Quick Take | Tips to Help Executives and Leaders Grow
The Quick Take podcast provides concise and actionable tips to help executives and leaders, like you, tackle the thorny and complex challenges that affect us daily. By leveraging their experience and relationship with other global leaders, our hosts provide suggestions that are based on their deep experience as leaders and coaches but also pressure tested in boardrooms everywhere because they asked their friends….(almost). Hosted by James Capps and Susie Tomenchok. Episodes release weekly on Thursdays.
Quick Take | Tips to Help Executives and Leaders Grow
Jobless Grad? Strategies for Landing that First Job
Freshly minted diploma in hand, now what? Navigating the job market as a recent graduate can feel daunting, but we're here to offer a roadmap to get you from college to career. We share our tips on building a powerful professional network, crafting a compelling personal brand, and leveraging micro-credentials to stand out from the crowd. Whether you're a new grad or supporting a loved one through this transition, tune in for the guidance you need to jumpstart your professional journey on the right foot.
In this episode, we discuss the following:
1. The importance of building a professional network and making connections.
2. How to craft a compelling value proposition and personal brand.
3. Pursuing micro-credentials and extracurricular activities to build experience and visibility
CONNECT WITH SUSIE:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/susietomenchok/
CONNECT WITH JAMES:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/capps/
Welcome to the Quick Take podcast, the show where you get targeted advice and coaching for executives by executives. I'm Suzy Tominchuk.
Speaker 2:And I'm James Capps. Give us 15 minutes and we'll give you three secrets to address the complex topic of issues that are challenging executives like you today.
Speaker 1:Hey, welcome to Quick Take. I'm your host, along with my host that can't see us, james, hi James.
Speaker 2:I'm here and I'm happy and I'm excited and all those things that start with words.
Speaker 1:There you go. That was helpful. So good, I can tell it's going to be an enlightening. There you go. That was helpful, so good. I can tell it's going to be an enlightening episode today.
Speaker 2:I'm saving up all my 25 cent words for the actual meat of the potato.
Speaker 1:Okay, there you go, there you go. We know it's going to be a good investment here today, and this is. I have three children that are out of college and working professionally and making adjustments along the way, but we thought this is a gift to parents who have children who have graduated. And what do they do next? Right, is that really the lens here?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean I think that you know so many of the folks that I speak with who have kids who graduate struggle with how to give their kids advice to make their way into the marketplace. You know there are there. It's not terribly common anymore that kids walk out of school with a job. Many of them, especially in a tough market, are not, you know, walking out the door with a with a job offer, and so we get asked a lot about what kind of guidance would we give to those newly graduated, and so we thought we would talk about that.
Speaker 1:And I think the reason it's a gift is so many times, as parents, we all know that our kids are like, well, you don't really know, even though you do really know, especially when they've just come out of college and they've been really ready, they know everything. So you can forward this to them and give them this insight. We've definitely been there, done that, but it's really around clarity and motivation and confidence. So I'm curious to see what tips you're going to give us today.
Speaker 2:Well, what I think is also interesting about these tips is there's two listeners, two types of listeners that this applies to. There are those who can have the experience and the acumen to provide this guidance to their kids, and it doesn't matter what you tell them, they won't listen. And so this is an opportunity for you to provide this episode to their kids. And it doesn't matter what you tell them, they won't listen. And so this is an opportunity for you to provide this, this episode, to your students. Um, as a secondary point of view, and somebody with some objectivity, and somebody who's not mom or dad.
Speaker 2:Um secondly, there is the audience of people who really don't know how to coach their kids. Maybe, um, they haven't been in the marketplace for a long time, um, and don't know how to coach their kids. Maybe they haven't been in the marketplace for a long time and don't really understand what it takes to get a job out there and how challenging it is. So this is also for those who are really kind of struggling with how they would guide people in that position, considering the fact that you most likely have been in the job you know in the market, or in the fact that you most likely have been in the job you know in the market or in the working world for many years.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and even when you're starting, when your kids are starting college like all of the way you apply and how you get funding and how they get through it is all so new you don't know how to move through it until you look back Then you're, like this, expert in it. So we also have these optics of. I have had three kids who have gone through it, so I can see it clearly. You're in the midst of it right now. I'm just a lot older than you are, so I'm just going to leave that there.
Speaker 2:Well, yes, wow, I'm not touching that one.
Speaker 1:No, I wouldn't.
Speaker 2:That was a softball, that only could blow up.
Speaker 1:Come back and blow up, but yeah.
Speaker 2:I mean my kids.
Speaker 2:My son just graduated from college and I think I certainly tried to give him some advice, but he's a self, he's a motivated kid and I think that, if I look objectively at the advice I would give to somebody, I think he did a great job of following this advice.
Speaker 2:I think that I found myself in the same situation of not being quite sure how to tell him how he should do it without doing it for him, and also trying to give him the breadcrumbs as to how this system works. I'm a big believer in in teaching, not doing in this case, and you know you can get your kid their first job, but I don't think that's going to really help them with their next job, unless you, unless your name is on the on the side of the building. It just gets really. It only gets harder after that. So you know, these are, these are ways that graduates you know any graduate it could be one of our listeners who's gone back and got an MBA or gotten a graduate degree you know how do you, what do you do when you need to stick your toe back into the market?
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right. So what's your first tip?
Speaker 2:Oh, you know it's, it's almost a super obvious when you come down to it, but it's, it's really it's.
Speaker 2:You gotta start, you gotta build a network yeah and, um, the one thing that I found, uh, speaking to my son, was what, uh, how um unique of a concept, a network it is, and how, uh how, that will pay dividends. Um, you forget that, um, your friend group throughout college is your network, and in many times that network is a construct of the classes you were in, the beer you drank, the buildings you lived in, and so there really isn't an understanding of what a network looks like. And so, in helping a graduate understand that, if you are in a certain domain, you need to go out and start speaking to people in that domain. You need to go out to go to career fairs, you need to talk to recruiters, recruiters, you need to talk to alumni.
Speaker 2:You know, I was coaching an executive whose daughter had graduated and he wanted to get her a job. He knew that was the wrong thing to do. He wanted to get her a job. He knew that was the wrong thing to do and I suggested just get her a series of interviews that would never manifest a job, in different industries, in different fields, and that was a way of him manually, you know, really physically helping her build her network without building her network for her, and it gave her a tremendous amount of confidence with her ability to speak to executives, speak to other people that weren't in her network, and it created a really healthy network for her.
Speaker 1:I think that's really good. I would also add and this is what I noticed, when my oldest daughter was in her internship and they ended up hiring her, I remember I got a call what is a vendor and what do I ask at a vendor lunch? And to your point about the network and not having that context, I also think it's important to give them some questions to ask, help them understand a little bit about what the self-discovery is, not for them, but discovering what that leader faces, and not do you have a job, how do you hire? But it's like what do you look for in new candidates? What's your onboarding process? Look like Getting some questions that illustrate that they're interested in understanding what that looks like in any company, and then it might seed some ideas for that other person on the other side of the table as the discussion continues. But sometimes they don't know how to have that dialogue.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that the initial thinking is well, I'm going to get introduced to somebody by you or someone else, and then the first thing out of my mouth will be do you have a job? And then they will reach into their back pocket and there's a job offer, they just happen to have one in handy and here you go, here's your job offer.
Speaker 2:That doesn't work, that doesn't happen, yeah, but giving them the tools to create a network, network like a pro, teach them the questions to ask and send them on their way and remind them this is a journey, not a destination. That this is the process is the important thing. So I think that's the first real key as a new graduate is you have to accept the fact that networking is the way that you will both determine what you want to do when you grow up, but also how to ensure that you can land that first job.
Speaker 1:And we all know that it is a journey, but we also don't prioritize it a lot of times to do it for ourselves. And it's not about what am I going to get out of this. It's like what am I going to give?
Speaker 1:And so helping them after that conversation to tease out what did you learn? Did you learn that you want to work with this type of individual? What'd you learn about the company? How did you? Because they are to your point, shaping what does that role look like? Because they may not even know, and these help self-discovery on this side of the table as well, and these help self-discovery on this side of the table as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's really difficult for them to have the perspective, and I think that this is a way for them to do that, All right.
Speaker 1:what's the second tip?
Speaker 2:The second tip is you know you've got to really create a value proposition in your head so you can communicate that. Actually, I should put these in a different order because certainly, as you're networking, you should have this value proposition in your head. And by value proposition I look at a lot of new resumes, student resumes, where they will just say something they did and they don't understand that there is value in that and that they learned things in that that they did. And so you've got to tell the story. I interned at the FDIC Isn't that interesting? I interned at the FDIC and I learned about credit ratings, risk profiles and how small to mid-sized banks manage credit risk. That's the story that you need to tell. So, as you look at the work that you did and obviously you have a very complex, very limited resume you've got to craft that compelling value proposition for your, given what you have and given the experience and skills that you have.
Speaker 1:I also. Yes, I think that's really important. I would also add to that as you look at that resume and those places that you did and the skills that you pulled out, what else does that tell? What's the story about you? I'm a self-starter. I have passion around what I do. I am detail-oriented. What are the other things that are kind of more global that say this is just naturally who I am and you can tell that by the fact that I went out and looked for this. This wasn't something that my college or my university told me to look for.
Speaker 2:This is the story of me so true, and I think that you know what I. That piece of that, the um to help people I speak with, frame this correctly. I remind them that I worked with an individual who was a uh, just a graduate student and they wanted to get into technology, but they had a philosophy degree. And they said, look, I like tech, but I'll never get you know, I have a philosophy degree and I said, look, but you have to understand that if you can explain to me what you learned out of a philosophy degree that applies to this, then you have a great story. And you know critical thinking, problem solving, ability to communicate complex ideas all were part of a philosophy degree and certainly can be applied. Ideas all were part of a philosophy degree and certainly can be applied. And so, understanding how you can take those learnings and apply them to the industry or the job that you want, that's you crafting the story.
Speaker 1:That's you crafting the story. Yeah, you have to look at it from a lot of different angles and you need to help them see it from that perspective. All right, what's the third tip?
Speaker 2:Well, the third tip is you'd have to like really start working on these micro opportunities to create more of a brand, and I think that it's those little things that maybe you hadn't considered were important. Which are the groups that you belong to, the meetings that you can go to? It's the Littleton Java group that meets at the Starbucks every Thursday. Understand that creating these micro-credentials, if you will allow you to get seen by other people, if you are part of a group, in a club and there's people there that are of similar interest to you, they might find you through that system. I know a lot of people that graduate through business and that they take online courses or that they will be part of some job share groups, that they can do some work and just getting those tiny wins. Creating those micro-credentials, I think, goes towards a much larger fabric.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's like what got you into college, those extracurricular things that you did that were so important. That shows that you're motivated, that shows where your interests are, what you want to do and when you were talking. Also, as I've talked to young, up-and-coming professionals, there also is this tension. Here's your bonus. There's this tension between being confident and being curious. You want you. We all have talked to that person that says they're the best thing, so slice bread, and they're convinced that they are and that there's something that's good about having that confidence. That comes from my value proposition, the things that I've done, and articulating that in a way. But then seeing how that lands with the other person Are you, are you? Are you engaging them to give you more, or are you kind of shutting them down, like I can't wait to get this person away from me because they're just so self-focused or not listening very well, so it's having that poise and that self-awareness in those moments as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I think that that's just you know. That comes with practice. You know, one of the things that you know as part of the networking experience, that first tip I gave, I think it is meeting a lot of people, practicing your elevator pitch, practicing the way that you think, practicing the value, the way that you describe yourself, practicing how you answer open-ended questions Like what do you want to do?
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:What do you like? What motivates you? You know you have to have a tight answer for that, and and that's where creating a network of people, learning to ask a lot of questions, that that is so important as a graduate to find out where you land.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I and I say, before you go back on giving us the highlights of your three tips is also I would backdoor. I would ask you know if these are friends of mine that are doing this interview. Quote unquote interview with one of my people that live with me kids there we go, there we go.
Speaker 2:I don't know what are we talking about. Do you have a hotel? You're in that running. Yeah, how'd they do?
Speaker 1:How'd they show up? What suggestions would you give them? Then you can get some context around what the dialogue looked like from the other side and not just from your kid.
Speaker 2:Oh, for sure, and I think that you know you. But, by that same token, you know you have to um, help that conversation be a conversation or not an interview. Right, because it's better when the person that that they can meet with will say you know, I didn't understand anything, you just said, or, uh, and so there is a dialogue versus a, you know, a report card of the of the interview. So I think that's great advice, great advice.
Speaker 1:All right, what do you think?
Speaker 2:So the first one, I think, is you need to really I'm going to do them out of order and do them the order I did them in and maybe reorder them in a way that's a little more logical. First, you need to work on your brand. You need to find a message, a way for you to communicate the value proposition of the things that you do, so that story is clear and crisp, so you can talk about the classes you took, the projects you did, the people you met and craft that into a cohesive story. Secondly, you want to start networking like a pro. This isn't taking people out for drinks, this is just getting to know people. Getting to know what kind of people are in the industry actually meeting lawyers if you want to go into law, meeting coders if you want to go into coding.
Speaker 2:Who actually does work in pharma, what kind of people work in pharma. That's really huge. And then, third, I think, work on those micro-credentials. I think you described it really well, susie. It's those extracurriculars that got you into college. They'll get you into your next role and you know that is a thing that I've done throughout my career. I always have an extracurricular going on and so often it's those side gigs and side projects that pay the big dividend.
Speaker 1:Yeah, such good tips. And remember they don't have to be leveraged. When they graduate, they can start before, which I think is another key component. All right, this was great. Thanks, james.
Speaker 2:Take care, hey Susie, I have a question.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:What is the most unexpected place that you have ever found a leadership lesson.
Speaker 1:Oh gosh, that is a really good question. Where's the unexpected place, gosh, I have to say, wow, this is low-hanging fruit, I have to admit. But as being a parent, I think I've really learned a lot about, especially as okay, I'm going to adjust Now being a parent of adults and that has been the hardest season of my parenting, I believe, because you aren't as involved, you can't redirect, as you can't just step in.
Speaker 1:You have to pick your moments, you have to spend a lot of time listening and being silent and knowing when to provide your opinion. I think, especially as moms. I think it's harder for moms and dads, but I think that has been the best way for me to really understand that art of leadership is. It's not about illustrating exactly what to do. It's not showing them exactly what to do. It's about observing, being patient, being thoughtful and really listening to understand what they're going through. Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Quick Take, where we talk about the questions that are on the mind of executives everywhere. Connect with us and share what's on your mind.
Speaker 2:You can find us on LinkedIn, youtube or whatever nerdy place on the internet. You find your podcasts. Our links to the show are in the show notes.
Speaker 1:We appreciate you.
