New College graduates face unique challenges and opportunities when it comes to getting that first job. Many employers, however, want fresh new ideas and employees with lots of future potential. With 20% of all workers with college degrees either unemployed or employed in jobs requiring only high school skills, there is help for the college grad who doesn't want to settle for a job in which they are undervalued and under-challenged.



Our experience in working with new graduates has consistently reinforced our belief that the most important skills needed are in interviewing. Knowing how to approach an interview, how to anticipate and respond to difficult questions, and knowing how to project confidence in the interview are the skills most often lacking in new grads.

In the last 10 years we have worked with thousands of job seekers who face various challenges. Our philosophy is that life is too short to be stuck in a boring, unfulfilling, dead-end job. One of the major challenges for new graduates is to believe it is possible to get an exciting, fulfilling job that offers opportunity for growth and advancement. We work with far too many people who are depressed, bored, and entirely too focused on their jobs. When we love what we do, work becomes energizing. Just as boredom and depression on the job will spill over into one's personal life, so do happiness, energy, and fulfillment.

People who feel stuck in inappropriate jobs tend to spend more hours working than people who are happy in their jobs. One reason for this increase in work hours is low productivity. A vicious circle results from job misery. Unhappiness makes us less productive; lower productivity requires us to work more; working more in a job we hate makes us unhappy.

Our advice to every graduating senior this year is that your preparation for your job search and your knowledge of what you want can help you find the job of your dreams. You will be successful in landing the perfect job if you can learn and accept certain critical job-seeking principles:

?You don't have to settle for a job in which you will be miserable

?Fresh ideas and new insights are valuable assets

?You can go after the job of your dreams

?You can learn to ace the interview

?You can get a job that allows you to maintain balance in your life

With a positive attitude and preparation around the following questions, you can find the job of your dreams and ace the hiring process:

?How do you answer a question about experience when you have none?

?How do you explain that you want a job you can be passionate about?

?How do you respond to the statement "everyone begins with an unsatisfying job"?

?How do you successfully handle the first phone call from an employer?

?How do you prepare a powerful professional pitch?

?How do you present the best image?

?How do you deliver a solid interview, leaving a positive, lasting impression?

?How do you stand out from the pack?

Preparation around these and other critical questions can make the difference between landing your dream job and getting stuck in a boring job with no future. Why not plan to land the job of your dreams?