New grads, take these steps to find your first job

This is a scary time to be entering the job market. So, what should you do if you’re a recent graduate hunting for your first job in the midst of this crisis? First, hone the skills that will make you a more marketable candidate for the field you’re trying to break into. Do your research. Ask around to find out which skills are highly valued. Could you learn a new programming language, software package or sales technique? Second, find someone in your network who already works in the field you’re most interested in. Well-connected professors or your university’s career services office are a good place to start. Reach out to that person. If they’re responsive, ask them if they’d be willing to review your resume and cover letter. You want honest and constructive feedback. Third, give structure to your days by finding a part-time volunteer role.

(This tip is adapted from “Graduates, Position Yourselves to Get Hired,” by Art Markman.)

Everyone needs a network

If you pride yourself on being self-sufficient, you may have assumed that you don’t need a network. But even if you’ve achieved your current success on the strength of solo (or near-solo) efforts, making meaningful connections with people in your field can still be beneficial. If you don’t like the idea of networking, reframe it as a way of making interesting friends for the long term. Create a “wish list” of people you’d like to connect with — a senior colleague, a thought leader in your field, a respected author. You could connect with people by interviewing them for a blog or podcast. If this feels like it’s not your speed, you might concentrate your networking efforts on one or two key conferences per year. While it may feel uncomfortable at first, we all can stand to benefit from spending a little time getting to know people who may end up being our colleagues, mentors or friends.

(This tip is adapted from “Build a Network — Even When You Don’t Think You Need One,” by Dorie Clark.)

Is your team focused on the right priorities?

In the first months of the Covid-19 crisis, many teams were grappling with the new reality of working from home. Now that it seems that many will be working remotely for the foreseeable future, it’s a good time to take stock of whether your teams are still focused on the right priorities. Ask your team leaders to evaluate their short and long-term objectives: are they still relevant to your current situation? They’ll likely need to make some adjustments — teams that are still operating as they did six months ago may be cause for concern. Make sure you assess the team’s adjusted priorities against any revised company projections: do their scope, output and timing still make sense given the new reality? If not, determine whether the team’s work can be shifted to create value in the current environment, or whether you need to reorganise to meet new needs.

(This tip is adapted from “How to Prepare Your Virtual Teams for the Long Haul,” by Mark Mortensen and Constance Noonan Hadley.)

Adapt your DE&I initiatives to reality

The Covid-19 pandemic and economic fallout have taken a disproportionate toll on communities of color in the United States. Business leaders have an opportunity to address this inequity by rethinking their diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) efforts. Start by collecting information on the most pressing pain points around your current initiatives, and identify opportunities to improve them. For example, you can add questions related to the crisis to your weekly pulse surveys and look at the results by demographic to gauge the challenges that different employees are facing. Then, be proactive about tackling the specific challenges you identify. Keep in mind your company may already have people with the necessary skills or expertise who aren’t in formal DE&I roles. Consider temporarily changing their role to allow them to take on these challenges. You may also need to seek outside help. Try to find consultancies that offer flexible, context-dependent services (rather than off-the-shelf solutions), or consider bringing in a mix of smaller firms and specialists to work on problems in parallel.

(This tip is adapted from “Adapt Your D&I Efforts to the Reality of the Crisis,” by Lily Zheng.)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, July 6th, 2020