SavvySugar

Are You Looking For a Summer Job?

SavvySugar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 06:30:42 -0700

Young workers - new graduates and teens alike - are little fish in a pond of more experienced applicants looking for jobs. Word on the street is teens are having a tough time finding Summer work because they're competing with adults who need the money. Are you looking for a Summer job?

9 Ways You Might Be Messing Up Your Job Interview

SavvySugar — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:30:40 -0700

It's easy to commit an interview don't when one of them is considered arriving too early to reception, but showing up more than 10 or 15 minutes early might be the least of your problems. Gearing up for a job interview is stressful regardless of your work experience, and for new grads, the anticipation can be downright draining.

Learning the interview dos and don'ts is the best way to reduce the butterflies, and CareerBuilder surveyed employers on the biggest mistakes they've seen recent college graduates make in the application and interview process. Even if you don't qualify as a recent grad, you aren't immune from making the following mistakes, so review them and make sure you're among the not guilty. To see nine ways you might be messing up your job interview, read more.

Acting bored or cocky
Not dressing appropriately
Coming to the interview with no knowledge of the company
Not turning off cell phones or electronic devices
Not asking good questions during the interview
Asking what the pay is before the company considered them for the job
Spamming employers with the same résumé and/or cover letter
Failure to remove unprofessional photos/content on social networking pages, webpages, blogs, etc.
Not sending a thank-you note after the interview

Source

Could the Weak Job Market Be Good For New Grads?

SavvySugar — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 06:30:33 -0700

The class of 2009 is well in to its first semester of senior year, and the future could be even more up in the air for this group than it has been for previous graduates. The job market won't exactly be welcoming the class of '09 with opening arms and evidence of that can be seen in the reduction of corporate recruiters on college campuses. A survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers projects the weakest outlook in hiring for new graduates in six years, while just two months ago the group projected a 6 percent increase in hiring.

The job market is changing rapidly and the decline in hiring projections can be attributed to a number of factors, like a weaker financial sector and tighter budgets all around. The Wall Street Journal spoke with one senior finance major at NYU who planned on making his career on Wall Street, and is now exploring other options like Teach for America. He says the economic downturn makes young job seekers "feel freer to pursue your real passions."

Do you think the weak job market will allow new graduates to choose paths truer to themselves?

Source

The Best Companies to Begin Your Career

SavvySugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:30:20 -0700

When you're scouting out companies as possible contenders to launch a career, it's important to not only consider the demands of the position but what the company can do for your development. Working for a firm that facilitates employee growth and likes to promote from within can be very valuable to whether you're just starting out or you're looking to make the move from a job to a career.

BusinessWeek compiled its annual list of the best places to launch a career, and this year it includes a total of 119 employers. The list gives specific information about each company, like average pay, signing bonuses, mentorship programs, and diversity. See the top 10 when you read more.

Accounting, tech, and banking pretty much have the top 10 spots locked-in; you can find the rest of the long list by visiting BusinessWeek.

Ernst & Young (Accounting)
Deloitte (Accounting)
PricewaterhouseCoopers (Accounting)
Goldman Sachs (Investment Banking)
KPMG (Accounting)
Marriott International (Hospitality)
Google (Internet)
Lockheed Martin (Manufacturing)
IBM (Technology)
JPMorgan (Investment Banking)

Source

The 10 Best Cities For New Grads Are Different From Last Year

SavvySugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 10:30:36 -0700

One of the best things about being a new college grad is the flexibility and freedom you have to move anywhere you please! Because the current job market isn't exactly awaiting grads with open arms, relocation might be more appealing than ever for fresh degree-holding job seekers.

Apartments.com and CBcampus.com released their annual list of the 10 best cities for new grads, taking into account cities with the highest concentration of 20 to 24 year olds, the number of entry-level jobs, and the average cost of a one-bedroom apartment. The results vary greatly from last year's list - half of the cities fell off completely, and Philadelphia lost its top spot to a newcomer. For the full city list along with average rent prices (according to Apartments.com), read more.

Indianapolis: $625
Philadelphia: $1,034
Baltimore: $1,130
Cincinnati: $691
Cleveland: $686
New York: $1,548
Phoenix: $747
Denver: $877
Chicago: $1,133
San Antonio: $696

Source

The Best Places For Entry-Level Job Candidates

SavvySugar — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:30:58 -0700

Recent college graduates are ready to spread their wings and fly, but the weak economy means many will spend an extended time flapping their wings before landing a job offer. There are a lot of ways recession grads can boost the probability of finding work, and one of them is being open to relocating to a place where the job market is more welcoming.

Forbes developed a list of the best places for first-time job seekers using a variety of data and adjusting for population so big and small cities could compete. If you're looking for a good bet for starting your career, consider these 20 cities.

Milwaukee, WI (Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis)
San Diego, CA (San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos)
Denver, CO (Denver-Aurora)
Baltimore, MD (Baltimore-Towson)
Charlotte, NC (Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord)
St. Louis, MO
Orange County, CA (Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine)
Nashville, TN (Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro)
Chicago, IL (Chicago-Naperville-Joliet)
Seattle, WA (Seattle-Bellevue-Everett)

See the rest of the list when you read more.

Dallas, TX (Dallas-Plano-Irving)
Minneapolis, MN (Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington)
Philadelphia, PA
New York (New York-White Plains-Wayne)
Boston, MA (Boston-Quincy)
Washington, D.C. (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria)
San Francisco, CA (San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City)
Houston, TX (Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown)
Cambridge, MA (Cambridge-Newton-Framingham)
San Jose, CA (San-Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara)

10 Tips For College Graduates in a Recession

SavvySugar — Tue, 12 May 2009 06:30:33 -0700

College students graduating during the recession are facing a real world tougher than most. The weak job market has more experienced workers vying for the same positions as new grads, giving the younger candidates fewer opportunities. Recession graduates can persevere through this rough time - view my 10 tips for surviving and succeeding as a new grad today.

View Slideshow ›

Don't Start Your Cover Letter With This Sentence

SavvySugar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:30:27 -0700

We all know it's exciting to graduate college, and higher education is a big asset for any applicant. But don't boast your new diploma in the very first line, or even explicitly in your cover letter, like it's the best thing you have to offer a potential employer. Too many fresh-out-of-college graduates hurt their chances by beginning their cover letters with a sentence that reads: I just graduated from Blank University.

Your educational achievements will be clearly stated on your resume. As a new grad, you should use the cover letter to emphasize the experience you've acquired through various internships and jobs during your university years. If your major is directly applicable to the position for which you're applying, feel free to bring up projects or coursework that strengthens your candidacy. Just be sure they are highly relevant to the skills required for the job so the hiring manager isn't left wondering why you've included those details.

Insurent Helps First-Time Renters Get Decent Apartments

SavvySugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:29:42 -0700

Adventure and possibility push new grads to move to a new city and many (including yours truly) do so with low entry-level salary offers in hand. While you're sure of your ability to pay monthly rent and are willing to fork over a high percentage of your salary, searching for an apartment without a certain level of income can be an incredibly frustrating process.

Many landlords require a renter's income to be as much as 45 times monthly rent, so new grads without that pedigree might find themselves as I did: moving in to a tiny apartment in a walk-up building with steep stairs, a blocked fire escape, windows that didn't fully close, and a charming water heater taking up half the closet-sized kitchen. Find out how one company is helping new grads and relocated international workers when you read more.

Insurent is a new company that basically insures the rent on a unit when a landlord's requirements block an apartment hunter from being considered. Renters pay a fee for the service as with any other type of insurance, and a background check is done before eligibility is granted.

Similar to landlords, Insurent requires identification, employment verification, and a credit score higher than 630. But where landlords may pass over an applicant whose rent isn't about 45 times monthly rent ($90,000 for a $2,000 place), Insurent extends its service to applicants who make 27 and a half times their monthly rent ($55,000 for a $2,000 place).

The company is targeting new grads with job offers and professionals relocating to the US without American credit history. Depending on credit score, Insurent's fee can be from 58 to 110 percent of monthly rent. It can be a hefty price to pay to get a secure roof over your head, but so far 35 renters have their rent guaranteed by the company.

Source

Oh, the Places You'll Go! Best Cities For New Grads

SavvySugar — Tue, 27 May 2008 09:55:46 -0700

Choosing your move after college graduation can be a positively daunting task because you're faced with the dilemma of too many options! Maybe you're moving to a new city without knowing many people or you're venturing to another part of the country, or maybe your plan is to stay local. It's an exciting decision because you can move anywhere you please and there's nothing controlling your decision but your own ambitions.

While curiosity about a new city will create the biggest draw, there are several other components that should be considered when evaluating the big move. Apartments.com and CBcampus.com came up with a list of the top 10 cities for new grads, based on the following factors: availability of entry-level job openings, rental prices for one-bedroom apartments, and large resident populations of young adults in their early 20s. Find out which cities made the top 10 when you read more.

Here's the list along with the average prices for one-bedroom apartments. While San Francisco didn't make the cut, I can tell you that moving here after graduating college was the best decision I ever made! Over the years it has continued to win me over with its charm and unexpected opportunities.

Philadelphia, $962
Boston, $1,343
New York, $1,520
Phoenix, $741
Chicago, $1,029
Dallas-Fort Worth, $755
Los Angeles, $1,435
Houston, $778
Detroit, $699
Atlanta, $773

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