graduates | Journey

Do’s and Don’ts of Helping Your Adult Child or Grandchild Get a Job

By Asia Johnson on Thursday, May 18, 2023

It’s graduation season, and at Express Employment Professionals, we hear from plenty of adults looking to find their child or grandchild a job.

We understand. Your child or grandchild worked extremely hard to obtain their diploma or degree. It can be difficult to enter the job market after high school or college, and the more people who assist your son, daughter, or grandchild in their job search, the better.

However, there are right and not-so-right ways to help these aspiring employees find a job. Let’s dig in. (more…)

Career Advancement

Hired Today, Gone Tomorrow: Recent Grads Don’t Stay in First Jobs Very Long

By Job Journey on Wednesday, October 29, 2014

For college graduates, the first job after graduation may be just a stepping stone on the way to bigger and better things, and if you’re a company that’s hired that perfect graduate, you may lose him or her quicker than you think.

A recent Express Employment Professionals survey found that most employers – 77 percent – do not expect recent college graduates to stay more than a year in his or her first job. Of the franchises surveyed, only 23 percent believed the average graduate would spend more than a year with the company.

That means all that time you spent recruiting vibrant college grads is for naught, if you can’t keep them.

The Grass May Not Be Greener, but Who Cares
Express released the 2014 edition of the “America Employed” survey of 115 Express franchises across the nation. Respondents to the survey were asked how long the average graduate stayed in their first job following graduation, and the results were pretty clear. Graduates are looking for new or better jobs less than 12 months after being hired.

“These survey results bring to mind a couple of trends that we’ve seen for years now,” said Bob Funk, CEO of Express and a former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

“First, many in the Millennial generation are taking jobs that they are over-qualified for and thus are eager to move on when something better appears. Second, we’ve seen a decrease in employees’ commitment to employers as a higher value is placed on personal advancement.”

So what does this mean for employers? First, companies need to find ways to attract young talent and make the company appealing enough for them to stay.

Keeping Your Talent
Competition for attracting talented college graduates is fierce, and studies show the battle will only get tougher for the high-demand skills that graduates have. One way businesses can keep those talented workers is to offer an opportunity for professional growth.

Professional development and the possibility of advancement may be the perfect carrots to dangle in front of your new hires, but investing in their future shows you want to keep them. Add on training and promotion, and you’ll make staying on your team more appealing.

“It’s true that the ‘grass isn’t always greener,’ but this generation seems plenty willing to go check out the grass on the other side,” Funk said. “Employers, take note!”

How long did you stay in your first job after college graduation? How long do you expect to stay in your first job? Let us know in the comment section below!

Movin’ On Up is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.

Career Options The Job Search

Guest Post: How to Get the Most Out of a College Career Center

By Movin On' Up on Friday, October 5, 2012

Whether you’re a current college student or recent grad, you might be struggling to find a job. Recent labor statistics suggest that almost half of recent college graduates have difficulty finding work and those who haven’t obtained their degrees yet often have even more difficulty. College career centers can be a huge help as you search for jobs. The career experts employed by your campus career center will be able to help you network with professionals, find job leads, and maybe even get a job. Of course, whether or not you have a good experience at a college career center will largely depend on the amount of effort you’re willing to put in. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your college campus center experience:

Bring your resume
Your resume is your most important job search tool. Unfortunately, many inexperienced jobseekers don’t spend enough time creating exceptional resumes. The college career counselor you meet with will be able to help you edit and format your resume to make it more impressive to potential employers. Your career counselor will also be able to give you some tips and tricks for tailoring your resume to specific job openings that are of interest to you.

Explore all the resources available
The career center at your current or former school may be able to offer you career tests, interview lessons, and access to the school-run job bank. Take advantage of all of these resources and whichever other resources the career center offers. A career test may help you focus your job search, especially if your academic background is in the liberal arts and you aren’t quite sure what you want to do professionally. Interview lessons will help you feel more at ease when you eventually land interviews. And you may be able to find a number of promising job leads on the school-run job bank.

Don’t expect a job to fall in your lap
The career counselor you meet with will have connections in the professional world and may be able to get you a few interviews. One of those interviews may turn into a job, but there are no guarantees. You’ll need to spend a lot of time on your own applying to jobs in addition to the steps you take with your college career counselor. In this economy, finding a job requires a lot of hard work on your part. Until you land a full-time gig, your full-time job should be applying to jobs. This means you should spend the bulk of your time during the day reaching out to potential employers, filling out applications, and searching for jobs.

If you have access to a college career center, you should absolutely set up an appointment to visit it. You’ll receive valuable advice and guidance from career counselors. Just remember that it’s ultimately up to you to put in the hard work that finding a job requires.

Kate Willson is a freelance writer and blogger who writes about higher education, job searching, and technology for collegecrunch.org and other education-related sites. Kate appreciates your feedback. Please leave your comments and questions below!

Tag Archives: graduates