The next two articles are going to be a little more abstract, but still good regardless.

So you have a square peg. What do you do with it? No one seems to care. This is how many people see the world. What you need to figure out is what do with that square peg. You might try forcing it into a round hole, or maybe a triangular hole, you might not even find out where it goes. What you’re looking for is a solution to the problem. You are not just sitting there with a problem.

People need to find solutions to their problems. Specific ones. I’m not saying that there is a solution to every problem (though there is, you just might not like it.) I’m saying you need to think about problems in terms of solution. It’s hard, I know, you get so used to people listening to your whining. “It was totally unfair, I can’t believe the teacher marked my wrong answer wrong.” “I can’t believe the cop gave me an underage drinking citation just for peeing in a parking garage when I was drunk. - Yeah, I know what a jerk.” (more…)

In the last article I outlined the importance of selling yourself via resume and interviews. This is obviously just a small part of the whole process and what you need to think about. You can look at yourself as your own mini company with several different departments like: marketing (resume/cover letter), training (college education/projects), PR (interviews/correspondence), etc. While we are going to go further in depth into all of these departments, blogger Steve Pavlina has an interesting article on the idea that You Are Self-Employed. He uses the analogy that your work is your product and your boss is your customer.

Like it or not, you are self-employed. If you produce output and get paid for it, you’ve got a business. You are no more or less an entrepreneur than any established business owner.

How does your business stack up against the competition? Are similar businesses outperforming you? Can you provide a better service at lower cost? Or are you such a perfect fit for what you do that you really don’t need to worry about competition?

I enjoyed this article very much because it emphasizes taking control of your career path. By working on developing your own “company” you can help yourself, while at the same time benefiting your employer.

For most of us college students out there on the job hunt, the level of nervousness prior to an interview is matched by very few events in our academic lives. It’s on par with final exams and formal presentations, but there is one key difference - you can’t study. All of your life, you have been able to directly affect your performance in important moments like these by preparing more thoroughly than the next guy, but with interviewing, the safeguard of knowing what you’re going to be asked about is gone.

You can try to look online for a list of specific interview questions the company typically asks, but I have tried this multiple times and trust me, it doesn’t work. Instead of trying to find every question you might be asked and come up with answers, I recommend devising one answer for all the questions you could be asked. It’s easier, and if done right, more reliable.

I am referring, of course, to the universal story. The majority of the questions college students are asked during a first interview are situational, i.e. they ask about a time that you’ve encountered this, or dealt with that. Naturally, your answer to a question about a situation will be a story, and the beautiful thing about stories is that you’ve spent the last 20 years of your life mastering the art of crafting and molding them to fit your needs. (more…)

As we’ve noted before being well rounded is critical in today’s industry. Whereas we’ve had the opportunity to experience this while still in college, recently Jon Morrow posted his account of this realization once in the work force.

I was told that having a high GPA would open all kinds of doors for me. But you know what? I interviewed with lots of companies, received a total of 14 job offers after graduation, and none of the companies asked about it. They were much more impressed with stuff like serving as Chief of Staff for the student government and starting a radio station run by 200 volunteers.

Twentysomething: Why I regret getting straight A’s in college

We just have to remind you, as Jon does, that depending on your life goals, GPA can make a big impact. On the whole, the weight that employers put on grades is over estimated, though there are always exceptions. GPA is especially important in even higher education, but if that’s not your boat, you should think about what Jon has to say.