Casperino 1 Casey Casperino Professor Lago College Writing 26 November 2013 The Journey to Success As more college students

put on their cap and gowns to walk across the stage, a lot of those students will be waiting in the unemployment line. The job market is not what it used to be, and something has to be done. Students are not gaining the knowledge they need to succeed and they do not have enough experiences. Knowing the amount of college students who fail to get a job after graduation, may be discouraging for others. Students need to become more engaged outside of the classroom to better prepare them for the future ahead of them. In order to be considered for a job, applicants will have to submit a resume. A resume is a document that informs the employer about the interested applicant. The stronger a resume is, the higher chance of landing an interview. In order to create this strong resume that is needed, Kenyon Tillotson and Debra Osborn recommend attending resume workshops, which are offered on campus, to learn how to create a resume that will be beneficial (Tittotson & Osborn 2011). Knowing to get help on resume, is good knowledge, but what are the important factors that need to be on the resume? Internships are a way for students to have experience hands on in the career path that they are interested in. The intern works at the business for a varied amount of time, learning and experiencing what it is like to be a worker in that career. Sometimes, the intern is offered a

Casperino 2 position at the business, but often they are not. A study was done on internships and showed that future employers appreciated the internship that was completed and that the knowledge gained from it benefited the intern even if they did not stay at the same business (Risby, Addy, Herring & Polledo 2013). This proves that internships help the student out even if they do not land that position they may have been hoping for. Community service is another activity that looks good on a resume. Community service has a very broad spectrum of options, so finding something that enjoyable to do should not be hard. A study was done on how community service affects a college student. This study showed that it had many positive effects on a person and often the person has a lot of personal growth (Bowman, Brandenberger, Lapsley, Hill & Quaranto 2010). Doing some form of community service not only helps you as a person, but also helps those around you that you are volunteering to help. Although it is important to look good on paper, it is also important to have the skills needed to succeed. Research was done to see find out what basic job related skills employers were looking for. The research found that the most important skills are planning and problem solving, retrieve and handle information, communication and presentation and social development and interaction (Selvadurai, Choy & Maros 2012). Throughout college, students will find themselves in scenarios where they will have to use these skills. Mastering these skills for four years will benefit the student when job search time comes. Networking is also an important skill to learn and master in college. Networking is a way to connect with others. Building a network is a good thing to have because someone within that network may be able to help you get a job, move up in the job you have or even get better job. Teri Gerson says Networking is often underutilized, even though friends, peers, and family all

Casperino 3 know people who could potentially be of value. (Gerson 2008). Networking is something that students should certainly utilize as much as they can. Being able to network is a skill that will greatly benefit the student. Interviewing is a very important step of the job process. An interview can make or break the applicant. A study was conducted to find out just how important an applicants interview skills are. Before conducting the study, the researchers had a few hypothesis, but the only one that was supported was that verbal and nonverbal skills would predict recruiter assessments of applicants (Goldberg & Cohen 2004). This proves that the applicant must not only look good on paper, but also present themself well. Having all these skills and experiences are beneficial to help lower your risk of unemployment. A major to lower that risk is by graduating college and earning a degree. Anthony Carnevale and others, looked into how a degree changes your risk of unemployment. They found that unemployment rate for those with a new Bachelors degree was 8.9%, while those with only a high school diploma was 22.9% (Carnevale 297). While the percentage of unemployed with a degree is pretty high, just having a degree cuts the risk by more than half. This means that earning a degree and doing nothing else does have benefits, but there are more ways to further benefit yourself. Some may say that you need an excellent grade point average in college to succeed after college, but that is not completely the case. It is very important to go to class, learn the material and do well. However, it is also important to step outside the classroom to gain knowledge and experience too. If two candidates, who had the same grade point average, were competing for a job, one of them had an internship, or a job relating to the job they are searching for, and the

Casperino 4 other person had nothing extra, the person with more experiences has the higher chance of getting that job. The years a student spends in college are crucial to how their future will play out. Although you should have fun, college should also be taken very seriously. Students need to take the necessary steps to not only prepare them for the future, but also make them look good as they start their job hunt. College is a time to gain education on the degree they are working to achieve. More importantly, to grow as a person and learn all the skills needed to land and succeed in a career. There are many ways for a student to lower their risk of unemployment while working toward their degree.

Casperino 5 Work Cited Tillotson, Kenyon, and Debra Osborn. "Effect Of A Rsum-Writing Workshop On RsumWriting Skills." Journal Of Employment Counseling 49.3 (2012): 110-117. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. Rigsby, John T., et al. "An Examination of Internships and Job Opportunities." Journal of Applied Business Research 29.4 (2013): 1131-43. ProQuest. Web. 11 Nov. 2013. Bowman, Nicholas, et al. "Serving In College, Flourishing In Adulthood: Does Community Engagement During The College Years Predict Adult Well-Being?." Applied Psychology: Health & Well-Being 2.1 (2010): 14-34. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Selvadurai, Sivapalan, Choy Er Ah, and Marlyna Maros. "Generic Skills Of Prospective Graduates From The Employers' Perspectives." Asian Social Science 8.12 (2012): 295 -303. Academic Search Complete. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Gerson, Teri. "Sourcing, Selecting and Interviewing Talent Effectively." The Journal of Equipment Lease Financing (Online) 26.1 (2008): 1-10. ProQuest. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. Goldberg, Caren, and Debra J. Cohen. "Walking the Walk and Talking the Talk: GENDER DIFFERENCES IN THE IMPACT OF INTERVIEWING SKILLS ON APPLICANT ASSESSMENTS." Group & Organization Management 29.3 (2004): 369-84. ProQuest. Web. 14 Nov. 2013.

Casperino 6 Carnevale, Anthony P. Cheah, Ban. Strolh, Jeff. College Majors, Unemployment and Earnings: Not all College Degrees are Created Equal. Writing and Reading across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. 12th ed. Boston: Longman- Pearson, 2013. 297. Print.