Congrats on your child’s recent graduation.
You were probably fortunate enough to hear a great commencement speaker at a college graduation. Robert De Niro, Maya Rudolph, Jon Bon Jovi, the Obama’s, and Flo from the Progressive Insurance Commercials were all commencement speakers this graduation season. They probably told their young audiences that opportunities were limitless, the world was your oyster, and to follow your passion. But did they tell them how?
When they move to their new home or return to your home, the boxes will still be unpacked. They are going to need to know how to identify and leverage those limitless opportunities that they heard about at their commencement, and you are going to need to know how to help them.
When David encountered Goliath there were many things he did not have. He did not have an Uzi, a tank, or a heat-seeking rocket. What he did have in his hands was a slingshot. And the rest you could say was history. That stone in the slingshot hit Goliath and it felled him. And David went on to become the King of Israel.
As the parent of a recent graduate you will want to help them look at what they have in their hands. We tend to look at what we don’t have. In this case they don’t have experience. They have in their hands what they need to begin their professional career. They need to learn how to talk about what is in their hands: what is in their hands, their heart, and their mind.
There will always be competition. What one person has in their hands is different than what another has in their hands.
GUIDE FOR RECENT GRADUATES:
1.You need to correctly identify what is in your hands. You have a fresh perspective, energy and enthusiasm. Do not underestimate these qualities. You do not have a wealth of experience or expertise. Here is the catch. By the time you have experience you will have given up some of your energy and enthusiasm. So embrace your qualities and believe that a company would be lucky enough to have you on their team.
2.You need to learn how to talk about what is in your hands, your heart and your mind. Do not expect others to know or value what you can’t talk about. Learn to say out loud the qualities you bring AND why they will benefit a company. The more you can connect the dots for the interviewer, the more the dots will lead to you.
3.You need to protect what is in your hands. Your value is a special gift and you need to protect it. If you received the new Apple watch as a graduation gift, you would take care of it. That is what you need to do with your value. You protect your value by what you put, or don’t put on Facebook, in all social media, by what you put in an email, by sending a snail mail thank you note, by dressing for the job you want, by arriving early to your interview, and a myriad of ways that have little to do with experience or even brilliance.
You Are David. You have all the gifts you need in your hands to slay your competition and land your first job. When you can identify and talk about your value those possibilities will be endless.
HANG IN THEIR PARENTS: Sooner or later their bedroom will be empty again.
Read more posts by Leslie Ungar here. Leslie blogs for JenningsWire.
The online feature magazine, JenningsWire.com, is created by National PR Firm, Annie Jennings PR that specializes in providing book promotion services to self-published and traditionally published authors. Annie Jennings PR books authors, speakers and experts on major high impact radio talk interview shows, on local, regionally syndicated and national TV shows and on influential online media outlets and in prestigious print magazines and newspapers across the country.