10 Best Career Advice Tips for College Grads From Dan Schawbel

Dan Schawbel

One of the greatest advocates and experts on Gen Y is Dan Schawbel. For those who work with members of Gen Y (also known as Millennials), Dan’s blog, books, presentations, and other communications are great sources of information.

Dan published a great blog article yesterday that first summarized the tough job market for many recent graduates of colleges and universities and then listed 10 things new graduates should do to get ahead in their careers along with some details about each.

As well stated by Dan, “The job market is still tough for more graduates, unless you’re an in-demand engineer or accountant. Two-thirds of college students have debt and 39 percent live with their parents. In 2012, 284,000 students graduated into minimum wage jobs, according to the Wall Street Journal. Companies only expect to hire 2.1 percent more graduates this year than they did in 2012 and 66 percent of recruiters believe that college graduates aren’t prepared for the working world. Although there are clear obstacles to finding work, there are also a lot of big opportunities that students can take advantage of.”

Dan’s top 10 list of things new graduates should do were:

1. Think of your career as a series of experiences.
2. Don’t settle for a job you’re not passionate about.
3. Focus on making a big impact immediately.
4. Take risks early and often in your career.
5. Spend more time with people than with your laptop.
6. Measure your work outcomes and build case studies.
7. Sacrifice today to position yourself for tomorrow.
8. Start your own website to centralize your work profile.
9. Travel as much as you can, while learning about cultures and languages. 
10. Locate mentors who live your desired lifestyle.