Good advice for job-hunting college students: Get out there

Photo: Evan Mach, UnSplash

College students are feeling anxious about the job market, and some have responded with strong interest in our recent conversations about building their networks.

Just wrapped up a sixth campus presentation at Indiana University in Bloomington and Butler University in Indy. These were with journalism students at IU and creative writing majors today at Butler.

My big advice, since most schools are headed toward spring break: Get out and talk with people--not necessarily as a job applicant, but in informational interviews to learn from leaders in their field.

Good things happen when students learn to handle themselves in face-to-face professional encounters, and the more practice they get in prepping for these interviews and talking about what they offer, the better.

There's a real need for coaching in this area, but some of the folks who have come up to me after class show they're on the way. I'll be working with a few, and if a college student asks you for a short meeting to talk about your field, I hope you'll make the time. Let's invest in them now so they do a good job running the world later.