Call Your Mother. Save Your Money.

Soon the month of May will be here, bringing with it the start of Graduation Season. Have you ever wished that you could give a commencement address and dispense some of your lived wisdom to the young faces sitting before you?

Two such commencement talks are well worth watching sometime:

One features the late Steve Jobs speaking at Stanford in 2005, including his famous "Stay hungry, stay foolish" message. The second features consultant and author John Scherer speaking at Roanoke College in 2010, including his wise maxim "Go for tov."

If you were invited to deliver a college commencement address . . . what advice would you give to a class of college graduates?

I asked my wife Joan. I often consult her for her wisdom. She said:

~ "Call your mother. Save your money. Start thinking now about retirement. Go to church."

What I love about her answers is that there are some important implications, including:

Start thinking about your future - Today's decisions have long-term effects that are hard to foresee. But by envisioning the future you desire, you can use that vision to guide the choices you make now.

Stay connected to others - You are not just graduating with a diploma. You have a social network comprised of family, friends, and all those you encountered during your four years of college. Stay connected! These relationships will support you and sustain you as you begin the next phase of your journey.

If you were to deliver an address to a graduating class, what would your key points be, especially in view of the difficult economy that this year's college graduates are entering?

Posted by Terrence Seamon on Sunday April 29, 2010

College Graduates, The Number One Quality You Need Right Now

I just read the distressing headline that 1 out of every 2 recent college graduates is unemployed or under-employed and struggling to get started in their chosen career field.

As the parent of two recent college graduates from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, and the co-moderator of a central New Jersey job hunters support group (the St. Matthias Employment Ministry in Somerset, NJ), I have some ideas.

- Objective: What are you looking to do? Is it finance? writing? nursing? a managerial role? Having a very clear objective is a must! With a clear objective, you can be highly focused in your search. Without one, you will flounder.

- Experiences: What have you accomplished? What personal projects, part-time work, work study, volunteer, and internship experiences does she have? The competition is heavy out there. You have to portray your capabilities and differentiate yourself.

- Value Proposition: Ultimately each person who is in transition has to answer the Big Question of employers: Why should I hire You? How would you answer that question?

- Network: How well are you utilizing your network of contacts? You have lots of contacts: family, friends, neighbors, professors, college administrators, internship and work study connections, etc. Are you reaching out to them, sharing your Objective with them, asking them for advice and referrals?

- Drive: One of the characteristics I have seen that seems to be key to landing a job is something I'll call Drive. My father called it "moxie." It's opposite would be "Waiting for the phone to ring." Drive is not being afraid to toot your own horn. Drive is get-up-and-go. It's gumption, nerve, chutzpah. And it's not taking "No" for an answer.

Oh and one more thing.

- Help Others: Be sure to help others along the way. Why? because they will help you in return. It's reciprocity. And it's a beautiful thing.

Posted by Terrence Seamon on Thursday April 26, 2012