Why new grads don’t get the job
My colleague, Saul Carliner, shared this slide deck from Mark O-Toole about why new grads don’t get hired. See if you can locate one of the eleven reasons that isn’t caused by (or couldn’t be fixed with better) communication.
Here’s my analysis.
- Your resume is longer than that of a 25-year professional. –> Make a right-sized resume. Clearly, written communication is central to this one.
- You didn’t prepare for our interview. –> Interview prep makes you look like a rock star. This time oral communication is the key.
- You didn’t bring questions for me. –> Ask really good questions. Oral communication again.
- You wrote a thank you note and only used it to thank me. –> Use your promptly sent thank you note to reveal why you make sense for this job. Written communication again.
- You dressed for failure. –> Dress up. Nonverbal communication is the focus here.
- You don’t know what you want to do. –> Stay focused. O’Toole thinks you need to focus your communication in the interview on this job.
- You don’t get social media. (But you think you do.) –> Don’t overplay it until you know how it fits into this job. Oral communication in the interview again.
- You didn’t proofread. –> No typos. Written communication again.
- You don’t have a LinkedIn profile. –> LinkedIn matters. You can only fix this one with written communication.
- You didn’t do an internship. –> Internships set you apart. This is it! The only one of O’Toole’s eleven reasons he won’t hire a new grad based on something other than communication.
- You lacked professional courtesy. –> Practice hand-shaking at home. Nonverbal communication again.
Are you sure? Lack of an internship? I have only heard of graduates who are eternally stuck in internship (and unpaid ones for that matter).
If this one has been gotten wrong, how are people going to believe the other ten? (Can I say, “Nonverbal communication”?)