Look Around HR

When you think of generation Y (which I am certainly a member of) you get the impression that they don’t want to work too much- at least that is the stereotype. So I was surprised to see this article on CNN.com about the potential for burnout from new grads.

In the next two to four years, retiring manager baby boomers will trigger a wave of new openings for high-responsibility jobs, says Levit. A lot of those jobs will be filled by less-
experienced workers - many of them millennials.

“Their sense of entitlement and their over-ambition are going to create a lot of stress for them,” Levit says. “They’re going to be given the responsibility they crave - because there’s no one else to take it.”

These young managers will have trouble getting their arms around their job responsibilities, says Levit. Their drive to succeed - typical among millennials - will be exacerbated by a world where technology makes work possible virtually anywhere, 24-7.

I think the most important thing here is for all employers to watch after their employees and see that they are not truly over-worked (we all say we are but in reality may not be). The work-life balance may be something that millennials crave, but it is important to all workers. The younger workers are less afraid to request it, and leave if they don’t get their way. In the end, everyone is hurt if you are pushing the employers beyond their capacity, have them checking e-mail at midnight, and calling them on vacation.

I recently talked about the 2008 graduating class and how the job prospects look pretty good despite the lackluster economy. CareerBuilder has released these statistics on what new grads should expect to receive, by major/ profession. Overall, salaries are up about 4 percent from a year ago with increase ranging from a low of 1 percent to a high of 9 percent from a year ago.

From CareerBuilder:

Among those who will experience the highest increases are those with liberal arts degrees, whose average offer is up 9 percent at $33,258.

Graduates with technical degrees, such as computer science majors, saw their average offers rise 7.9 percent to $56,921. Marketing graduates saw a 5.2 percent increase, bringing their average offers to $43,459.

Collectively, engineering graduates enjoyed a 5.7 percent boost, with average offers of $56,336. Specialized majors saw even higher increases: Chemical engineering grads’ average offers rose 6.2 percent to $63,749. Civil engineering grads experienced a 4.8 percent rise to $49,427; 3.5 percent for electrical engineering majors at $56,512; and mechanical engineering grads saw the smallest increase of 3.4 percent, bringing their average offers up to $56,429.

Offer amounts are up 1.9 percent for finance and accounting graduates, to $48,795 and $47,413, respectively. Salary offers for business administration and management graduates rose by less than 1 percent to $43,823.

Here are 10 other starting salaries for 2008 graduates:

Economics - $52,926
Career options for economics majors vary from private consulting for businesses to working for government agencies.

Nursing - $52,129
Nursing majors can find job opportunities in hospitals, clinics, doctor offices and other medical facilities.

Chemistry - $52,125
Chemists can find work in laboratories, pharmaceuticals, chemical manufacturing or research and development – to name a few.

Political science/government - $43,594
Political science and government graduates have the option of working in the state, local or federal governments, as well as in the private sector or nonprofit organizations.

Human resources - $40,250
Human resources majors work as assistants and payroll or benefits coordinators, and in diversity training.

History - $35,956
A degree in history (aka liberal arts) means you can be an educator, researcher, communicator or editor, information manager, advocate or even a businessperson.

Communications - $35,196
Communications has much of the same focus as public relations, advertising, journalism, marketing and business management. The skills you learn in this major are transferable to many areas.

English language and literature - $34,757
English majors typically work in education, but other traditional fields of work include writing and editing for newspapers and publishing firms, public relations and broadcasting, or technical writing for advanced industries.

Journalism - $32,250
Journalism majors will find successful careers in print, broadcast TV or radio journalism, as well as opportunities in media relations.

Psychology - $30,877
Psychology graduates can put their degree to use in the mental or social services sectors, as well as in business or education.

Public relations/organizational communications - $30,667
Careers in public relations include orchestrating PR strategies for companies and nonprofit organizations, writing communications and even working in advertising.

Nothing to surprising here with who earns the most, etc. I am glad to see the increases from a year ago. I’ve talked about “recession-proof” jobs, and I think the top key to being truly “recession-proof” is a college degree.

Despite consecutive months of job losses nationwide, despite hearing about massive layoffs at a number of large companies, and despite some economists floating out the R (recession) word, the outlook for this years graduating class appears to be good.
 
According to a survey sponsored by CareerBuilder, 58 percent of employers plan to hire recent grads. The new grads will also be receiving higher salaries than last year’s class- as 39 percent of employers plan to increase the starting salary, with only 6 percent planning on dropping it.
 
Here is the starting salary breakdown:
 

Thirty-two percent of employers will offer new grads between $30,000 and $40,000 and 15 percent of hiring managers will offer between $40,000 and $50,000. Eleven percent will offer new graduates a starting salary higher than $50,000 and 42 percent will offer less than $20,000.

And here are some tips from the job board site:

- Stress your experience- this doesn’t include internships alone, but also volunteer activities, clubs, Greek organizations, and sports.

- Watch you attitude- a lot of managers have a view this view of generation Y that we all have a sense of entitlement. Even if you went to prep school, belong to a country club, and have a degree from the Ivy League, don’t act like you are better than anyone else. Mistakes mentioned by employers include acting cocky and arrogant, dressing inappropriately, and not knowing anything about the company.

- Be yourself- it doesn’t make sense to work for a company you will not be a good fit for, so start with being yourself, and take it from there…

We often hear of the bad sides of social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Potential employers can search through your pictures and see your keg stand from last spring break or read inappropriate material on your wall.

There is a legal debate going on whether or not an employer can search these sites and disqualify you because of what they see. I’ll leave that debate for the lawyers, and move on to reality- which is employers are checking out these sites, as well as Google.

And that can be a good thing. You can use your page to sell yourself and look professional.

From baselinegmag.com:

“If you approach online profiles as a way to present your professional side to the world, then you have a great opportunity,” says John Challenger, CEO of outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

More…

“Recruiters are taking a close look at those networks, since it’s like going through someone’s Rolodex,” Challenger says. In the past, he adds, proprietary databases were unique to a search firm, including information on larger networks, but these days, most rely on LinkedIn instead.

He notes, “They’re always swamping that site, because it allows them to search on very specific information. And as younger people move from MySpace and Facebook, it’s likely they’ll spend more time on places like LinkedIn.”

If I were advising someone in college whether it was a current student looking for an internship or a grad looking for their first job, I would let them know that they will be “Googled,” “Facebooked,” etc. And this applies to anyone in the professional world as well. If you do a quick search of yourself and don’t think it looks professional, make an effort to change it. Chances are the hiring manager won’t think it looks professional either.

These networking sites, along with blogs, can be a great opportunity for a prospective employee to find you. Take advantage of this and present a platform of yourself that you want to show off.

College graduation is coming up soon. Seniors from my Alma Mater will be walking on Saturday. It sure is hard to believe it’s been an entire year since I took that stroll across the stage. The new grads from the class of 2008 are sure to bring new skills and dynamics to the workforce. Some seniors may have jobs lined up, while some are still looking, and others may be waiting for six months or so.

I bring this up because CollegeGrad.com, which is the leader in entry-level job searches on the Internet, recently released a study of what employers are looking for in these new hires. Some of the results may surprise you.

The results are as follows:

#1- The student’s major (44 %)
#2- The student’s interviewing skills (18%)
#3- The student’s internship/ experience (17%)
#4- The college the student graduates from (10%)
#5- Other miscellaneous classifications (5%)
#6- The student’s GPA (4%)
#7- The student’s personal appearance (1%)
#8- The student’s computer skills (1%)

Major being the number one qualification makes sense. If you don’t have much experience, it’s all about the degree. Also, today’s workforce is very major specific orientated- whether it’s engineering, accounting, teaching, etc.

The relatively low percentage of employers looking for the college the student graduates from and the GPA kind of surprises me. We are always told to work hard in high school so we can get into a top college, and then work hard in college to have a top GPA. I think the GPA only matters if it is too low. Maybe it makes sense to go to the state college, rather than the private school that will leave you $50,000 in debt when you leave.