Jennifer's blog

Career planning – parents and teens put it off until college is at the door. But that’s a big and costly mistake, especially in this new economy.

The result: our young people find themselves matched with the wrong job, costing them a lot of stress and unhappiness, and companies a whopping $44 Billion*.

Could a student be taking the wrong classes or too many? It happens. Sebastian, our graphic designer and a recent graduate is carrying $55,000 in student debt - $15,000 more than necessary... all because he took more classes than required to graduate. If you’re a transfer student, you’ll really want to watch out. But that’s not the only time it matters. Say you’re studying abroad or taking an internship across the country for credit -- you’ll want to be careful there, too.

Written by: Maryann Loprete 

 Imagine hearing from Arun Gandhi, the grandson of the great Mahatma Gandhi.

It was truly a unique experience for students of the SuperFutures Youth Leadership & Social Entrepreneurship Program, who, aside from Gandhi, heard from an Olympic Gold Medalist who competed despite the loss of one leg and a Harvard negotiations expert. 

"My daughter needs to learn personal finance," Laurel, a mom of a teenage daughter, told me this morning. "Where can she go?" I sure didn't expect that I would be talking money at 7am, just as I was about to start the pilates class Laurel teaches. Laurel had seen the latest article on SuperFutures and it hit her: "The best thing I can teach my daughter is how a mortgage works, how to invest, how to make her money go further." Boy, is Laurel ever right.

If students are going to drive the future of America -- and we know they are -- then don't we need to give them the practical skills so they can succeed?

So, you interviewed for a position you wanted, the interview went great, and you were totally qualified, but you didn't get the job. Why?

References! These days, in times of economic disarray, executives are being scrutinized more and more for each decision they make, with a particular emphasis on who and who they do not hire.

This is a topic I've discussed for some time. You're looking for your dream job and.... lo and behold, you don't get it.

Why is it?

Could it be you don't have the right skills? You interviewed poorly? Your references weren't so hot?

Maybe you thought you aced all of the above but there was one thing you forgot to check -- your credit. Did you know that some 40-50% of employers now run credit checks on potential hires, according to the Society for Human Resource Management?

OK, you want a job. Doesn't everyone?

During an interview yesterday on New Jersey's Channel 12, I heard a great statistic: 60% of those who get internships end up parlaying that into a real, paying job.

Wow!

Now, how do you get an internship? Career counselors at high schools are telling me it's tough - there just aren't enough jobs out there.

In our opinion, there are always opportunities. Now, maybe you won't get paid, but if you're willing to work, chances are someone is willing to use your skills.

Why should you go grab yourself an internship even if it's unpaid?

OK, we know the job market is rough out there. But I just read some of the latest stats and it's pretty frightening, especially for those of you heading into the job market for the first time.

Listen to this: for every available job, there are four -- count 'em, four -- people unemployed.

By next year, some 1/3 of the US workforce will be unemployed. And companies are receiving more resumes than ever before. (for more, go here)

So what does this mean? It means...

You need to stand out from the crowd.