everyone involved in the hiring process and can press your case. Don’t be overbearing and bring the receipts. You may remember your impressive achievements but others may not. Be your biggest fan but be respectful of boundaries.

5.        Hiring internally is an easier transition for all. Recruiting and onboarding is time consuming and expensive. If you misfire, you’re back at square one and the liability increases. You can know a lot of things at the end of a recruitment campaign but you’ll never know 100% that it will be the right fit. Some aren’t. The fact that you’re already an employee means less upfront costs and risk. Internal candidates can hit the ground running on the first second of their first day. New employees don’t know where the bathroom is and can’t remember the password to unlock their computer.

Disadvantages of being an internal candidate:

1.        If you don’t get the job, you have to go back to your old job. For many, this is the most anxiety-producing feature of being an internal candidate. In a typical get-a-new-job scenario, you go through a series of interviews, receive an offer, negotiate, agree on terms, and show up on day one. If you don’t get the job, you most likely receive a conciliatory email at best and get ghosted at worst. End of story. If you’re an internal candidate, however, and you don’t get the job (and you don’t quit your current job) then you have to report for work the next day with a smile on your face. Everybody knows you put yourself up for a job and everybody knows you didn’t get it. It’s a challenging and awkward situation.

2.        Haters gonna hate. Even Mother Teresa had detractors. Just like your allies will bat for you, internal opposition may be less than helpful. Hopefully, that’s not the case, but if it is, the forces that rally against you are beyond your control. Don’t get distracted, but know this is a potential part of going after an internal job.  

3.        Everyone already has a strong opinion of you. People have opinions and it takes a lot to change them, including opinions of you. Keep in mind that your role is not to change people’s opinion of you (that would be futile), it is to convince them you are the perfect person for the job. Focus on that.

4.        Don’t have the attitude that the job is yours. Nothing’s a given. That kind of attitude reeks and won’t help you with this cause or your next one. You need to impress people who know you, have a professional history with you, and already have strong opinions of you. There is no reason to believe they don’t take their recruiting responsibilities seriously and that a smug candidate isn’t going far. Exercise some humility.

5.        Your promotion or may not include the big pay increase you are ready to prove you deserve. Compensation may not be as aggressive for internal candidates as external in-demand talent or professionals you are trying to woo away from another company. You may get low-balled and they have the leverage. Good luck.

Other factors to consider:

1.        Don't assume you are the only (or even most qualified) internal candidate. When there are internal candidates for a plum job, many companies will try and keep the process as close to the vest as possible. Even if you have not heard anything definitive, chances are some of your co-workers are going after the job as well. Competing against other internal candidates levels out the advantages you may have over external candidates.

2.        Get your manager onboard with your candidacy. At your employer, your boss may actually be required to sign off on your application as part of the process. Regardless, approach your manager and tell them you want to pursue an internal job opening. If they are on board, that is a great starting point. If they agree to champion you for the position, that’s an even better outcome. If they discourage it, you may want to reconsider after hearing their reasons. There are already disadvantages to being an internal candidate, but if your immediate boss doesn’t recommend you, that’s a very steep uphill climb.

3.        Update your resume & LinkedIn profile. Don't expect HR to have a copy of your resume on file (especially if you've been in your current position for a while) and, even if they do, it is bad form to ask them to use if for your application or to send you a copy. And make sure it’s bleeding-edge current. 

4.        Update your resume & LinkedIn profile as if you are an external candidate. Yes, your co-workers and bosses know everything about you, but you should resist the temptation to approach your application like it is just a formality. It's not. It's a critical tool that will officially be used to advance or end your candidacy. When you add your current position, the section should be written as if you are applying to a different company. Use it as an opportunity to focus the reader on your best accomplishments.

5.        Have a plan for the day after. There are only two possible outcomes. You get the job, or you don't get it. If you got it, you're locked in. Get ready to live up to the promises you made. If you didn't, then it’s back to work with all the trimmings. Regardless of whether or not the new hire is an internal or external candidate, you have to work with them every day in peace and harmony.

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 Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

The Company I'm Interviewing With Wants Me To Sign An NDA?

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Imagine that as you walk into a job interview, before meeting the hiring manager your potential employer asks you to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), and at first glance, it’s a pretty onerous legal document. If you don’t sign, the interview is over, and your candidacy ends. What’s going on? What do you do?

Before going any further, please note that we’re not attorneys, and this in no way constitutes legal advice. For legal guidance, please consult an attorney.

Companies have secrets, and under certain circumstances, NDAs can be pretty common; let’s first discuss some of the reasons a company may require a confidential NDA from their job candidates. Businesses (generally) don’t go through the trouble of putting potential hires in a compromising position that may jeopardize their recruitment efforts for sport, they usually have their reasons, which may include: 

• Trade Secrets. A company may be working on a new product it does not want the competition or the public to know about. Perhaps it is a prototype for a new gizmo that is still a work in progress or a new proprietary technology they need to keep under wraps or risk the information falling into a competitor’s hands.

• Mergers, Acquisitions, IPOs. Sometimes a company is preparing for a major transformation like a merger, acquisition, or an unannounced initial public offering. Often these types of upheavals are only known by a few C-suite-level executives and members of a Board of Directors. You might be an essential hire to help navigate these situations, enter the NDA.

•  Start-Ups and Venture Capital. If you’re interviewing for a position at a start-up that’s either seeking venture capital funding or is the new recipient of seed money you are, by definition, involved in an endeavor that may or may not succeed and a crucial part of that process is being the first to market. A business in its infancy must protect its interests. That may mean having potential new hires sign an NDA during the interview process so their product or business model isn’t compromised.

• Insider Trading. Financial information may be revealed to you during an interview that can put you in legal jeopardy if you illegally profit from anything you learn in the interview.

• Special Circumstances. If you’re interviewing for a government job that’s involved in intelligence and national security, you may be asked to sign an NDA. If you’re interviewing for a position working for a politician, high-net-worth individual, celebrity, entrepreneur, or major investor, you may be asked to sign an NDA. There are a lot of people and companies out there that want to keep things private, including whatever may come up in a job interview.

Whatever the reason for the NDA, it will typically be sprung on you when you arrive for the interview. Suddenly, you’re in a tricky legal situation and under pressure to make a quick decision. If you sign it, there are consequences for breaking the agreement. If you don’t, it’s most likely the end of the road. Don’t panic and keep the following in mind:

• The NDA is the cost of admission. If you want the job, you must sign the NDA. That isn’t to say you shouldn’t read it thoroughly and ask as many questions as you need to feel comfortable giving your signature. The onus is on the company to explain, in detail, every provision of the NDA and why they are asking you to sign it. The onus is on you to honor the agreement if you decide to sign it – and there is no obligation to sign it. If you aren’t comfortable signing an NDA then it’s time to say, “thank you,” and find somewhere else to work.

• Keep in mind that an NDA is a legal document. Companies are interested in protecting themselves, and they likely have more resources than you do to enforce these protections – and if you run afoul of the NDA, their lawyers will. Read the fine print.

• Ask for a copy. If you sign an NDA, request a copy. You never know when you’ll need it, and you’ll want to make sure you remember what you agreed to.

If you want to familiarize yourself with a standard “Employee NDA” (even though you are not yet an employee the basic provisions will be the same for potential new hires), you can find a sample NDA here.

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Philip Roufail contributed to this article.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.