More Advice for New Grads
Spring is graduation season, and nearly 3,000 student members of AIChE are expected to graduate this year. To welcome them to the profession, the editorial in the May issue of CEP offered some advice from the AIChE staff -- from recognize and embrace diversity and respect the expertise of others, to get out into the plant and get to know the hourly employees -- and, of course, attend your AIChE local section activities. If you haven't seen the article yet, check it out.Whether you are headed to your first job, off to grad school, or somewhere else, here are some more new graduate tips:
Question why you do the things you do. What compels you to do the things you do on an everyday basis? Do you do them because you actually like them and they make you happy, or do you do them just because it's what you've always done and it's what everyone around you does? -- Roxy Schneider
Currently, internships may include substantial offers of work experience (employers capitalizing on the large candidate pool). If you are financially able to do so, check out internships in your field and set a schedule (3 months? 6 months?) to decide whether to negotiate a paid position or move on to another opportunity. -- Camille B.
A professional does his or her best even when they may not want to. Ethics are what you follow even when you know no one is looking. -- Tim McCreight
Woody Allen said, "Ninety percent of life is just showing up." Show your face at places where you aspire to be. Things happen when you least expect them, and being there at the right time with the right attitude is often more important than an impressive resume. -- Jack Dean
Graduates Throwing Mortarboards
Clean up your on-line presence. Google yourself. Personal branding is important! -- Miriam Cortes-Caminero
Read as much on technology and innovations as you can get your eyes on. Keep ahead of the curve on cutting edge information. -- DSS
Work at what you enjoy, and success will follow. -- June C. Wispelwey
If you have advice for new grads, please add it in the comment section below.
Cap-throwing image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/neonbubble/2660290261/ Courtesy of: neonbubble Graduate siting on diploma image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lumaxart/2137729748/ Courtesy of www.lumaxart.com/
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Comments
and since i love giving advice, here's some more:
Adults are real people, too. Just because people are older than you doesn’t mean they have everything figured out. Everyone sometimes has doubts and questions what they’re doing etc. Companies are just large groups of people. We have a way of seeing companies as things but really they’re just groups of people working toward the same goal.
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I love quotes because they say so much with so very little. These I thought were most appropriate for new grads. I hope you'll appreciate the concise wisdom.
A little consideration, a little thought for others makes all the difference – Pooh’s Little Instruction Book
Instruction does much, but encouragement does everything - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, Writer, Philosopher, Diplomat
Big jobs usually go to the men who prove their ability to outgrow small ones - Ralph Waldo Emerson, Poet, Essayist
Make sure you visualize what you really want, not what someone else wants for you - Jerry Gillies, Author, Speaker
Just do what you do best - Red Auerbach, Basketball Coach
Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there - John Wooden, Basketball Coach
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Of course I'll give my two cents: Working at a new job right out of college is like starting all over again. Though the knowledge you learned in college is helpful, you'll only learn to apply it when you're getting your hands dirty. When an older engineer gives you technical advice, *listen* to it they might just save you a lot of time and pain in the future. Also, never ever burn your bridges. You'll never know when someone will present you with a unique opportunity. Now good luck everyone!
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The wisdom is concise - my list of quotes was not. Here are a few more. Enjoy.
The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what a man or woman is able to do that counts - Booker T. Washington, American Leader and Educator
Motivation is the art of getting people to do what you want them to do because they want to do it - Dwight D. Eisenhower, Thirty-fourth President of the USA
The ultimate inspiration is the deadline - Nolan Bushnell American Businessman, Founder of Atari Computer
The first requisite for success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies to one problem incessantly without growing weary - Thomas A. Edison, Inventor, Entrepreneur, Founder of GE
Ability will never catch up with the demand for it - Malcolm S. Forbes, American Publisher, Businessman
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Last installation - I promise. They are too good not to share. The following are from activist, diplomat, and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt:
Happiness is not a goal; it is a by-product.
In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.
It is not more vacation we need - it is more vocation.
What you don't do can be a destructive force.
You must do the things you think you cannot do.
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My coach wrote this quote in my yearbook and it has influenced me in how I approach many areas of my life:
"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far," President Theodore Roosevelt
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Something new grads should keep in mind (especially in this economy) - your first job may not be that job that you dreamed of. Perhaps jobs just aren't available in the field you would like to ultimately pursue... so expand your search, you never know where it might take you. I was hired into a field I knew nothing about right after college and it turned out to be great luck!
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Congratulations Grads..I wish you all the best to find a good job or whatever aspirations you may have. As an engineer, we donot normally appreciate the importance of networking. Believe me, that is a big thing, these days and during this economy to land up in a desired/dream job. I have one of my friends who did extensive networking with a company in our area for last one year or so and finally landed in a job recently. In fact, she was doing internship with out any pay for that company and was using that opportunity to gain experiences and get to know more people and that has paid off...so good luck with your job search.
Lastly, enjoy the break and take a good vacation and you may find this video intersting (am not advising you guys;):
[youtube xfq_A8nXMsQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfq_A8nXMsQ youtube]
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Two additional thoughts:
It doesn’t matter where you work or where you went to school — it matters what you do.
Failure is an event, never a person.
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Great post but I was wanting to know if you could write a litte more on this topic? I'd be very grateful if you could elaborate a little bit further. Thanks!
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