College is like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. You decide your major, pick the classes you want to take, and choose which activities to take part in. You really get to make of it what you want and create your own experience. One way to really tailor your experience is through on-campus clubs and orgs. The list of kinds of clubs to join is nearly endless. Even the smallest schools still have a robust offering, and most schools even allow you to create a club if the one you’d want to join doesn’t already exist.

Students join various on-campus clubs for a variety of reasons—to enhance social life, meet like-minded students, or pursue personal interests—but while providing all that and more, clubs also help to develop skills that can, and probably will, be used in your professional life, as well. From planning, teamwork, leadership, and networking, clubs can help you develop as a student and as the professional you’ll be after graduation. They also provide much-needed color and experience to what can be a sparse resume, especially for newly-graduated job seekers.

There are academic and educational clubs where students can dig deeper into their area of study with other like-minded students, and there are also other interest-based clubs that range from different kinds of hobbies, sports, and activities to community service, politics, culture, and religion. And don’t think that the only way a student can gain leadership or professional experience is through Model UN, student government, or student newspaper participation. While those opportunities are great, there are plenty of ways to get resume-building experience while also nurturing and fostering your personal interests.

Want a future in finance and have a knack for knitting? Set your sites on the treasurer position of your school’s knitting club to both satisfy your yearn for yarn and help you gain experience managing money. Or perhaps you’re a movie maven with an interest in international business. A foreign film club could help you cultivate some cultural competence while soaking up the silver screen.

No matter how you build your own college adventure, consider how to incorporate club and org participation to enrich your experience and help working towards your future career goals.

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About Avenica

Through conversation, high-impact coaching, and best-in-class support, we translate and meet the needs of our client partners by identifying and transforming potential into high-performing professionals. At Avenica, we are working from the inside out to embrace diverse thought and perspectives while actively working to dismantle systems of oppression and implicit bias. With a deeply-held belief in human potential, we transform lives and enable organizations to achieve new heights.

If you’re interested in partnering with us to develop or hire your workforce, let’s talk. If you’re a job seeker, please apply now!

Your first year on the job can be rewarding and fun, but it can also be challenging, confusing, and stressful. Learning all the components of your role along with meeting your new team and finding your place in it are hard enough, but then you actually have to work?

But you want to thrive, not just survive. So, how, as a new employee, do you start adding real value to your team and company? Our advice? Start small, and don’t try to do it all at once.

Understand Your Role and Your Responsibilities

You, especially in the beginning of your career, are a small cog that helps to operate one mechanism in the large machine that is your company. Depending on the size of your company, the tasks you carry out in your position can have varying degrees of effect on the business as a whole. But no matter what, your actions contribute to or impede the overall success of the company, especially in the smaller environment of your team. Adding value starts with just doing what’s expected of your position. While it sounds simple, each position has many different components, and it can take time to learn and carry them all out. And that’s okay. Learn your new position inside and out, and make sure you’re meeting expectations. Ask questions, get clarification on your assigned tasks, and check in with/update your supervisor regularly to ensure you’re on the right track.

Identify Opportunities

As you’re learning your role and getting comfortable performing the expected functions of your position, start identifying opportunities where you can provide additional support, solve problems, improve processes to cut out inefficiencies. And whenever possible, go beyond simply identifying the problems; provide solutions, ideas, and a plan of attack to support your ideas. One good think about being new is you come in fresh eyes, a different perspective, and new ideas. Just remember to be thoughtful about your approach. Think through different possible outcomes and write in contingencies and alternatives. Most importantly, highlight the benefits. Do your ideas save time and or money, eliminate a problem, or create a new/better process? This is your money shot, so don’t forget to play this part up.

Build Relationships

You’ll be spending a lot of time at work, so you might as well enjoy it. Building strong relationships within your team and with various business partners not only makes your time at work more enjoyable, it helps you to be more productive and engaged. Additionally, if you’re in a customer/client-facing role, it’s vital to build and maintain strong, trusting relationships. The relationships you build and with whom can have far-reaching effects on your career and your ability to develop, advance, and gain buy in for your ideas and projects. Start with your team; be trustworthy, support when and how you can, and bring a fun and positive attitude. Join in on social events like happy hours and company outings. This is a great way to meet and interact with people in a more casual setting where you can really get to know people, especially those outside of your team.

Your first weeks, months, and even year in a new position can really set the tone for how you’ll perform and be recognized in years to come. So make it count. Start with getting really good at your job, be a good team member and colleague, find opportunities to add value, build and maintain great relationships, and most importantly, have fun. Again, you’ll be spending a lot of time at work, so do what you can to make it a fun and positive experience for you and others around you. You’ll be happier, more productive, and hopefully, more rewarded for the effort!

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About Avenica

Through conversation, high-impact coaching, and best-in-class support, we translate and meet the needs of our client partners by identifying and transforming potential into high-performing professionals. At Avenica, we are working from the inside out to embrace diverse thought and perspectives while actively working to dismantle systems of oppression and implicit bias. With a deeply-held belief in human potential, we transform lives and enable organizations to achieve new heights.

If you’re interested in partnering with us to develop or hire your workforce, let’s talk. If you’re a job seeker, please apply now!

Mornings are great. Mornings are my favorite. That is until the alarm goes off. Getting out of bed might be the hardest thing you today, especially if you have a strong relationship with the snooze button. Changing your morning routine—or creating a morning routine—can help make the rest of your day more productive and successful. It might be challenging at first, but committing to a routine gets easier and easier every day you do it. Start with these four simple steps, and you’ll be crushing your morning routine in no time!

Make your bed

Don’t tell my mom I said this, but she was totally onto something here. In his commencement speech at The University of Texas, Admiral William H. McRaven said this, “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task, and another, and another. And by the end of that day, one task completed will turn into many tasks completed.”

Exercise

Throughout your entire day, people are depending on you for something. In the morning, before others are up, may be your only chance for “me” time, especially if you are a parent, have a significant other, are employed, are a student… are human. A morning workout sesh is the perfect time to plan your day, set goals, and get yourself pumped up for a productive day. Not to mention the scientifically proven benefit of higher fat oxidation that can happen before brekkie and a more enhanced metabolism.

Eat breakfast

Speaking of brekkie, too many people skip it. And, no your Grande Mocha Frappuccino doesn’t count. Breakfast kickstarts your metabolism and provides the energy needed to start your day at peak performance.
Better focus ✓ More productive ✓ Delicious ✓

Goal Set

From your everyday tasks to big accomplishments, think about how you’ll complete them or make progress towards them and what tools, resources you’ll need. Set priorities and schedule out your day to ensure you’re committing enough time and focus to what needs to be done. Make a list, putting it in writing helps to solidify your commitment and helps to keep you accountable. Plus, being able to check things off the list is peak gratification. Here are some goal setting tips to help you get started.

Good and positive behavior is habit forming if done consistently. Start with just one of the actions and keep adding on until you’ve got all four. You’ll be healthier, more focused, more productive, more organized, and pulling back the covers of your well-made bed every night will be so satisfying.

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If you’re looking for a role, browse our current openings and apply today! We look forward to working with you.

While graduation might seem like a lifetime away, there’s a lot you can be doing now to help make the transition from college student to working professional easier and more successful. From internships to part-time jobs, building up a network, and identifying future career interests, junior year is a great time to start preparing for life after college.

Load up on professional experience

Internship and other professional opportunities for rising college graduates are usually plentiful but can have a competitive and challenging application process. Gaining professional experience prior to graduation requires an application process that can sometimes seem lengthy. If you haven’t already, now is a great time to start researching and applying to opportunities that are of interest to you and would provide useful professional experience. Think of these opportunities as a free trial of your future career. Try to find something that aligns to what you’d like to do after college to see if the experience strengthens your interest or makes you reevaluate your career path.

Professional experience doesn’t have to come in the form of an internship. From customer service to leadership and management to problem-solving skills, there’s a lot you can learn from part-time and summer positions in the retail, service, etc. industries. Just make sure you’re taking advantage of any opportunities that might arise or taking initiative to seek out and request opportunities.

Study Abroad

If you’re able to, a study abroad experience is far more than the opportunity to travel to and experience a new destination and culture. As the world becomes more interconnected, it’s imperative to understand how globalization affects people and business. Studying abroad provides the international experience many students lack when starting a career and provides an immersive education on engaging with others from different backgrounds and cultures. This is especially important when applying to positions with companies who have global, international footprints.

Identify career interests

Few students start college actually knowing what their career track will be. Many students change their mind and major throughout college. Take advantage of your school’s career development center to help you discover where your interests intersect with your skills and strengths. Having more direction now will help you to hit the ground running and be more focused and targeted in your career search upon graduation.

Build up your professional skills

Professionalism is a nebulous, overarching topic, including everything from appearance, communication style, attitude, work ethic and integrity, and competence. It’s a lot. Start honing your professional presence by attending networking events and observing others’ interactions and behaviors. Request informational interviews which will help you practice speaking with professionals and provide helpful insider insight into various organizations and professions. The more you can learn from can learn from successful professionals, the more prepared you’ll be for life after graduation.

For many, your final year is going to be a crush of activities and experiences, and you won’t want to miss out on a thing. Setting yourself up for success in the years leading up to your final semester helps lighten your load and gives you more time to prepare, practice, and perfect.

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Take a look at our current job openings and apply today! We look forward to connecting with you.

Tips on How to Find a Job Out of College

Are you wondering when and how to apply to your first job out of college? If you’re a first-year student, it might seem like an entire lifetime away—but really, graduation and getting your first post-collegiate job is just around the corner. After that, there’s so much waiting for you just beyond that symbolic toss of the graduation cap into the air.

Or you might be on the cusp of graduation, seeking full-time employment for the first time and seeing commencement grow increasingly closer.

This brings to mind an important question: When should you start applying for your first job out of college…and how can you apply to your first job in a way that sets you up for success?

How to apply to your first job

1. Give yourself time to apply

Determining when you start applying will depend on your experience and career interests. The job search process can be lengthy. Here’s what to expect:

• Practice interviews
• Company research
• Informational interviews
• Examining your social media presence
• Writing and perfecting your resume
• Submitting your application

Of course, that’s not including the interview process, but that’s a whole other blog post altogether. So, when you’re wondering when and how to find a job out of college, give yourself enough time to do it right. Start several months ahead of graduation; by the time you graduate, you’ll either be ready to start your new job or ready to take on the interview process.

2. Apply early and keep checking in with prospective employers

Those who’ve had a position or an internship in specialized industries such as finance, marketing, or analytics, might receive a full-time offer upon completion of their degree and might have a different apply path that’s determined by the employer.

For others trying to break into these fields, remember that these industries tend to be more competitive, and firms will hire early to secure the best talent. Applying early for these types of positions might give you a leg up, but check back on their career websites frequently so you don’t miss out on open opportunities.

3. Seek out hiring classes

Be aware of the different ways of how you can apply to your first job! Not all employers use the same hiring techniques. Some larger companies have hiring classes, hiring many college grads at the same time so they can go through orientation and onboarding together.

Research in advance to find out the best time to submit your application for these companies. These opportunities can be a great way to kickstart your career, as they build-in professional development programs tailored to recent college grads in entry-level positions.

(Helpful sidebar: Avenica recruits for these kinds of classes frequently, so if you haven’t already joined our network, now’s a great time. By joining, you’re essentially applying to all the positions Avenica matches for in your area all at one time. The perfect time to apply for one of our opportunities? Right now. We’re always accepting candidates! If we don’t have something perfect for you right now, we’ll keep you in mind should the right opportunity come up.)

When is the best time to apply for a job out of college?

In general, the closer you get to graduation (and of course, just after) is best for applying to jobs. One month to three months out is plenty of time since you don’t usually get immediate results and not every opportunity pans out. But just think of it as learning opportunities for you to gain experience and confidence with each application and interview.

If you see an exciting opportunity but are still finishing up your last semester, go ahead and apply for it! Most companies will understand that you won’t be available until you graduate, but they might appreciate your hustle and think you’re worth the wait. However, applying too early in your final year, when you still have much of the school year left to go, might be a waste of time. Employers usually won’t want to wait quite that long.

Many companies hire on an as-needed basis, so their job postings may be sporadic. If you’re not seeing immediate matches for your skillset, don’t be deterred; job opportunities fluctuate just about as often as fashion trends.

And it’s Avenica’s job to keep you updated on these trends. If you need help finding or applying for your next career, join our network of job seekers and get help finding your first job out of college.

 

About Avenica

Through conversation, high-impact coaching, and best-in-class support, we translate and meet the needs of our client partners by identifying and transforming potential into high-performing professionals. At Avenica, we are working from the inside out to embrace diverse thought and perspectives while actively working to dismantle systems of oppression and implicit bias. With a deeply-held belief in human potential, we transform lives and enable organizations to achieve new heights.

If you’re interested in partnering with us to develop or hire your workforce, let’s talk. If you’re a job seeker, please apply now!

So, you’ve landed your first professional job out of college – congrats! With the relief of job searching coming to an end, it can feel like the hard work of setting a good impression and showcasing your strengths is behind you. But in many ways, this work is just beginning. Beyond excelling at your day-to-day job, there are a number of ways to continue to set a good impression with your boss and colleagues. Here are five ways to navigate the professional world like a pro:

1. Dress to impress
   Just because you saw one of your co-workers wear a hoodie to work last Friday, does not make it the new normal. While dress codes may vary, seek to dress on the more professional side and take pride in a well-maintained physical appearance. Not sure what to wear? Good rule to follow is that it is always better to be over-dressed then under-dressed!
2. Keep your social media clean
   Your online persona is just as important as your workplace behavior and can go a long way to show maturity. Regardless of privacy settings, you should assume that anything posted online is public information. From photos to opinionated posts, only share what you’d be comfortable sharing with your boss and/or the senior leaders at your company.
3. Approach your work with humility
   Some of the most attractive qualities in a new hire are the eagerness to learn, the openness to assist outside of the job description, and a willingness to do typical entry-level work (aka “grunt work”). Aim to be resourceful, but don’t be afraid to admit when you don’t know the answer. Offering to pitch in on projects or tasks that are outside of your job description—as long as you are getting your assigned work done—is a great way to offer added value. Also, recognize that some of the work you may do won’t be glamorous, but that can be the nature of entry-level jobs; keep a positive attitude, and before long, you may be managing the person doing that work!
4. Drink responsibly
   Navigating your first corporate happy hour can be exciting, but it’s important to remember that you’re not at the pub with your friends. Regardless of what your other co-workers are doing, limit your alcohol intake to what you can stay in control of and responsible for.
5. Keep your emotions in check
   With most jobs come with a certain level of pressure, uncertainty and even conflict. Keeping your emotions in check is a sign of maturity and responsibility. Confide in friends and family when you find yourself getting emotional, but stay committed to keeping your composure in a work setting.

Although the initial, formal interview process is over, you are now informally interviewing for your first promotion. Be yourself, but recognize that your interactions (at all levels of the company) are making an impression and impacting your future prospects within the company. When in doubt, look to role models and professionals above you who are well respected to emulate their behavior and/or seek mentorship and advice.

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About Avenica

Through conversation, high-impact coaching, and best-in-class support, we translate and meet the needs of our client partners by identifying and transforming potential into high-performing professionals. At Avenica, we are working from the inside out to embrace diverse thought and perspectives while actively working to dismantle systems of oppression and implicit bias. With a deeply-held belief in human potential, we transform lives and enable organizations to achieve new heights.

If you’re interested in partnering with us to develop or hire your workforce, let’s talk. If you’re a job seeker, please apply now!