- November 13, 2014
- 5:55 pm
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Guest Blog: Job Search Strategies – Leveraging Your Millennial Status! By Wren Donofrio
Wren Donofrio, Assistant Director of Business Career Services: Employer Outreach and Relations
Millennial. A word that can be used as a noun or adjective. A word that has transformed into a generational badge that many individuals wear with honor. Yet, it also is a word that has monopolized the nonstop cultural conversation of misunderstood assumptions. Lazy, entitled, instant gratification, unreal expectations, and social media hungry are all phrases that have been branded to the millennial generation.
According to PwC’s employment study – Millennials at Work: Reshaping the workplace, millennials will make up 50% of the workforce in 2020. With this knowledge, many companies have made an imperative shift from recruiting what was once a conventional candidate, to a candidate that fits the cultural mold.
How does this new recruitment trend effect current millennial college students seeking post graduate employment?
Core competencies: To many organizations, the right candidate looks successful off paper. Yes, a polished resume will get you in the door. However, a majority of companies are putting less emphasis on one’s GPA, courses completed, and instead are targeting students that encapsulate in depth qualities such as: pivotal communication skills, innovative thinking, rapport building, and strategic focus. That said, reflect on past or current professional and academic experiences in which you demonstrate any or all of these qualities. Make sure to streamline and highlight core competencies throughout your application materials.
Appropriate digital brand: BEFORE applying to companies, Google yourself. You may be surprised and somewhat shocked on what you may see. As a job seeker you want to put your best foot forward, so that public picture of you winning Beer Olympics may be an accomplishment, but, do you really want this to be an employer’s FIRST impression of you? Thus, you may need to clean up and edit your millennial social media brand you created while in college.
What you should have online:
– Linkedin Profile (with a professional headshot)
– Online portfolio that includes your resume, projects, and perhaps a blog?
What you may have to edit online:
– Twitter: make sure your tweets are appropriate and reflect the best version of you. Unsure if it’s work appropriate? You can keep your account private
– Facebook user? You can make your account private as well
Networking: The hiring procedure is a tedious and expensive process. To make recruiting easier for human resources professionals, many rely on referrals from current employees. This is where networking comes in.
Now that you have updated your LinkedIn profile- utilize it! All that Facebook stalking while in college has prepared you to be the ultimate stalker to “network” with individuals and companies. For example, let’s say you see a position at a prestigious marketing firm that you know you’d excel in. Before you apply, you want to do your research. You can search via LinkedIn to see who is currently working in that office, send a message for an informational network coffee meeting, and bam you’re on your way to being a networking professional.
BUT WAIT, although establishing these networking relationships increases a chance for referral, it is important for college job seekers to know that networking meetings DO NOT mean they are entitled to that position. Rather, it shows that you are pro-active and seek out innovative ways to fully understand the position and work culture.
Core Competencies, appropriate digital brand, and networking are just some of the many ways employers are altering their recruitment strategy for the millennial demographic. To stay ahead of the game and not fall into the typical millennial stereotype, take your career in your own hands! Come visit the Business Career Services Department- Maguire Hall 124. We offer an array of career events, stay abreast of employment recruiting trends, and provide you with tactical and technical skills in order for you to be career ready.