What is Your College Degree Worth in Today's Market?
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) salary survey, salaries are going up!
Over the last year, Q-BusinesSolutions and their partners have been tracking salaries specific to college degrees. Following you will see a list of Degree Categories along with the average salary for that degree. The salary information is reflective of a Job Offers on a National Average for a new college grad.
Business Disciplines
- Accounting $41,100
- Business administration $38,188
- Economics/finance $40,906
- Marketing/marketing management $35,321
- Management Information Systems $42,098
Technology
- Computer Science $49,691
- Information sciences and systems $43,053
Engineering
- Chemical engineering $52,819
- Civil engineering $42,053
- Mechanical engineering $48,864
- Computer engineering $51,572
Liberal Arts
- All liberal arts majors $30,152
- Political science/government $32,999
- English language and literature/letters $31,169
- Psychology $27,791
Top jobs for graduates
- Entry-Level Management Average salary: $36,193
- Sales $35,050
- Teaching $30,512
- Public accounting $41,294
- Design/construction engineering $44,330
- Private accounting $40,373
- Consulting $46,630
- Financial/treasury analysis $43,119
- Project engineering $46,402
- Software design and development $52,15
Ask yourself, what do "The Lord of the Rings," "Catcher in the Rye" and your resume have in common?
If you consider them great works of fiction, then it's time to rethink your resume.
A resume isn't a list of exaggerations. It's not a hodgepodge of cut and pasted job descriptions printed out on nice paper. Nor is it a forum to advertise that you're 6 feet 2 inches tall, single, a non-smoker and willing to relocate.
Simply put, a resume is an advertisement that makes the reader act. And if your resume is well-written, the reader should want to interview you.
Get advice on how to create resumes that get interviews -- right from a recruiter himself.
Keep It Simple
Recruiters want resumes that are simple to understand, especially when it comes to the skills needed to perform the job and employment history.
Be sure your resume clearly communicates that you possess the knowledge and experience needed to perform the job in question. Use the job description to tailor your resume to the position. Try to avoid industry jargon and Dilbert-esque words such as "facilitated" or "value-added" when describing your skills and experiences.
Your resume should also include your dates of employment. The absence of dates makes recruiters scrutinize your employment history even more closely.
Features Versus Benefits
Your resume should show how you can benefit an employer -- not just list your features and skills.
Past performance is often an indicator of future performance. Explain how you made a past employer money, saved them money or improved a process or product.
Think about instances where you went above and beyond the call of duty. Look at past performance reviews to refresh your memory. Employers want the best employees, and your resume should reflect your value.
Truth in Advertising
People say that it's the sizzle that sells the steak. That may be true but, when it comes to job searching, you have to have done what you claim on your resume.
Many employers today take steps to ensure that you have the background you claim. They have a wide variety of background checking tools at their disposal.
Background checks can include:
- reference checks,
- credit checks,
- criminal background checks,
- past employment verification,
- education verification and
- social security number traces to verify identity.
If you're dishonest in the hiring process, odds are that you'll be caught. Rather than waste the recruiter's time -- and your time -- be truthful on your resume. It's not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing
Three times during his career, Leslie G. Griffen has asked a prospective employer whether he can walk around the company and talk with employees about how they like their jobs. Twice the employers gave him the go-ahead, which told Griffen they were confident their employees were happy. One employer balked - a sign that this was not a good match.
"Most companies will talk the talk. They'll talk about how important employees are," says Griffen, who is now principal of The Griffen Group, which provides human resources and career coaching and consulting services, in Lee's Summit, Mo. How an employer responds to this request is almost as telling as the answers employees give. "If they pull back in their chair and say, 'You want what?' it's probably an indication that they might not be being straight up with you."
When you're considering taking a new job, it's important to find out how a potential employer treats employees. But getting the answer to that question, along with others that will help you determine if you'll be happy at the company, may take some sleuthing. Here are five questions that will help you decide if the company is a fit - and some unconventional ways to find the answers:
What makes employees join this company and stay here? You can always ask your potential manager this question in an interview. But if you ask the employees you see while walking around the premises, as Griffen did, you'll get a wider variety of answers - and possibly more honest ones.
How are people treated here? You may not even need to ask anyone this - just observe carefully from the time you set foot in the building. When you arrive for your interview, are you kept waiting with no explanation? Does the interviewer interrupt your conversation to take phone calls? "Try to come at different times if you have multiple interviews," advises Gail Ginder, a leadership coach with the Claros Group in Healdsburg, Calif. That way you'll see if the mood around the building changes with the time of day.
What are the unspoken rules? For this and other questions that are best asked of employees, you have two options. One is to use your network to find employees who work at the company but aren't involved in hiring you. The other is to ask your interviewer - but only when it's clear that the interviewer has decided you're the best candidate and is trying to get you to sign on. "When they've decided you're the one, you can ask pretty much anything as long as you ask it well," Ginder says.
What happens when people make mistakes? The answer to this will give you insight into the company's management and culture. You can ask it of an interviewer late in the interview process, or ask employees who aren't involved in hiring. The key is to pose the question without sounding like someone who is planning to make a lot of mistakes. Use humor, Ginder advises. "Say, 'If I were lucky enough to be offered this job, I would never want to make a mistake. But what happens here when people make a mistake?'"
What is a typical week like? The answer to this question can give insight into everything from how long the workdays are to how many after-hours phone calls you can expect. Vic Snyder, senior career counselor at the University of Washington's Center for Career Services in Seattle, suggests that in informal conversations with employees, you pair this question with one about how often employees take their full vacations.
Six Common Interview Mistakes
1. Confusing an Interview with an Interrogation.
Most candidates expect to be interrogated. An interrogation occurs when one person asks all the questions and the other gives the answers. An interview is a business conversation in which both people ask and respond to questions. Candidates who expect to be interrogated avoid asking questions, leaving the interviewer in the role of reluctant interrogator.
2. Making a So-Called Weakness Seem Positive.
Interviewers frequently ask candidates, What are your weaknesses?" Conventional interview wisdom dictates that you highlight a weakness like "I'm a perfectionist," and turn it into a positive. Interviewers are not impressed, because they've probably heard the same answer a hundred times. If you are asked this question, highlight a skill that you wish to improve upon and describe what you are doing to enhance your skill in this area. Interviewers don't care what your weaknesses are. They want to see how you handle the question and what your answer indicates about you.
3. Failing to Ask Questions.
Every interview concludes with the interviewer asking if you have any questions. The worst thing to say is that you have no questions. Having no questions prepared indicates you are not interested and not prepared. Interviewers are more impressed by the questions you ask than the selling points you try to make. Before each interview, make a list of five questions you will ask. "I think a good question is, ‘Can you tell me about your career?'" says Kent Kirch, director of global recruiting at Deloitte. "Everybody likes to talk about themselves, so you're probably pretty safe asking that question."
4. Researching the Company But Not Yourself.
Candidates intellectually prepare by researching the company. Most job seekers do not research themselves by taking inventory of their experience, knowledge and skills. Formulating a list of accomplishments prepares you to immediately respond to any question about your experience. You must be prepared to discuss any part of your background. Creating your talent inventory refreshes your memory and helps you immediately remember experiences you would otherwise have forgotten during the interview.
5. Leaving Your Cell Phone On.
We may live in a wired, always-available society, but a ringing cell phone is not appropriate for an interview. Turn it off before you enter the company.
6. Waiting for a Call.
Time is your enemy after the interview. After you send a thank-you email and note to every interviewer, follow up a couple of days later with either a question or additional information. Try to contact the person who can hire you, and assume that everyone you met with has some say in the process. Additional information can be details about your talents, a recent competitor's press release or industry trends. Your intention is to keep everyone's memory of you fresh.
Sources include www.qbusinessolutions.com & www.monster.com
