“What’s Your Major?”

It’s a perennial question for college students to ask each other, and a frequent question asked of students by family, friends and prospective employers.  At college career fairs, I use the question as an ice breaker to encourage the often nervous student to talk about him/herself.  Unfortunately, but realistically, the question also serves as a screening device to identify people whose major would not appeal to the clients whom I serve.

In today’s world, with new graduates taking many months to find their first “real” job, and with over 40% of recent college graduates working in jobs that don’t require degrees, the question “What’s your major?” has taken on increased importance.  Some students will go to college knowing exactly what they want to do – but most don’t.  Most have to make that decision while in college, often having to choose from a list of 250 or more majors. 

As you go through this daunting task, I can only give you some old advice and maybe some that you haven’t heard.  The old stuff involves math, science, and technology – if there is any way that you can be passionate about any of these three subjects, you will absolutely maximize your future employability.  Looking at the top 10 most needed jobs for many years, the healthcare and technology industries dominate the list, and of course, these industries rely heavily on the three subjects cited.

But looking back on my own six years in college, where I dropped out of pre-med and never liked math much, there were some electives I took that have furthered my business career.  I took two Logic courses, where I learned how to think logically and reach sound decisions based on evidence, rather than on emotion.  And I took Writing courses to enable me to set my logical thinking down on paper and convince others of my positions and decisions.  The hardest elective I ever took was Library Science, but it taught me how to do credible research and find reliable information.   

Later, I formed the belief that the two most valuable skills that I learned in college were writing and logical thinking, and I haven’t changed my mind.  If you learn to think and write logically, you will also be able to speak in the same manner, giving you convincing verbal skills. 

One last suggestion: I continue to thank my Mother for forcing me to take Typing in high school- keyboards are best handled with ten digits, not two! 

Good luck to you in your own careers. 

Doug Hart, Incepture, Tampa

“As mentioned in my last blog about how to land a job in a competitive market, I now want to provide a few tips on how to make a good and lasting impression. After speaking to many members of Human Resources and researching websites (www.simplyhired.com), here are six good tips:

Prepare for the interview – Never walk into an interview without first doing your research about the company and position. This includes knowing what the company does and how they do it, recent news/press, and information about their competitors. Not knowing about the company is a turn-off for most interviewers.

Dress well – The moment you walk into the room, your interviewer is going to start making judgments about you, and the best way to impress them is to pay attention to your appearance. This means dressing professionally and being well-groomed and having impeccable hygiene.

Arrive on time – Even if you have a good excuse, your interviewer won't think as highly of you if you're late. Plan to arrive 10 minutes early. If you get to the building sooner than that, use that extra time to prepare for interview questions in the car—arriving more than 10 minutes early may make your interviewer feel rushed.

Act confident – Although being interviewed might be on your top ten list of most intimidating moments along with public speaking and skydiving, try your best to emit confidence! A couple ways to feign confidence is to smile, stand/sit up tall, make eye contact with the interviewer, have a firm handshake, and respond to those interview questions with enthusiasm. And hey, besides dating, this is the only time when can speak about ourselves without appearing arrogant (refrain from that, by the way), so try to sound proud, cheerful about your achievements and be sure to correlate how it applies to what the job is seeking.

Ask intelligent questions – By asking intelligent questions (and not questions you could find out from a quick Google search), you'll not only impress the interviewer with your interest but also set yourself apart from the competition. Such questions may include:

• Why is this position open? (Find out why the previous person left or if it’s a new role in a growing company)
• What traits or experience would a person need to be successful in this role?
• What are the top goals for the person you hire in this role?
• What are the next steps in this process?

Say "Thanks" – As your mother might say, "Mind your manners!" At the end of your interview, don't forget to thank your interviewer for taking the time to meet with you. The next day, send a personal "thank you" note to each person you met with via email. It'll set you apart from the crowd.

With these tips, you'll make the best possible impression for any interview.

Go get ‘em!

Robin L.

As I sat down to write the latest in my series of hugely popular blogs, I was reminded that sometimes you just need a friend…………. Friends that think your blog is hugely popular!

There are a lot of many different kinds of friends. You can have close friends, old friends, new friends, best friends. There are casual friends, intense friends, easy friends, and high maintenance friends. Some friends you see all the time, and have nothing to say to each other. Other friends you can encounter after many years and pick up as if no time has passed at all. The kids today have something called a “BFF” which I have been lead to believe is a Best friend “Forever”. This strikes me as a very long time, unless you actually marry your best friend (which I did 29 years ago!). There is a saying that if you work in Washington and want a friend, you should get a dog, which, of course, is “Man’s best friend”.

Friends not only can make you happy, but they can help you be successful in your chosen career. As we have discussed in previous editions of my hugely popular blog, they form a critical part of your network. We often discuss networking in relation to finding a job, but we should also look at it as a great asset when trying to do your job too.

Making a cold call can be and is a daunting task for many people. Having a friend make the introduction greatly eases the conversation and increases the chances of a successful outcome. Knowing someone to call when trying do “X” (whatever that is) makes you a valuable asset to your company. Having a connection that can assist in furthering your business’s goals will put you in a position to lead rather than follow. Being the one to make the connection also allows you to stay involved in the more interesting projects.

You often hear that people try to separate their private life and business life. I’m not sure that is a very good idea, they are tied together whether you want them to be or not, so why not turn that into a positive? This all works unless, you don’t have any friends. Of course everyone has friends, but some don’t have any that can double as contacts for business. If that fits you, then quite frankly you need to get out more often! Get involved in groups and activities that interest you, not just groups in your industry. Volunteer for a charity, join a club, get out of your comfort zone and meet people that are not “just like you”. You will find that not only will you make new friends, but you will enjoy life a little more as well.

Until the next installment of my….”hugely popular blog” follow me on twitter @KHCO00

Have a good day my friend…….Matt