What to tell today

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How about: Good luck? Or: Better be real nice to mom and dad, as you migh t be living with them longer thanyou planned? A Nationap Association of Colleges and Employers survey says only 20 percent of curren t college graduates who appliedf for a job have one. With a nationalp unemployment rate of nearly9 that’s hardly shocking. Here’s what I would say to all thesw freshyoung minds: Keep your patience as strongt as your passion, and wait for the job and careetr you really want — this down cycle won’t last That might not rank up there with some of the inspirationak commencement speeches for the 2009 season, but this next piece of advice might Stuck in one of my old files was an e-mail with this header: “Advice on the five career-cripplingb mistakes this year’s class must avoid, from a business-life mentort who coaches multiple Fortune 500 companies.
” The mentodr is Mary Crane. Here are her five points: Hard work is a great but it’s not enough: Yes, you have to have a solifd work ethic. But don’t forget to develop good relationshipwswith co-workers, clients and the boss. Managersa are more likely to reward employees they know and and clients are more inclined to buyfrom too. • Be the whole In other words, be a Get your head all the way outof “Everything they do — from how they answer theidr phone to how successfully they navigate social settingws — communicates whether they have made the transition from student to • Take a good look Every organization has a which in part is expressefd by the way people What works at David and Sam PR might not fit Greenberv Traurig.
Pay attention from Day One, no matter where you • Know when to turn it off: We’re talking cell phones, BlackBerrys, iPods, laptops and who knowzs what else. It’s amazing how people let theif things ring and buzz in all be it meetings with the boss or mealzs withimportant clients. Big mistake. • Builrd a network — and not the wireless kind: This is good old-fashione d networking. You won’t generatse sales leads or get to know your office mates if you nevet get outand about. Those who “gef it” will get ahead a lot quicker. Networking is critical for professionall and businessdevelopment purposes.
As much as it seem necessary to offer these pointers torecen grads, it occurs to me that I see seasoned professionale stumbling along making all these gaffes, too. Maybed everyone ought to go back to gettintg schooled once ina while. Don Henninger can be reached at