By Jessica Kleiman, Forbes.com
Special to Online Career Tips
This past weekend, I had the great honor of giving the commencement speech for the Communication Studies Department at my alma mater, University of Michigan. As EVP, communications for a multiplatform media company, I was considered successful enough to be invited back to share my knowledge and advice with the 1,000 people who filled Ann Arbor’s ornate Michigan Theater, including 200 graduates, excited, yet fearful, to enter a very challenging post-college job market. I wanted them to understand that success might not come so easily this time around, and that they had to be willing (and able) to not only pay their dues, but also take a job that might not fit what they thought they’d do.
As co-author of the book, “Be Your Own Best Publicist: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Hired and Rewarded at Work,” I try to help people–from recent college grads to those in the midst of their careers–stand out in a crowded marketplace. Here is an excerpt from my address so other graduates (as well as their parents and future employers) can benefit from the advice I doled out.
The day I graduated from UM in 1995, our commencement speaker was Marion Wright Edelman, head of the Children’s Defense Fund. I seem to remember that her speech was probably more serious than funny but, beyond that, not much else. So unless you plan to go back years from now and re-watch my speech on video—trust me, if I haven’t watched my wedding video in 10 years of marriage, it’s unlikely—you are probably not going to remember much of what I say today.
However, studies say that we retain 8 percent of what we learn so, on the off chance that you recall part of what I have to share today – all I ask is that you remember two important things once you leave Ann Arbor for the larger world: WORK HARD and BE FLEXIBLE.
I’ve always believed in working hard. From a young age, I couldn’t wait to launch a career, whether it was selling handmade greeting cards in second grade or hawking my bedazzled sailor hats in sixth grade—those didn’t sell very well, by the way. Go figure.
By ninth grade, I’d gotten a real job, as supervisor of the local frozen yogurt shop. A year later, I was recruited by the owner of the Haagen Dazs across town, clearly an attractive candidate for my deep experience in the frozen dessert sector.
Here in Ann Arbor, I was hostess at a long-gone bar on South U., worked at a store that sold Greek stuff to the sorority and fraternity set, and—in probably my worst job ever—was a floater at the Mongolian BBQ on Main Street, where I rotated between washing dishes and filling up the buffet with raw meat. It’s a wonder I’m not a vegetarian.
During the summer, I interned at a teen magazine and a record company. Junior year, I worked part-time at a local PR firm, while simultaneously holding down two waitressing jobs to try to pay off my credit card debt from a semester spent in London.
But, for me, it was never just about making money. I was working hard in other areas as well. I desperately wanted to be a journalist and was thrilled when, senior year, I had several pieces published in national magazines, including a feature in the now-defunct teen magazine, YM. The story, called “Diary of a College Weekend,” was about my exploits as a student here and featured photos of my friends and me at frat parties, tailgating before a football game and even partying at Rick’s. Nowadays, those pictures would have been posted on Facebook and Instagram immediately instead of being published six months after they were taken. But, if you ever unearth a copy of that article, don’t believe a word of it. I never drank underage and I never used a fake ID. Really.
You’d think that with all that experience, I would have landed a job immediately after graduation, right? I mean, I basically had 87 jobs before earning my college degree. And what’s more, that degree was from University of Michigan! I thought a magazine would snap me up as an editorial assistant, which is what I really wanted to do. But, alas, in a job market that wasn’t much better than this one, finding my dream job proved elusive.
After a few months of interviews, I still didn’t have any offers, so I decided to explore a different route and landed a job doing magazine publicity, hoping that I’d meet lots of people who could help me get an editorial position.
But something funny happened: I learned that I loved public relations and that I could continue freelancing for magazines, websites and newspapers on the side, fueling my passion for creative writing.
My career has taken me in many different directions but always in communications, true to my major here—from a boutique PR firm to a dot-com startup to major media companies. And over the course of nearly 20 years, I’ve learned some key takeaways that have helped me succeed. In fact, I even wrote a book about them and, today, I’m going to share those lessons with you:
Be Resourceful. After four years of college, I’m sure you’ve gotten very good at doing research. Your quest for information shouldn’t end once your studies do. The real world is also a university—and those of you who have a thirst for knowledge are the ones who will excel. When you go on job interviews or informational meetings, don’t go in without learning about the person or his company beforehand. It sounds obvious, but you wouldn’t believe how many people I interviewed during my time at Hearst who had no idea what magazines we published. All it would have taken was a look at the company’s website. With resources like Google and Wikipedia, finding information is a heck of a lot easier than when I graduated.
In those pre-Internet days when the late great Borders was still booming, I bought an internship guide at an actual bookstore and researched agencies that seemed like a good fit. Luckily, one of them hired me and that job launched my PR career. Which leads to my next point…
Always Have A Plan—And A Backup Plan. I fell into public relations because, honestly, I needed a job to pay back my student loans—you in-state students do not know how good you have it! I never imagined that I could make a successful career in PR. In fact, I had so little knowledge about the industry, I didn’t even know how to write a press release. At my first agency, since I couldn’t Google a sample release to see how to do it, I put someone else’s name as a media contact instead of my own. My boss probably thought I was a complete moron…but I learned, got better and quickly excelled.
Whether or not you have a clear map of where you want to go or what you want to do, don’t get too stuck on it, because life sometimes has a way of taking you off course. LET IT. Leave yourself open to new opportunities and possibilities, and you could end up discovering what you were really meant to do.
Network Hard. The bigger your circle is, the more opportunities it will create. In this era of social networking, connecting with people is easy, everywhere from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn. Start with UM alumni–like many of my classmates, I’m far more likely to connect with or interview a fellow Wolverine than someone random (especially if they went to Ohio State or Michigan State).
This university has an incredibly passionate and powerful alumni network and many cities have great alumni associations—join them, go to events and leverage the built-in connection you already have with so many successful graduates. And don’t just rely on the Internet. It can be a great tool for expanding your connections, but there’s nothing like face-to-face interaction in developing genuine relationships that will help you down the line.
Check Your Work—Twice! We all make mistakes, but do everything you can to avoid them when you’re trying to get a job or impress someone. True story: I once received an email from a potential candidate who wrote she was “interested in a job in PUBIC RELATIONS.” Clearly, a very different line of work. And needless to say, I did not hire her. Case in point: Spell-check isn’t enough. Don’t be careless. Have someone you trust review your cover letter and resume before you send it. Or put it aside for a day or two and then re-read it…aloud. It will help you catch errors you might otherwise miss.
Go The Extra Mile. I mean this both literally and figuratively. Not everyone can afford to move to a big city like New York or Chicago after graduation, particularly with no job. I was lucky enough to have grown up in a suburb of New York, where I could live at home and commute into the city. It took me seven months to save enough to rent an apartment with a friend. If you have the option to do what I did, take it. But, if you do move home, make it temporary—right, Mom and Dad?
Say you want to live somewhere that isn’t near your hometown. Be willing to visit for a week or two, lining up interviews and informational meetings in advance so you can crash on a cousin’s couch and meet with people who may be able to help you land a job.
And, if you’re set on moving somewhere right away, do whatever it takes to make ends meet while you search for full-time employment. Babysit, work at Starbucks, offer to freelance if there’s no permanent position available where you want to work. When I watch HBO’s “Girls”, it brings me back to the days of making next to nothing and living in Manhattan from paycheck to paycheck. But somehow I made it happen—and you can too.
When you do get hired, go above and beyond the job description. Come in early, stay late. Offer to pick up additional projects and take work off your boss’s plate. Put in the time and the effort to make yourself valuable and indispensable.
And…Lastly, Gratification Isn’t Always Instant. You’ve grown up in a world where information travels at the speed of light…where someone like Larry Page can graduate from the UM and start a little company called Google, becoming a multibillionaire seemingly oversight…and where young people jump from job to job with no sense of the long-term career investment or loyalty that their parents’ generation had.
Your age group is often referred to as the Trophy Generation, where everyone gets a trophy just for showing up. According to a recent survey, more than 85% of hiring managers and HR executives said they feel that Millennials have a stronger sense of entitlement than older workers. I’m here to say that YOU can prove that stereotype wrong—and it’s not that difficult to do.
I’ve managed tons of young people and I notice that many recent college grads are impatient and need to be rewarded quickly and often. I understand, I really do—even I get annoyed if I text someone and they haven’t responded within two minutes. But as the famous phrase goes, “Rome wasn’t built in a day” and knowing that success doesn’t always happen overnight is really important. Only with time comes experience. That—coupled with finding mentors you can learn from—will help you reach that next level when it’s the right moment.
During my time at Hearst, I had the great honor of knowing the legendary editor in chief of Cosmopolitan, Helen Gurley Brown, who passed away last year at the age of 90 after an amazingly long and successful career. She had a lot of great quotes but this one is my favorite, because it’s true—and truly timeless: “The only thing that separates successful people from the ones who aren’t is the willingness to work very, very hard.”
I know that you’ve all done that during your time in Ann Arbor. I also know that you’re smart, talented, creative and eager to start the next chapter of your life. I absolutely loved my four years here—the friends I made, the classes I took, those rare warm days on the Diag —but life after college is rewarding and amazing as well, I promise you. And, Class of 2013: You are going to RULE the world.
Thank you for letting me share this special day—while you might not remember me, I most certainly will remember you.
Congratulations on the HUGE accomplishment of graduating from this great university.”
To all 2013 college graduates–no matter what university–I wish you luck and much success as you enter the real world. And to the parents, I hope your twenty-something children don’t move back in for too long!
What advice do you have for graduates? Share here or with me on Facebook or Twitter (@jessicakleiman or @bestpublicist).
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