Dear Fairygodmentor,
As a soon-to-be graduate, I feel overwhelmed by all the advice about finding the perfect job. How do I take the first steps toward a meaningful career?
Best Regards,
Gen Z Dreamer
Dear Gen Z Dreamer,
I want to start this letter by first celebrating your achievement of completing four years of higher education! You did it! This is quite an accomplishment!
I overstand! The advice from others is extremely overwhelming and oftentimes confusing. I want to share three power moves to help you take the first steps toward a meaningful career.
Power Move 1: Let Go of Perfection and Aim for Potential
I want to hold your hand when I say this with all of the positive intentions in my heart. You may not find the perfect job right out of the gate. I can already hear the gasps of dismay when I share this reality, but you know me–I like to keep things real. Hear me out.
The job you may ultimately get right out of college may not check all your boxes for “My Perfect Job.” The salary may be a bit lower than expected. They may not offer 100% remote work access. It may be a bit further of a commute for you. Your time off may not be as robust as you’d like. Try to focus on the potential versus perfection.
Ask yourself: Does this new job have the potential to take you further? Will it help you develop your career? Will it be the foot in the door to help you grow and gain more experience?
What I need you to focus on when you’re looking for your first job out of college is not perfection, but whether it’s got the potential to connect to your passion and talents. Why did you spend the last four years majoring in (fill in your major here)? There must have been a reason you chose to focus on that topic for so long.
Is there something else you wanted to explore in your first job that may not be aligned with your major? I know I wanted to help people reach their goals. My initial perfect job once I graduated from college was the idea of being a guidance counselor since I majored in Psychology. Once I realized that to be a guidance counselor, you needed a graduate degree of some sort, I discovered that I needed to work in a field that was guidance counselor adjacent.
I was working with teens in an outplacement adolescent day treatment unit at a medical school. It was a great job. It was not the perfect job. I still had to live at home with my parents; it barely paid for gas and other expenses, and vacation was nonexistent, but ultimately, it was very rewarding. It had the potential of opening doors for my ability to gain some experience as a guidance counselor.
The path to the “Perfect Job” isn’t a straight line.
I chose to work at another company for 18 years to get my Master’s degree covered by their tuition reimbursement program. What started as a vehicle to get my MBA turned into a career of leadership development. In a way, I still ended up a guidance counselor. It’s just that I work with adults and not teens as I originally planned.
Stay flexible.
Power Move 2: A resume isn’t everything
As one of my Fairygodmentors used to tell me when I was out looking for work, “It’s not what you know, it’s about who knows you.”
Another harsh truth is that your resume isn’t the only thing to get your foot in the door when applying for a job. You need to network. This can be done in person and virtually.
As an Auntie Fairygodmentor®, I’d lean in more heavily on in-person networking, or at least trying to connect with a human who’s tied to the company you’re trying to join. There’s something about a face-to-face interaction that seals the deal for the humanity of the position. You’re not just a name on a piece of paper with experience, but a human being.
That’s why I also can’t stress this enough–please leverage your LinkedIn profile. Connect with recruiters, employees, and heck, even the CEO of the organizations where you aspire to work. Comment on their posts, attend any events where the leadership is speaking, or ask to connect with them via DM. Some may think this is pushy. I like to call it professional persistence. Pro Tip: Respect people’s boundaries.
Power Move 3: Do your Research
Please do some research on the companies and organizations that you’re interviewing with. Incorporate that passion for working with them with the research you’ve done into the cover letter (I can’t stand them either, but some companies take submitting them very seriously), interview, and thank you notes.
As a former hiring manager, there is nothing worse than sitting across from a candidate who has no clue what or who they’re interviewing for or with. Did they just go through a merger or acquisition? Are they relocating to a new building? How can you add value to this organization, knowing what you do about what’s currently going on? Reading trade magazines, following them on LinkedIn (see a pattern here?), doing a Google search, or reading business journals will give you up-to-date information.
By sharing that you took the time to research this company and your passion for working for them–you’ll soar to the top of the candidate list.
Aim for potential, not perfection. Understand that you’ll need more than your resume to get your foot in the door, and finally, research and show your passion for the company or organization where you want to work. These three power moves will set you up for success as you transition to the next chapter of your success story. Congrats again, Gen Z Dreamer!
You got this!
Yours truly,
Your Fairygodmentor®
About Joyel Crawford:
Joyel Crawford is an award-winning career and leadership development professional and founder of Crawford Leadership Strategies, a consultancy that empowers results-driven leaders through coaching, training, and facilitation. She’s the best-selling author of Show Your Ask: Using Your Voice to Advocate for Yourself and Your Career.
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