Open questions

Hi there! New blogs will be uploaded soon. In the mean time, as a graduating student, are there any questions you'd like me to address in an upcoming blog? It’s easy, just post a comment (staying anonymous is OK too) to ask a question!

Dude, where's my money? What to expect when first starting your career.

Wow, we are on a thread here and again it seems like the wrong question to me, but perhaps I am not being fair.

The standard scale for any job is available from many sources, whether it is an engineer or a teacher. Expectations should be established on that basis.

I have seen young folks that worked for me that got out of college and forgot they still had limitations. They bought a new car, new clothes, a big screen etc., then would come in and complain they did not make enough money. Somehow they felt the employer was short changing them. They forgot what the going value was for what they did. Many times they became bitter because they thought after 4 or 5 years of college they would be on easy street.

So the key is to understand what money you will get and just like you did in college budget your expenses and live within your budget. Be prepared to buy the used car and perhaps still eat at home. Understand you are starting out and the big bucks come when you have paid your dues and bring exceptional value to your job.

Personally, its not all about work and money - Here's some insight into my passions and how to foster yours too.

Passion versus work and money.

I am afraid I will be in the minority here. I believe that one should be choosing a career that is driven by passion and what you love to do. If you do that it isn't work, it is joy and when you work for joy the money just seems to come.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't have a personal life I am just not sure that they don't begin to blend. I think in this day and age the challenge really comes in managing your time versus letting others manage it for us. We all know what is fun, the question becomes do we set aside time for it. Does the cell phone rule us or do we rule it. Can we put down our blackberry and let it beep until we are ready to deal with it or must we answer every time it beeps.

My personal passion early in my career was to launch space shuttles. It took me three jobs to get to where I was involved, but once I got there I felt my dreams were underway. This allowed me to work long hours but to never be tired. I look back on that period of my life with great pride, joy, and satisfaction. Because it was what I dreamed of no job was too small and no challenge to large.

Work for joy, not money and the rest will take care of itself.

How to get that job you want and keep it. What employers look for in an ideal candidate.

Obtaining a job and keeping it are two separate subjects.

Obtaining a job as a college graduate has a lot to do with attitude and preparation. Attitude is best summed up when comparing two phrases I hear from job applicants. One job applicant will say "I am looking for a job", and what I hear is I am looking for a paycheck.

This is not too appealing because there are hundreds of people looking for a paycheck, the bigger the better. A better phrase is "I am looking for work", which can be followed with "and I have done some research and your company will provide me the opportunity to learn and extend my skills."

The old saw is to dress up, sit up straight, look the interviewer in the eye and most of all be prepared to offer value. If you are interviewing for an entry level job in accounting, be smart enough to know that excel is a tool they use a lot. In fact almost any job I interview if the college grad doesn't know basic office tools they are in an uphill struggle. Word, excel, and if they know PowerPoint great. These are all tools that can be learned with a minimum of effort and bring value to most employers day one.

So Google the place, know what their issues are, who are there competitors, how many offices, etc, something to show you cared enough about them to at least spend some time preparing.

Keeping the job is different.

Here it is a willingness to work. I know of no employer who expects a new employee not to make mistakes. But they will all watch how quickly you head for the door when the clock reaches quitting time. They will notice if you come in early. They will notice if you take long lunches or spend a lot of time on the football pool. The general rule I have always used to succeed is to always exceed my bosses expectations on items I can. So come in 10 minutes early for the coffee etc... and be working at start time. Leave 10 or 15 minutes after quitting time. Always, always, always meet deadlines by either performing, or going back in before they are due and letting the boss know you are going to miss them. When ever you go into talk to the boss bring a paper and pencil.

As you have probably noticed by now non of this has to do with any particular job or function, that is because employers are more than happy to train, and understand mistakes from an employee with the right attitude, but hate it when an employee acts like they are just there to punch a clock and get paid. At this phase of your career effort and attitude will carry you as you gain expertise, later when you have paid your dues you will be better equipped to take it easy, but by then if you are successful you will have developed the work ethic so you won't.

Having USC loyalty ultimately helps, here's how it helped me...sort of...

USC Loyalty.

My response to this is probably not going to be popular, and may not even get posted.

I have not found USC loyalty to be of much value to me. I do not mean that I am not proud to be a Trojan and that it does not reflect well on my resume and I am sure it helps if you are job searching. I also fully respect the education I received and that brought value to what I can offer others, but professionally and personally.

What I mean is that once I got in the real world, performance, commitment, and expertise were much more important. I did not find that anyone cut me a break because I was a Trojan.

I do feel an affinity to USC for sports and it is fun to root for the alma mater. It gives focus to the spectator part of watching college sports and it provides fodder for conversations such as introductory sales talks or striking up conversations with others.

I will continue to look for ways to benefit from USC loyalty but to date it has all been on the social side of my life.