Erin Albert’s Blog

As a professor, one of the things keeping me up at night is the following:  what are colleges doing to help students not only get a good education in order to obtain “a job”, but more importantly to “make and grow jobs” for others and be self-sustaining?

I’ve ranted several times and several of my blogs that the days of the 30-year-gold-watch-at-retirement- work-for-one-company-for-the-rest-of-your-life-career is so over, we need a new word for over!

So, being the avid reader that I am (OK, I read a lot of the non fiction books in lieu of reading my law school homework and cases, so I’m a bit of a slacker myself sometimes! ha!) , here are 5 books that I think every senior graduating from college (and for that matter, high school) should be reading right now in order to prepare themselves for the sometimes crushing blow of the real world:

1. Crush It! By Gary Vaynerchuk - I first was introduced to Mr. Vaynerchuk through his video blog on wine…I found them highly entertaining.  Now, we are all lucky enough to hear about his success in marketing himself and his personal brand equity strategy.  This book helps peeps unearth their passions and making money around them.  It won’t tell you what your passion might be, but Gary will tell you what he did around his passions to create his own multi million dollar empire.

2.  Strengthsfinder 2.0 - I’ve already discussed this book til I’m blue in the face, but I really don’t care.  It is incumbent upon each of us to know our own strengths.  That will make your life a whole lot easier!  AND, it helps you tell your own story if you know what your strengths are.  For example, my #1 strength is “Futuristic” - I love talking about the future.  So, guess what my articles and projects are about?  Yup! You guessed it!  THE FUTURE!

3.  Drive - By Daniel Pink - Intrinsic motivation - that’s what this book is all about.  Figuring out again what makes you tick by doing some exercises in this book will set you up as a new employee to excel on your own terms and in your own way.  Your boss isn’t going to hand you your very own dream job - you need to go out and make it.

4.  Linchpin - By Seth Godin - This book helps you discern how to make yourself indispensable at work. Very UN-Office Space, (i.e. doing just enough work not to get fired.)  This book instead is about how to be a rock star at work.

5.  The Whuffie Factor - By Tara Hunt - Dang, if only someone had told me when I was in high school or college the value of social networking and the rules associated around it like this book does, I would have been LIGHT YEARS ahead of where I am now.  I cannot emphasize enough to the students in my classes that they have to start building their networks YESTERDAY and fully understand the power and etiquette around them.

Resumes are DOA in employers’ databanks. Even job postings online are almost the way of the dodo–the best jobs are NEVER POSTED…because they are either hired by word of mouth, or are CREATED by rock star individuals rather than posted for the masses.  It’s time for students to understand that creating social networks N-O-W, figuring out their own individual STRENGTHS and what MOTIVATES them, creating their own authentic BRAND, and working smart and hard will get the rock star students on top.

And if you’re a mom or a dad of a college or high school student - do your child a favor - buy them these books to read or grab them from the library STAT!

I have an opportunity frequently to share what I’ve learned about my career with college students, and new grads.  This is not only cool and fun for me, but it is mission critical in this crazy economy for young people to clearly understand who they are in order to remain competitive.  Today I thought I’d share the top 5 things I think every college student must know about him/herself and her/his place in the world.  After all, it was Socrates who said “Know Thyself”, and he was a philosophical rock star:

1.  Her strengths.  Strengthsfinder 2.0 is a great exercise to go through in order to find (and clearly articulate) one’s top 5 strengths.  Employers love to ask about “tell me a time you utilized your strengths to achieve a project or solve a problem” and every student should have some stories ready to go in the strengths arena.

2.  His values.  Values are important - from a corporate perspective and a personal perspective.  There is no way I could work for a company that had opposing values to my own, and it is therefore important to know and assess what my values are so I can embrace opportunities that match my own personal values. The Career Value Card Sort found online free here is a great way to stop and figure out what is important to the individual.  I just resorted my cards this week and discovered my values in terms of priority changed over the past year, so it is important to stop and re-assess values every so often. 

3.  Have a business card.  Everyone over age 18 needs a calling/business card.  You can get 250 of them FREE at Vistaprint.com.  Many colleges offer a logo card to their students at a discount. Start building your network NOW when you are young, and you’ll have social capital second to none when you get to be old(er) (like me!). Get on LinkedIn (adult facebook), clean up your own Facebook profile, and consider other sites like joining Plaxo too.  You have an online identity, so keep it sharp like your real-world identity.  (And don’t kid yourself–employers are watching online and offline…)

4.   Have a good handshake.  Practice makes perfect here!  When meeting new people, a handshake is going to be one of the first things you do with another party, so make sure it leave a positive (aka non-wimpy) impression.

5.  Run other assessments on yourself.  Keep a log of them.  Stuff like Myers-Briggs, Insights, Gems, The Kolbe-A, IPIP-NEO, and Holland Self Assessments are all excellent tools to keep in your career tool chest. (Hint, many of them are online and free to take….just Google them.) While you don’t need to include them in your resume, they help you better understand who you are, where you want to go, and most importantly - help you clearly articulate who you are and what you want back to the universe.  I’m not sure if it was Kayne West, someone in The Secret, or someone else who said: thoughts become things.  So make your thoughts about yourself clear, accurate, and articulate and you’ll be miles ahead in the long run.  Miles…if not light years!