NEW YORK (Reuters) – More than 40 percent of recent U.S. college graduates are underemployed or need more training to get on a career track, a poll released on Tuesday showed.
No news here, we have been in this place for several years now. It’s not just recent grads, there are thousands that have graduated in recent years still looking for work or clinging to jobs well below their skill and talent. So what are we to do?
How about start with a clear eyed assesment of what you can do? No, I’m not talking about the line on your resume that says you have a BS in Accounting or Nuclear Physics. I am talking about a detailed list of every skill you posess. Can you answer the phone; can you write a letter; can you produce a YouTube video; can you operate a forklift? Shoot for twenty skills and then twenty more. Some of you may be able to list a hundred skills. Go deep and don’t devalue anything. Can you set up a FaceBook page? It’s easy to take things for granted but every skill, no matter how basic, is part of what you bring to the table. The more you recognize your skills and value them the better positioned you are to apply them to an opportunity. My advice is to take this exercise seriously. This is only a beginning but an important first step.
work in the real world 