With all the doom and gloom in the headlines you'd think there would be a line wrapped around the college placement office with soon-to-be grads. Not so, according to the director of college placement for a major university. I asked her if parents were calling to ask what the placement office was going to do for their off-spring. Nope!
So here's what I'm thinking. Parents believe their children are diligently looking for work as graduation nears. Yup, just like they are back in their dorms by 10 PM every night…alone. And the kids believe that they'll easily find a job after they come back from Europe this summer, just like their friends, who graduated last year. You know the ones who have recently boomeranged back home after losing their jobs.
This is your wake-up call. If you haven't stumbled into the placement office this year then put your running shoes on and get your tush in there. It's very unlikely that you are going to find a job hanging out in your dorm room nor will there be a huge rush of openings come this summer. You've got a lot of catching up to do, so don't delay.
Now this part of the message is for the parents. Don't assume your children know how to find work. Nor should you assume the placement office will be able to place your child, particularly if they've never met him or her. It's going to take a village to get your kid employed this year. So do what you can to help them now, before it's too late.
