Graduating Without a Job Offer?

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So you’re counting down the days until graduation.  Marking each day off of the calendar.  Although there is definitely the excitement of closing a significant chapter, for some there may be a bit of anxiety about the unknown and what lies ahead.  Particularly for those graduates who may not have received a job offer and feel like everyone has an offer or plan except for them.  Here are a few actions you can take to help your situation. 

Follow Up On Prior Interviews

Start by following up on your prior interviews.  Don’t assume that because you didn’t hear back from the interviewer that you aren’t perhaps still in “play” for a position.  A simple email, I suggest you attach your resume, reiterating your interest in working for their company and asking for an update will suffice.  Depending upon their scope of responsibility, a recruiter may meet with a ton of candidates; it never hurts to remind them that you’re out there.  Perhaps the opportunity you originally met with them about was filled, but there is always the possibility that they can consider you for a different role. 

Spend time on LinkedIn

Take a few minutes and update your LinkedIn profile.  Be sure it now reflects the degree you’ve obtained and any other special skills or experiences.  LinkedIn shares the changes you’ve made to those in your network, so this is a great way to put yourself out there and in the forefront of your professional connections. 

I have to tell you that I love this feature and look forward to seeing what the graduates in my network are doing now and if there is the possibility that they could eventually fill an opportunity at our company.

While you’re on LinkedIn, take a look at the connections of your parents, professors, advisors, and mentors.  Is there someone they’re connected to that could possibly assist you with obtaining position in your ideal industry?  If so, ask for an introduction!  You may be surprised where a simple LinkedIn connection leads!

Alumni and Career Services

Another resource to explore would be your school’s career services team.  Don’t assume that just because the semester is ending that all jobs are filled.  Company representatives are inclined to reach out to career services with their last minute openings.  Career Services can also connect you with school alumni in your prospective field as well. 

Don’t Panic

You are surely not alone in this situation.  Don’t panic, the last thing you need is additional pressure on yourself.  The same focus that you’ve used to obtain your college degree now needs to be turned to obtaining that first position to launch your career.  You can do it! 

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Commit to Thrive: State College

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This month, with fellow members of the Eta Sigma Delta Penn State Chapter, I spent time visiting residents of a university-based, life care retirement community in State College, Pennsylvania called The Village.  At least 10% of the residents are Penn State alumni or retired faculty.

A large portion of our visit was spent playing bingo with the residents.  Bingo is an activity that many residents look forward to playing in their free time and it definitely can get competitive.  When we would help the residents with their bingo board, they were so grateful for our assistance.

The time we spent at The Village showed us that simply by spending time one on one with a person, you can make a difference in their day.  It was really sweet to see how much they all appreciated us being there.

Hyatt Thrive’s Global Month of Community Service is focused on all of us making a difference in the communities that we call home.  State College has been home for me during my time at Penn State.  It was great to give back to members of my own community!

 

 About the Author

Shawna Kim is a graduating senior at Pennsylvania State University.  A current Hyatt Ambassador, she promotes Hyatt opportunities on Penn State’s campus and will start the Corporate Management Training program in June 2013.

 

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Commit to Thrive: Florida

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Relay for Life is a global event that brings the community together for one night to celebrate cancer survivors, honor and remember those we have lost to cancer, and raise money for cancer research.

This event is very close to my heart. My grandmother lost her life to breast cancer when my mother was fourteen years old. Growing up without a mom is unimaginable to me. I cannot fathom what my mother went through during the fundamental stages of her youth.

Seven years ago, near my fourteenth birthday, my mother, too, had traces of breast cancer. She explained to me how she was a fighter and assured me that cancer had no chance against her. My mother is a survivor because of breast cancer awareness, cancer research, and simply because she’s the toughest, strongest woman I know. I walk for her, my grandmother, and for others with stories like my own.

I couldn’t have been prouder to participate in Relay for Life this year as a Hyatt Campus Ambassador at Florida State University.  Not only did I raise money for the American Cancer Society, by taking Hyatt’s pledge, Hyatt will donate a book to a child in need as well.  You can learn more about Hyatt Thrive’s Global Month of Service and how you can participate by visiting hyattthrive.com

 

 

About the Author

Simi Chandiramani is a graduating senior at Florida State University.  A former Hyatt Intern, she is the Hyatt Ambassador on campus and will be pursing opportunities with Hyatt upon graduation.

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Consider the Total Compensation Package

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I am aware that my friends and I are getting older. I am not sure when it happened, but I came to the realization during a conversation with one of my best friends. She was talking about how close she is to becoming fully vested, and what this means for her financial future. Vesting and retirement funds aren’t exactly the main topics of conversation for soon to be college graduates, but, when you are evaluating an offer, you need to consider more than just salary.

Retirement Benefits

I joined Hyatt Corporation almost thirteen years ago. At the time, I was more focused on having fun and furnishing my first adult apartment; retirement was far from my mind. Luckily, the hotel’s Benefits Manager encouraged me to start saving for my retirement right away. Considering the fact that the company offered a match on my contribution, I would essentially be walking away from “free” money by choosing not to participate.

Some benefits may not seem important right now, but as your priorities change, they may have more value.   Does your potential employer offer incentives for you to start saving early for your retirement?  Is there a match or employer contribution on your behalf?  How long do you have to work with them before you’re fully vested?  These are all factors that you should consider when comparing offers. Today, I’m thankful that I started saving for my retirement right away.

Health Insurance & Paid Time Off

It is likely that you will remain on a parent’s insurance after graduation. However, health insurance is another important benefit to consider, as well as paid time off if you’re sick or want to take a vacation. It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of receiving an offer, but the time you are allotted to make a decision should be used to evaluate the various benefits that come with your offer.

Lunches, Parking, Dry Cleaning

Consider the little expenses that can quickly add up. For example, the cost of lunch or parking each day, and the cost to dry clean or purchase a professional wardrobe. Make sure to keep in mind the location of your job. A work site that is close to your home will cut down on the cost of commuting each day. Ask your employer if he or she offers discounts or reduced fees for these types of things. If they do, factor the cost of the expense and the savings you will potentially receive (this is basically additional money in your paycheck).

At Hyatt, employees of our full-service hotels receive free or reduced meals. If you are assigned a cost of $5 per day for lunch and work 5 days each week you will save bout $25 per week or $100 per month!

Remember, evaluating an offer is about more than just salary. You have to broaden your focus and consider the total compensation package!

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Commit to Thrive: North Carolina

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I took Hyatt’s pledge and volunteered at the Humane Society of Eastern North Carolina.  Although this location is in Greenville, North Carolina, the Humane Society has existed since 1920 and each shelter adopts out 350-400 animals per year.  As a student at East Carolina University, Greenville is home for me most of the year. I chose to volunteer with the Humane Society because I absolutely adore animals. I want the animals at the shelter to feel just as loved as animals with permanent homes.

As a volunteer, my responsibilities include sanitizing the runs, feeding, watering, walking, and playing with the animals. Volunteering at the Humane Society is something I really enjoy doing. Even though I am sad to see them go, it is always a good feeling when an animal is adopted.

Although I’m a member of the Hyatt family, anyone can take Hyatt’s pledge and participate in Hyatt Thrive’s Global Month of Community Service.  For each pledge that is taken by April 30th, Hyatt will donate a book, up to 35,000 books, to a child in need.  For more information on how you can participate, visit www.hyattthrive.com.

 

 

About the Author

Mary Youngblood is currently a junior at East Carolina University.  A Campus Ambassador, she represents Hyatt and promotes our college programs on ECU’s campus.

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How to Dress for the Job You Want

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Over the course of my career, I have interviewed applicants wearing business suits, jeans, and even one wearing a bikini top and shorts (It was Florida, what can I say!). Hopefully, you will agree that I know a thing or two about interviews and will trust me when I say that the clothes you choose to wear to an interview can set the stage for your success.

 

Staging

Consider a person who is attempting to sell their home: One recommendation that is often made is to clear the clutter and “stage” the home so that prospective buyers can easily imagine living there. This allows the potential buyer to not get distracted by obtrusive wall colors or outrageous décor.

During an interview, your recruiter is imagining how well you’ll fit into their brand. Therefore, a similar approach should be made when selecting clothing for an interview. You should wear clothing and colors that support your brand, not distract from it.

It is crucial that, when selecting the outfit you’re going to wear to your interview, you need to consider your prospective company’s brand as well. Ask yourself: ”What are the words that you would use to describe their brand?” If they are a bit more chic and trendy, you can accommodate your suit in your clothing selection. Just be sure to recognize that just because something is fashionable it does not mean it’s professional.

Fashion Hiccups

In my current role, the bulk of my interviews are with current college students or recent college graduates. I think gentlemen have an easier time when it comes to attire. They wear a suit, a shirt, and a tie. Women, on the other hand, have more options when it comes to choosing an outfit which can lead to “fashion hiccups.” It is essential that you do a “dry run” of your selected outfit. Does the hemline rise a bit too high when you sit down? Do the shirt buttons gap or does the neckline fall too low? Solicit the opinions of others, but make sure those you ask are honest and aware that this is the outfit that you’re wearing to an interview.

 

Polish and Piercings

Lastly, remember the details. Take out the visible piercings depending upon the prospective company (gentlemen may want to remove their earrings). Don’t forget to polish your shoes, that’s a detail often overlooked. When it comes to nail polish, it’s either “all on or all off”, chipped and peeling polish never looks good. Proceed with caution when it comes to nail art or “accent” nails.

Although, you may feel like your interview outfit is boring, or does not completely reflect your personality, consider the adage, “dress for the job you want, not the job you have.”

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How I Can Tell You’re Not Prepared

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I’m a huge proponent of preparing for an interview. I advocate researching the perspective company, creating a set questions, and, if possible, connecting with the recruiter via LinkedIn prior to the interview. Nevertheless, there will still be those individuals who choose to “wing it,” and go into the situation unprepared. As a recruiter, I can easily tell when a candidate has not properly prepared for the interview. Here’s how:

You Can’t Explain Why You Want to Work Here

It starts with the explanation of why you want to work for the company. I typically ask this question when interviewing candidates for Hyatt’s college programs.  Although responses vary, basic answers such as, “I’ve stayed in Hyatt Hotels as a child,” and “You’re a hotel company, a leader in the industry.” is an instant giveaway.  Also if your response focuses solely on information from a recent press release, then I will likely assume that you did a simple search and honed in on the first link that came up on Google.

If you cannot properly explain or elaborate on why you want to work for the company, your recruiter may doubt your intentions and question how seriously you take your career search.

You Ask Poor Questions

I am sure there is a sense of relief once you get to the Q& A portion of an interview, but this is not the time to relax. In fact, you should be more alert than ever. The quality of the questions you ask at the conclusion of the interview will indicate your level of preparation, and whether you leave the recruiter with a favorable impression. If you have trouble coming up with questions to ask, or do not ask any questions at all, I will likely feel that you are unprepared and are not serious about pursuing a career with our company.

You’re Late

Lastly, if you show up to the interview late or appear tired/disheveled, the recruiter will assume that you have poor time management skills. I certainly will.

Remember, it is important as a candidate to:

  • Be ready for an interview by articulating the specific reasons why you want to join an organization.
  • Be knowledgeable about the company. Ask questions that demonstrate your knowledge and reflect that you have done research.
  • Be a few minutes early for the interview, ensure that you are well-rested, and, most importantly, PREPARED.

 

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Best Friends at Work

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Each year, Hyatt associates complete the Gallup Organization’s 12 question survey regarding their satisfaction at work and with the work environment.  In fact last year, Hyatt was named a recipient of the 2012 Gallup Great Workplace Award. This annual award recognizes the best-performing workforces in the world, and Hyatt was chosen for its ability to create an engaged workplace culture.  (http://www.hyattpressroom.com/hyatt/en/news_releases0/2012/hyatt-selected-for-2012-gallup-great-workplace-award.html)

One of the questions on the survey is “Do you have a best friend at work?”.  When the employee engagement survey comes around every year I always have a hard time explaining the meaning of a “work best friend” to my staff. I spend a lot of time explaining that it doesn’t mean your life long best friend is by your side every day, but that you have someone you can confide in or have a meaningful conversation during your day at work.  I then move onto the line of questioning about who they consider their best friends and what made them earn that title. Every time I have the conversation about this, it sends me into a retrospective about my past.

I am lucky enough to have found a work best friend in every hotel and in every city I have worked in over the last four years. My first hotel was a special place and from it came a few work best friends and mentors. I am over the moon excited that one of those DC work best friends just accepted a job at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort. I will be back in driving distance to someone who has gone from a work best friend to an actual best friend over the past 4 years.

 

In the wise words of Chef Tom, another work best friend “I am putting a new band together in Texas.” Every new city it’s a new band with new band members and it’s always an exciting time finding those friends and those people who will make your experiences while you are at your current hotel.  On Saturday, I get to play tourist and go show Ryan around his new city and explain that “yes the Alamo is that small” and “you cannot go swimming in the river walk,” much like someone did for me when I first got here.  I might have a few new work best friends here in Texas, but it is always great to have an old one come back into your life.

So do you have a best friend at work? Do you have someone at work that will stand by your side when you need someone to lean on?  I am a firm believer that sometimes you need to make it happen. Get out there, don’t wait for the invite to happy hour, be the host. Make a point to make friends and before you know it you will have a “Band” around you to be there when you fall or when you just need a “person.”

About the Author
Samantha Konner started her Hyatt career as a Corporate Management Trainee.  A frequent guest blogger, she is currently a Food & Beverage Manager at a Hyatt property in San Antonio, Texas.  
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Representing Hyatt at the Women’s Forum in Deauville, France

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Priscilla Guasso, current Diversity & Inclusion Coordinator, is the guest blogger for this piece focused on her current travels for Hyatt.

If after graduating from my alma matter, good old University of Illinois in Champaign, IL, I was asked to describe where I would be today, I could have seen myself answering something along the lines of “hopefully doing something that I truly enjoy and have a passion for.”

I started with Hyatt over 6 years ago, how I got in the door will have to be a blog for another day! My career thus far has allowed me the opportunity to explore my passion for making an impact in peoples lives and meeting amazing individuals along my travels.  So what is this mystery job?  I proudly serve as Hyatt’s diversity and inclusion coordinator, a job that entails representing Hyatt at various conferences and events with the purpose of networking with many companies and bringing back best practices to further assist Hyatt in achieving our goal of being the most preferred brand for our associates.  More specifically, I helped develop our Diversity & Inclusion framework and closely follow the impact we are making around our Workforce, Workplace and Marketplace for women, various ethnicities, generations, LGBT, and people with disabilities.

Just this past year from July thru December I averaged 2-3 trips per month attending various conferences around the world.  My most memorable trip during that time was when I was asked to represent Hyatt at the Women’s Forum in Deauville, France.  As you can imagine I was not only excited to be in Paris for the first time ever, but even more excited to have the opportunity to be amongst 900+ influential women from around the world.  The Women’s Forum is a place where both men and women come together once a year in Deauville to empower women to make their voices heard and to impress upon the international business community that with everyone’s commitment we can tip the balance for a world that resembles our growing demographics.

For three whole days I had the opportunity to hear panelists ranging from female CEOs and executives, to entrepreneurs and writers from around the world.  They had a plethora of advice on what companies and organizations can or should be doing in the workforce and workplace to create more opportunity of advancement for women at all levels.  It also better prepared my colleagues and I to take a step back and evaluate what we are doing at Hyatt to recruit, retain and develop our own associates.  So many ideas stemmed from this trip, including the global expansion of our Women’s employee network group.

While attending the conference was inspiring both on a personal and professional level, also having the opportunity to meet a number of my colleagues that work out of Paris was insightful.  In speaking with them I learned that while we may see so far away from each other, our company culture and values honestly stay the same.  The entire time I felt as if I was traveling with colleagues I had known for a long time, when in actuality we had just met 3 days ago.

This trip taught me a number of lessons, one for instance, how to be a saavy luggage packer.  But in all honesty my best advice to anyone that goes to conferences would be to network with as many people as possible!  While I have a number of mentors that I tap into for advice, I met two people within my travels that I’ve stayed very close in contact with (one is from Germany!) and they have given me some great personal and career advice!

I look forward to being a guest blogger again and having the opportunity to share more about my adventures with recently joining the National Hispanic Corporate Council board and my trip to Brazil in June for the Women’s Forum!

Dream big and happy travels!

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You’ve Heard It Before…..Never Burn Bridges

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“Never burn bridges” is probably one of the oldest pieces of professional advice. Without a doubt this advice has been given and received countless times, and although so simple, it’s timeless advice, that is so true even today.

Six Degrees of Separation

During my career with Hyatt, I’ve worked with a number of individuals and worked for multiple directors and general managers.  Although I’ve moved on from their teams, I’ve always tried to leave the relationship on a positive note.  One of the reasons why is because I recognize that although Hyatt has over 80,000 employees, we’re all in some way connected. It’s pretty likely that I will work with an individual again, or perhaps they will be the person someone calls for feedback on what it was like to work with me.

Respect at All Levels

It’s shortsighted for us to think that the individuals in our life today won’t possibly pop up further down the road, which is why I’m an advocate of respect at all levels.  It doesn’t matter the role a person is currently in or how connected they appear to be to your future.  Treating someone with respect, saying hello when you pass a person in the hallway or on campus, learning an individual’s name, is always a good idea.  It makes it easier when you are later paired to work with them on a group project or have to reach out to them for assistance.

Every Goodbye Isn’t Final

Each day we make decisions, sometimes our decisions are small, such as what to have for lunch, and other times our decisions are much larger.  Ultimately, the decisions we make and how we handle those decisions may come back to haunt us.  One of the students I recruited two years ago learned this lesson firsthand.  Due to situations in his personal life, he needed to move closer to his hometown.  Ideally he wanted to transfer to another location within our company, but because there weren’t any immediate openings, he chose to resign and pursue other options.  One of those options was a company that he interviewed with while he was in college.

He had come pretty close to receiving an offer from them and he thought for sure that it would be easy for him to reestablish the relationships he formed within the organization.  There was just one problem.  When he accepted the offer to work for us, he ended all communication with this other organization and didn’t let them know that he had accepted a job offer. Instead he just ignored their calls and essentially decided to “burn a bridge.”

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