Good Luck with That and-Have a Nice Day!

  Professor Robert Harmon

For the group of senior students anxiously awaiting their turn to line up for the
graduation procession, the excitement was palpable.  They seemed really happy about
finally being done, no more classes, homework, group projects, or fear-inducing
sadistic professors.  Just get this graduation ceremony over and start the celebration
with family and friends.  But, I couldn’t help thinking what’s next for them?  What
kind of world are they facing, what kind of job opportunities will there be, both
now and for years to come?  What is the value of their degree in this depressed yet
rapidly changing economy? 

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), there are
1.65 million students receiving bachelor’s degrees in this 2010 graduation season. 
As luck would have it, they are facing the second year of a depressed economy
characterized by an unemployment rate of 9.7% (official U-3).  But, the more telling
U-6 rate of 16.6%, which includes discouraged workers and involuntary part-timers,
provides a poignant reminder of the challenge facing new grads.  Considering trends
such as the offshoring of jobs in manufacturing and especially electronics, today’s
grads are facing a competitive global market.  They compete not only with the U.S.
graduates, the EU and Japan, but with the largest sources of talent in the world,
China and India. 

Just what are the job trends for this year?  The LA Times (June 12, 2010) observed
that a majority of jobs are at the lower end of the market in terms of skill and
remuneration.  Seven out of ten employment sectors with the largest predicted job
growth over the next decade won’t require college degrees.  These jobs include
retail, home healthcare aides, customer service, food preparation, and food servers. 
Nurses with two-year degrees will be in high demand as they take over more medical
tasks in a restructured healthcare industry.  This trend is not helpful for people
earning four-year degrees.  With record college enrollments of 16.4 million students
and the steeply dropping inflation-adjusted compensation for college graduates,
there appears to be an imbalance of supply and demand that is not in the favor of
degree holders.

For college grads, Forbes indicates that the hot jobs this year are in health
information technology, business intelligence/data mining, embedded engineering,
feature writing for the Web, geriatric health care, mobile media-graphic design,
occupational health and safety, Spanish-English translation and interpretation,
sustainable business practices, teaching adult learners, English as a foreign
language, marine conservation, and health law.  On balance, technical majors and
business grads appear to be doing better than most this year.  In the U.S., where
employers are averaging 40 applications for every open job, it is cold comfort
that 5% more grads will be hired this year over last.  It is probably not the time
to be graduating with a degree in sociology and facing $50,000 in student loans.

However, regardless of major, all new job seekers will need to step up their game
if they are to find acceptable employment.  They will need to be much more
aggressive and innovative in their approach.  Only 25% of the graduating class has
a job waiting for them.

So what can a new grad do?  The usual response is to leverage your networks of friends,
classmates, and family.  Recommendations from professors and a good set of contacts on
LinkedIn can be useful.  It is always good to have demonstrated your ability with a few
internship experiences.  Do you have a mentor that can help?  You can also check your
college’s alumni database to determine if there is an alumnus at the firm you are interested
in, especially if they are involved in college recruitment.  Ask for an informational interview. 
Then ask why you waited so long to think of this.  If you in fact waited until graduation day to
consider this, your inability to think strategically will definitely show up on your resume.  

     Develop a plan and start something disruptive . . . Network, 
     leverage relationships and look for opportunities . . . Start 
     something compelling. . . Make sure that you are positioned 
     ahead of those risk-adverse losers in the pack . . .

The best question that I can ask the Class of 2010 is why do you want to work for someone
else anyway?  Years ago, I was complaining about my job to my mentor.  I thought the pay
too low and the promotions too slow.  He gently chastised me with a message that I have
never forgot.  “Bob, there is no one in business to make you a lot of money.  You own your
own employability and salary, not them.”  End of discussion, lesson learned.  I left the
company and never looked back.  If you want independence and control over your future,
you need to create your own options, preferably with multiple income streams.  Develop a
plan and start something disruptive.  Look for like-minded and talented classmates with
the entrepreneurial fever. 

I just reviewed the end-of-term project developed by a marketing student in my product
development class.  The task: to develop a musical instrument that has the traditional
form factor and uncompromised performance that at least matches that of those on the
market but meets strong-sustainability criteria at a competitive price.  Not an easy
task.  But the business plan is complete.  The design is done, the prototypes were
impressive, and manufacturing is underway.  The buzz is starting and I expect sales
will soon follow.  The student, an accomplished musician, is now in business, the
owner of a one-person company.  Look for a job?  No way, he owns his own.

Starting a business is too risky for you?  Then work with a startup and learn the ropes.
All startups are looking for intern talent.  I introduced one of my MBA marketing
students with an undergraduate degree in computer science to the management of a
dynamic software startup that is starting to get impressive traction.  She worked as
a technology marketing intern where she was able to integrate her technical knowledge
with real business marketing requirements.  She went from no job options earlier this
year to all new opportunities which will soon land her a well-paying full-time job in
high technology.

Considering a job that is not all that?  Maybe the position is at a lower level and
lower salary than your MBA dreams would lead you to expect?  Take it anyway, if it’s
in the right industry.  I recently advised two of my most talented students in this
situation to take the job.  For one, now an analyst at a financial firm, I encouraged
her to leverage her Chinese language skills and volunteer for Asian duty and to take
additional classes to study (yes, go back to school) for her financial analyst
certification.  In two to three years she will have a vastly better resume and improved
options at that firm and many others.  For the other, the advice was similar.  She
didn’t like the job’s salary and the global 24/7 schedule.  I had her develop a plan
that detailed the skills she needed to be truly successful in international public
relations and collaborative media and she took the job.  She still complains a bit,
but at least she has a job in Portland (where the unemployment rate exceeds the national
average) and she is getting critical job experience.  She will have much more job
leverage when the economy improves. 

So, I will leave you with similar advice.  Quit complaining about the job market.  IT
IS REALLY BAD!  IT won’t improve for some time.  But, you can do a lot to help yourself. 
No one owes you anything.  Develop a plan.  Think strategically.  Network, leverage
relationships and look for opportunities to apply your skills and learn new ones.  Start
something compelling.  Make sure that you are positioned ahead of those risk-adverse
losers in the pack who are looking for someone else to make them rich.  But, most of
all, act like you own your future.  Because you do!

See Professor Harmon's comments from last year - 'What I would tell the MBA's from
the Class of 2009, May 14, 2009