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Transitioning into Today's Job Market: Advice from Employers

Here are some written comments from an local professionals responding to our questions about job searching and the transition from college student to professional.

What can students do while in college to position themselves to be competitive in the job market?
• Networking – reach out to alums
• Get involved in internships – gain experience
• Take classes that will apply to what would like to do
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

Being active and getting involved.  Whether that be working a part-time job, or campus activities. 
But, don’t just pad your resume with multiple organizations, get actively involved in them. 
Run for leadership roles, take on responsibilities.  Learning to balance a workload of multiple things will help to prepare you for the working world. Attend careers fairs, talk to employers, start networking early. In doing this, you’ll want to be proactive, do research on companies that you might be interested in before going to talk to them.  It’s important to be pro-active, the job market right now is flooded with candidates and recruiters are receiving incredibly high numbers of applications, so the face time you can get with a recruiter on campus is important.
Leah Thomas-C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

a)Become as involved on campus as possible, whether student clubs, volunteer activities,  or with professors. Not only become involved but look for leadership positions within these different activities. b)Build a network.  Go to every social event, networking opportunity, speaker that you can attend. This helps build your network of professionals as well as helps gain valuable information on the job market and also various companies/industries. 
Nick Koewler-Land O'Lakes

Advice to students doing internships?
• Learn the organization
• Work hard, prove yourself, try to secure opportunity for FT work when you graduate
• Keep in touch with connections at the organization after the internship has been completed
• Network within the organization while there – leave with contacts and people you can reach out to when you are close to graduating and looking for a FT opportunity
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

Make sure you get the most out of the internship.  Volunteer for any opportunities that come your way, everything is a learning experience.  Don’t be afraid to ask for more to do, it’s hard for your co-workers to always understand your capacity of workload, and if you need more of a challenge.  Ask questions about what you are doing, if you are working on a project and don’t understand the purpose behind it, ask.  If you can get a better understanding of the method behind things, it will help you learn more and get more out of the experience.
Leah Thomas-C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. 

a)Put your best foot forward.  Come into the internship with an eagerness to do well and succeed in your role. The internship is viewed as a long interview for full time opportunities and you want to always show that you will be a great full-time employee. 
b)Use your internship as a personal learning tool.  Once you have an internship there are numerous resources within a company to not only learn about that specific company but to also learn about the industry and also the various opportunities in that industry. 
Nick Koewler-Land O'Lakes

When interviewing, what qualities and traits do you look for? How can students bring these out in an interview?
Qualities
• Energetic, strong communicator, analytical, personable, position fit, knowledgeable on organization, growth potential
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

We hire primarily for sales based positions. We are looking for someone that can bring a high energy and excitement to the office.  Individuals who are self-motivated, competitive, well-rounded.  Solid communication skills and the ability to multi-task are a must.  Being able to interact and build relationships with a variety of personalities.  Most of our interviews start over the phone and it is easy as a candidate to not put your full attention into a phone interview.  Even though the recruiter can’t see you, the lack of focus comes across over the phone. Prepare yourself for a phone interview in the same way you would a face-to-face interview.  Find a quiet place, without distractions, sit up, and poise yourself as the recruiter was there with you.  And, very important, pretend they can see your face; convey the same expressions and excitement you would in person.  Doing this will help the energy level in your voice, which can make a big difference.
Leah Thomas-C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

a)Have a good business presence.  Come into the interview confident but not cocky.  Strong handshake and direct eye contact will show confidence in yourself and show you want this position.  Be polite and personable with everyone you meet as you never know who will be asked to give feedback on your interview.
b)Do your homework on the company and position.  Know what the company does, what the position description says and any other information relevant to the position.
c)Ask good questions when given the opportunity.
Nick Koewler-Land O'Lakes

What can the students bring out
• Research an organization before interviewing with them
• Talk to alums that work at the company
• Talk to students that may have interned there
• Be yourself
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

What skills should students develop?
• Communication skills, relationship building, assertiveness
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

Communication is a big one.  All that group work during college is doing much more for you than focusing on the content of the curriculum.  It’s helping you prepare for the real working world, when you will continually be asked to work in teams to get work done.  The reality is that there is a very good chance you could be working directly with someone that you may not personally like.  Use this group work as a chance to step up as group leader, or act as mediator for others that aren’t getting along.  Practice overcoming difficult situations and still achieve great results.
Leah Thomas-C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

Communication skills (phone, presentation, written) are very important no matter what industry you enter.
Nick Koewler-Land O'Lakes

Advice for job seekers? (Are there specific industries or types of jobs that are still doing well?)
• If you can’t find a FT job/internship, consider taking a temp position.  It will help you gain more experience while you are looking for the “right” job.
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

a)Don’t be afraid to take an entry level position.  It will give you great experience in your field and it
will also help get your name out in the industry.
b)Don’t give up.  The economy will come back around and you need to be ready to market yourself when it does.  Build your marketable skills and find different things that will make you stick out over other candidates.
Nick Koewler-Land O'Lakes

Students ask us, "How will we know if a company/industry is stable?"
• Research the company
• Annual/financial reports
• Stock analysis
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

Look at their history to see how they have performed during other difficult times.  If they have been in business for a long time and have fared well during other difficult economic times, chances are more likely they will make it through this one.  Find out if and how often they have had layoffs.  A company that has wide spread layoffs every couple of years isn’t going to provide a lot of stability.  Also look at their balance sheet to find out how much cash they have. Companies with high cash levels will have the ability to make it through tough times without going into further debt; cash provides a much higher level of flexibility.
Leah Thomas-C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

Each company is different, just do as much research as you can about the industry and/or specific company prior to applying. 
Nick Koewler-Land O'Lakes

What are some common mistakes of new college hires? How can we avoid them?
• High expectations of responsibilities
• Have to start lower on the totem pole to move up within an organization
• Casual manner
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

Confidence versus arrogance.  Confidence can be a great asset in a new position to help launch you into new things and be sure of yourself throughout the training period.  However, you want to be aware of your environment and not be arrogant.  There are going to be things you don’t even know that you don’t know yet, so be willing to take advice and learn from your new colleagues.
Leah Thomas-C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

What should we expect as we start our first job? (first week, month, year?)
• Learn a lot, be ready to absorb a lot of information
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

What do new college hires bring to the workplace? Why do companies want to hire them?
• Energy, fresh ideas, latest and greatest knowledge
• New grads are the future of the organization
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

Fresh perspective and ideas, eagerness to do the best they can, excitement and energy.  It can also be a benefit to companies to bring in new hires that are moldable, that aren’t stuck in the ways of their old companies. Maybe you can come up with a way to utilize current technologies (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) to help your company.
Leah Thomas-C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.

a)New grads give a company a new perspective on business and how business is run.  The current generation is very advanced in technology and has new ideas on how to improve business. 
b)New grads are also very eager and have high energy.  They bring a willingness to try new things and a great passion for wanting to succeed.
Nick Koewler-Land O'Lakes

Once we have a job, what things should we do to ensure that we keep this job? (especially since so many companies are downsizing)
• Work hard
• Sometimes companies downsize and it isn’t performance based
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

First, you’ll want to learn to do your job really well, then go above and beyond what is expected of you on a continual basis, and be conscious of spending your time in areas that are valuable. Establish a solid foundation of knowledge in your area and become a subject matter expert, then start expanding and looking for areas to work cross functionally and learn other areas of the business.  You want to work well with others, be adaptable and understand the big picture.
Leah Thomas-C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc. .

a)Prove to the company that you are a valuable asset to the company.  Be eager to help out where needed and also show that you have tangible talents that will help the company move forward. 
b)Be open to new projects or assignments that might be outside your comfort zone.  This flexibility will show you are a team player.
Nick Koewler-Land O'Lakes-

What can we expect from new hire training?
Training depends on the company.  More on the job training than anything else.
Kari Christesen, Talent Acquisition Specialist-Ecolab

Our training is a combination of classroom mentorship training.  New employees will spend 3-10 business days in their branch office, getting accustomed to their new team, and then come to our headquarters for a two week classroom based computer training with other new employees.  The classroom training is heavily focused on learning our internal software system and the basics of the negotiation skills for the sales role.  Once the new employees are back in the branch offices they are assigned to a branch coach who will direct their continued on the job training.  Pretty much from day one, you are a part of the team as a contributing member.  We believe in giving our new employees responsibilities early on, starting small and building from there.  Because transportation is an environment where things are ever changing and problem solving is a big part of the day, it’s expected that new employees will make occasional mistakes.  We measure how you react to those mistakes and what you learn from them.
Leah Thomas-C.H. Robinson Worldwide, Inc.