76 Business Spotlight 6/2019 CAREERS & MANAGEMENT
CAREERS & MANAGEMENT
HOW TO...I
f you have a son or daughter graduat-
ing from university in the near future,
you may sympathize with parents like
Monique Patenaude. Her daughter
Chloe graduates this year from the
State University of New York and has
already had a series of part-time jobs
and unpaid internships. What she doesn’t
have is a job offer.
“I’m exhausted just watching her,” Pa-
tenaude told The Wall Street Journal. “She
just turned 21 and she’s had more phone
interviews, Skype interviews, in-person
interviews, first, second and third inter-
views, than I’ve ever had.”The job market has changed
Career coach Lesley Mitler of Early Stage
Careers in New York says it’s important
for parents to realize that things have
changed since they entered the workforce
in the 1970s and 1980s. Mitler says it’s bet-
ter for new graduates to try a variety of
jobs and internships rather than settling
early for a job that they will soon abandon
because it doesn’t suit them. She advises
students to complete two to four intern-
ships during their studies to develop
skills they do not learn in the classroom.In addition, they should apply for at least
30 jobs, she says.Network, network, network!
“There is so much more noise now than
there used to be, and you have to break
through all that to actually connect with
somebody,” says parent Melissa Sayer, a
lawyer in Ventura, California. Sayer’s son
Jon graduated with a degree in video-
game design in 2018. He applied for in-
ternships and worked for a start-up, but
when that company failed, he and four
friends designed their own video game.
Now, he has a full-time job, which Sayer
says is a result of his own contacts, plus a
few names that she provided.Get some real-life experience
In the past, many students in the sci ences
went directly to graduate school after
getting their bachelor’s degree. Now, pro-
fessors are advising them to get some re-
search experience first. Zach Plante, who
graduated from Dartmouth College last
year, is working as a research assistant at
Stanford University. Housing prices there
are high, so he’s living with his parents in
Menlo Park.For more career trends, go to
http://www.business-spotlight.de/careersabandon sth. [E(bÄndEn]
, etw. aufgeben
apply for sth. [E(plaI fO:]
, sich für etw. bewerben
design (sth.) [di(zaIn]
, hier: Entwicklung; etw.
entwickeln, konzipieren
get over sth.
[)get (EUvE]
, über etw. hinweg-
kommen
graduate (from university)
[(grÄdZueIt]
, einen Abschluss (an
einer Universität) machen
graduate [(grÄdZuEt]
, (Hochschul-)Absol-
vent(in)graduate school: go to ~
[(grÄdZuEt sku:l] US
, etwa: einen nächst-
höheren Abschluss machen
wollen
in person [)In (p§:s&n]
, persönlich
internship [(Int§:nSIp]
, Praktikum
interview [(IntEvju:]
, Bewerbungsgespräch
lawyer [(lO:jE]
, Anwalt/Anwältin
research [ri(s§:tS]
, Forschung
workforce [(w§:kfO:s]
, ErwerbsbevölkerungParental advice:
helpful, but not
the only way
to get a jobZach’s father, Thomas, is a psycholo-
gy professor at Santa Clara University.
When he and his wife graduated, they
were able to buy a house in the area. That
is no longer possible for young people like
his son, he says — and parents need to ac-
cept this. “Your reality back in the 1970s or
1980s is just not the world of 2019. You’ve
got to get over it.”Give job advice
to your kids
Für Hochschulabsolventen ist
es oft schwierig, eine feste Stelle
zu finden. MARGARET DAVIS
hat für sie – und auch für deren
Eltern – Tipps parat.MEDIUMAUDIOFoto: MStudioImages/iStock.com