4th & long

There’s plenty of time for college seniors to put on employee game face

A s the college year gets into full swing for students across the country, many seniors are looking to the future. Some have already lined up job offers, while others are fully engaged in the necessary networking to ensure employment upon graduation. But what about the others? What about the students who haven’t even thought about their resumes yet?

If that’s you, take a deep breath. You have time.

“We’ve created this high-pressure setting that says that by the time you stick your hand out and accept that diploma, you better have the next 10 years of your life mapped out,” says Robert Pherris, a Dallas-based career consultant who specializes in coaching college graduates and young workers. “I’m sure there are people in my field who would spit out their coffee at that concept — that we don’t have life all figured out by the time we’re 22 — but it’s the truth.”

Pherris says he’s not knocking the college senior who’s already written the roadmap to his or her post-graduation job. Instead, he believes that there are two paths to long-term happiness, and that we praise the former and devalue the latter, which he believes is a big mistake.

“Look, a lot of these kids, they get the plum internship their sophomore or junior year, and they work really hard, and they get the job offer within a week of when their internship ends,” Pherris says. “Then there’s the other student — the one who’s changed majors once or twice, the one who works his or her way through school, and the one who isn’t quite sure what to do next. Both may be excellent hires a year from now. Both may be horrible. It can be hard to tell.”

Setting precedents

Tina Parlone isn’t so sure about that. “I’ll take a graduate with a proven track record over one without one every time,” says Parlone, a former hiring manager for a division of Walmart. “There are a lot of students who work, study hard, run their sorority and get great grades. It’s not the norm, but it’s certainly not the outlier. If I’m in charge of hiring someone, I’m protecting myself and going with the person who has shown that they can handle a heavy workload and that they know how to prepare for the future.”

Conner Nolan graduated from the University of Maryland in 2014. He says he was a good student, but he made sure he enjoyed his time at school. “I studied and had a 3.5 GPA, but I wasn’t out there doing every activity known to man,” Nolan says. “I had roommates like that and they were wiped out at the end of the day. I never understood it. I did a lot of biking and a lot of hanging out with friends when they were working or sleeping.”

Nolan also worked part-time hours delivering sandwiches. “They money was very mediocre, but it was enough to buy my books, take some trips, pay for food,” he says. “It did the job.”

While Nolan admits his résumés may not have been as loaded as those of some of his peers, the 28-year-old financial analyst used his school’s placement office before and after he graduated to score a few interviews with strong companies. Even without a “resume that was the size of a newspaper,” Nolan says he believes he was hired on the strength of his interviews. “I was pretty loose,” he says. “I didn’t feel like I had to back up this huge history of accomplishments. I felt like it was more important for me to explain what I was capable of and what I was planning on doing next.”

Pherris says he talks to a lot of students with Nolan’s attitude. “These are smart, confident kids coming out of school today,” he says. “They should be using all the resources that are available to them, no doubt, but they can start that process their senior year. There’s really no such thing as ‘too late’ when it comes to finding work.”

“Both may be excellent hires a year from now. Both may be horrible. It can be hard to tell.”