Why Aren’t More College Students Using LinkedIn?
April 6, 2010
Last time I spoke at a college Accounting Club, I asked for a show of hands from people who had a LinkedIn profile. The few people who raised their hands were all students who had obtained one degree, worked for a while, and were returning to school to get additional Accounting credits. Very few of the new college students raised their hands, and I think that’s a big mistake.
Why would you want a LinkedIn profile? Here’s a couple of reasons:
- If a potential employer searches your name using Google, what will they find? If a professional LinkedIn result shows near the top of the list they are very likely to look at it, vs. some other search results you may not be as proud of. The applicant tracking system I use even has a built in feature to search for candidates on LinkedIn.
- LinkedIn has more than 60 million users who could one day become your customers, your competitors, your co-workers, or your boss. College classmates are people that you want to stay connected with and follow their career. Don’t wait five or ten years after you have graduated and suddenly start trying to connect with former classmates. Make life easier on yourself and do it now.
- So much of the advice given to college students around social networking is focused on the “don’ts”…Don’t put compromising pictures of yourself on Facebook, don’t Twitter that you’re playing hooky from school or work. Instead, use sites like LinkedIn to explore the positive sides of social networking and begin building your network now.
LinkedIn has produced a short, informative video called the LinkedIn College Grads guide. Take a look to learn even more about how you can use LinkedIn to build your professional profile online. http://grads.linkedin.com/
Seattle Ranks No. 9 Best City for Young Adults
March 31, 2010
We’re No. 9…Again! Seattle ranked No. 9 Best City for Young Adults in the latest portfolio.com / bizjournals study. You may recall the earlier post where the Accounting profession ranked No. 9 in a Top Jobs report. Apparently it’s our winning number.
Here’s what they had to say about Seattle in the article Young in the City.
9. Seattle: This high-tech metro offers a wide range of good-paying jobs. Seattle ranks among the 10 markets with the largest per capita incomes ($50,471) and smallest unemployment rates for young adults.
In case you were wondering, Number 1 was Austin, TX. Last place? Detroit.
Once you settle on Seattle and kick off your public accounting career, here are just a few ways you can start networking and meeting other young professionals.
- Check out the Washington Society of CPA’s New Professionals events. They start April 29 with a Wine Tasting at Daniel’s Broiler in Bellevue. Some other events include a Billiards Tournament and Argosy Cruise. Peterson Sullivan is a sponsor of New Professionals, so come on by and meet some of our staff.
- The Seattle Chamber of Commerce has an active Young Professionals Network with regular events that only cost $15.
- Seattle Works is an organization that informs, connects, and inspires people in their 20′s and 30′s to take action in their community. It’s perfect for people with interest in volunteerism who aren’t able to make a long-term committment. Projects take place over a couple of weekends and take about four hours.
Bringing in new business to the firm will become a more important skill as you continue to move up the career ladder. Don’t wait until you’re ten years into your career before you start trying to develop relationships that may lead to new business. Start early on so you can get comfortable with networking skills and relationship building. It’s a whole lot easier, and who knows? Someone you meet in the first year of your career may be the very same person you’re trying to approach ten or twenty years down the road.
What is your favorite way to connect with Young Professionals?
Sullivan’s Steakhouse Coming to Seattle
March 19, 2010
It’s been a while coming, but finally there is light at the end of the tunnel! Ever since Consolidated Restaurants closed the beloved Union Square Grill in our office building, Two Union Square, we’ve been missing an easily accessible lunch and grab-a-drink-after-work spot. Yesterday the Puget Sound Business Journal announced that Sullivan’s Steakhouse is opening in June.
When we lost the Union Square Grill, at first I didn’t think much of it. There are still tons of fabulous restaurants located within a stone’s throw of our office and I wasn’t worried that we’d starve. What I hadn’t anticipated missing was the loss of a shared community gathering space. It was nice to wander into the bar or restaurant and see your co-workers on unplanned occasions. I often had the chance to chat with people I wouldn’t otherwise have spoken to that day, and to get to know someone better in a more relaxed environment.
W. P. Carey management Professor Blake Ashforth, who writes about ‘corporate tribalism,’ explains it this way:
- A pack of paralegals or a covey of consultants drinking java or hanging about the proverbial water cooler is not so different from a tribe of Neolithic hunters sitting around a campfire. We as a species have come a long way since the days when the morning commute meant braving saber-tooth tigers but, at our core, people are still very much the same social animals we’ve always been. We want to feel like we belong and we value our closest connections beyond people we don’t know.
- Small groups of employees function better if their members feel like they truly know one another. Therefore, it is in the best interest of the organization to encourage employees to develop personal rapport.
- When workgroups do not have the opportunity to socialize they can feel disconnected from their own tribe and thus the larger organization.
I think we do a great job at Peterson Sullivan of maintaining the corporate tribe. Whether it’s First Friday parties, the softball team, or volunteering together, we provide our employees with opportunities to develop close connections in a casual atmosphere outside of work. The really cool thing is that so many of those opportunities are generated and maintained by the employees themselves, with absolutely no involvement from HR. And it’s not just because that makes my job so much easier (although I really do appreciate that aspect!) But when I see employees getting together outside of work, willingly, voluntarily, and with no involvement or prodding from the company, I know it’s because they actually like each other and enjoy spending time together. And that’s just one of the reasons this is a great place to work.
What’s your favorite way of connecting with your work tribe?
Read the full article about Sullivan’s Seattle restauraunt opening.
Read more about corporate tribalism in the article Water Cooler Talk Keeps Organizational Culture Real.
We’re Number 9!
February 18, 2010
Just released is this year’s CareersCast Top Job reports, and Accountants made it into the Top 10! The Jobs Rated report compares careers across a variety of industries, skill levels and salary ranges, ending up with a list of jobs that can be called “worst” and “best.” Accountants squeaked in at No. 9.
While accounting may not be highly sought after as the most glamorous, noble, or thrill-seeking job, it scored especially well on the Hiring Outlook, and, in this economy, that’s enough to boost it into the upper rankings. The report takes a look at five criteria; here’s how accounting fared.
- Stress. Overall scores in this category ranged from 18-100, and accounting scored a 31. I wondered how accounting scored so low, since busy season is one of the most stressful times around. Looking at the report methodology cleared up a few questions for me. While deadlines, precision, and attention to detail were measured as stress factors, also measured were factors like putting your own life at risk, and putting another’s life at risk. Busy season vs. running into a burning building to save someone’s life…OK, I get it.
- Working environment. Overall scores range from 89 – 3314, and accounting scored 276. Turns out that cubicles aren’t so bad, after all.
- Physical demands. No surprise here. Overall scores ranged from 3 – 43. Accounting scored, you guessed it, a 4.
- Income. Salaries from all of the jobs surveyed ranged from $17,000 – $300,000. Accounting clocked in at a respectable $59,176.
- Hiring outlook. This is where we really shine! Accounting scored an 18, one of the very best.
So should everyone rush out to be an accountant? Or an actuary, number 1 on the list? Absolutely not. If you’re an outdoors person who needs to use your hands to build and make things, accounting is probably not for you. If you’d rather just “get it done,” instead of “get it done right” accounting is probably not right for you. Spend some time talking to people in the field about how they really spend their day before you commit yourself to a potential lifetime career that may not be the best use of your innate talents and abilities. Otherwise, you may feel like the #9 Best Job should belong as #1 on the Top Ten Worst List! (An honor currently held by Roustabout, those people who work on oil rigs).
