C.V.

Are my students prepared for a brave new job market?

I teach an undergraduate Consumer Behavior course at the Leeds School of Business. On the first day of the course, I surveyed the class (mostly Juniors and Seniors) about their social media usage and their basic job market preparation.

We are moving to a world where potential employers will type your name into Google after looking at your resume. I found that my student’s online presence is quite meager.

I asked: Do you have….

a blog?  16%

your own website? 10%

your own domain name?  5%

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Many of these students are marketing majors, and nowadays, it is tough to get an entry level job these days without expertise in social media. Their use of social media tools is quite mixed.

I asked: Do you have a…

facebook account? 98%

twitter account? 47%

linkedin account? 40%

four Square account? 11%

plancast account?  0%


Even their professor has a twitter account or two.

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Of course, students still need to take care of business in the traditional way. They are doing better in this regard, with the exception of having a business card.

I asked: Do you have a….

a business casual outfit? 97%

a formal business outfit? 87%

an up-to-date resume?   84%

a business card?  13%

Hey gang, get inexpensive business cards here or here.

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In sum, they have a ways to go.  I will get work on them immediately and report back again at the end of the semester.