Why new graduates doing everything "right" are still not getting hired

Welcome back. Whether you're a new graduate or a seasoned professional, getting noticed in today's job market can be a challenge. Entrepreneur and bestselling author Amy Summer says it's no longer enough to have the right experience. You also need to know how to communicate your value and build the right relationship. So Amy is here with us today with advice on how to stand out to make meaningful connections and turn those connections into opportunities. So Amy, welcome. Thank you. It's great to be here. Good to have you with us today. Gosh, this is so important. I feel like we all know someone who's struggling right now to get a job, right? It's easier than ever to apply to a bunch of jobs with A. I. But it's harder than ever to be seen by somebody. Yeah, to be seen and to get noticed. So even people who have years of experience are running into this. Why has it become so difficult? Well, I think we've leaned into technology too much. So I would tell job seekers, don't let A. I. Be your only method. We have to remember those old school methods of, you know, relationship building, talking to people. So while you're using A. I. To find the job, you also want to build a human path to find out who's working in these departments. Who do you need to know? Maybe someone you already know, know somebody that works there and start building your network that way. And that's a great way to put. I mean, some of those are the old school ways of doing things that, yeah, you gotta lean heavy on those at this point. So you mentioned people using A. I. To find jobs, but then they're also running into A. I. Blockers that are keeping them from from getting noticed from getting in front of an actual person. So how can they get past those A. I. Screeners? Well, I think all of us, depending on where when you started your job search, we've all had something that's blocking us. You know, I remember when I started my career, it was the receptionist. You know how we get past her. It's always something right. You have to go the direction that no one else is going so we can use technology. We can connect with people on LinkedIn. We can comment on their post. We can message them in their direct message. Hey, I see that you work at this company. I'm really interested in working there. Can I get just 15 minutes with you to learn about what you're doing to see if it's something that might be a good fit for me? Just have a casual conversation. It doesn't have to be all formalized and structured. That's so interesting. It kind of goes back to what you're saying to about about getting creative and finding those other paths. So you mentioned a few things already, Amy, but there are any other things that we can do besides simply just submitting these applications out into who knows where, right? So submitting the application is the administrative part of finding a job, right? So don't forget the relationship piece. So I'm always telling young professionals, you're not going to find a job through screens alone. You're going to have to get in front of people. So where can you have actual conversations? So if your school is offering a career fair, go to it, go to the career fair. I recently hired an intern to come work for me and she showed up at a career fair. I was amazed at how many students aren't taking advantage of that anymore. And then I offered the students, well, you can also meet with me on zoom for like a free session. Not many took me up on it, but Morgan did. And then Morgan also read my book. And guess what? Morgan got the job. Go Morgan. I know because I actually have all my interview questions in the book. So she read the book and nailed the interview. But we're putting so much personal information out there about us. There's no reason why you can't get to know somebody, but you've got to leverage technology. You have access to it. You just have to use it. You know, you mentioned one of the things you can do is maybe slide into their dms mentioned to someone that you're interested in working for their company. But how, how can you give, you know, let someone know that you're interested without being awkward or, you know, just kind of making it feel transactional. Do you have any, any ways that we can navigate that? So it's interesting. So online you can definitely build a relationship with somebody without even talking to them. First comment on their post, share their posts like their posts. Executives are very active on linkedin right now more than ever. And you do notice that you notice people that keep showing up. I hired another intern and she was constantly following me, liking all my stuff. And you know, eventually like I see her face on all my posts and when she applied for the job, I felt like I knew her, but she was just super aggressive if you will and kind of active with me. And so I felt some kind of familiarity when she applied for the job and she ended up getting it because I felt like she already knows who I am and what I'm doing because she's following along. Follow the companies that you're interested in. You don't have to just go after the ceos who's working in those departments. Try to get as connected to many people as you can so that when you do get that interview opportunity and they look you up on linkedin, they see, well, this person is already connected to 10 people that work here. That's great advice. That doesn't cost anything either. Right. You know, like that's just your time, just your time, just the go get of attitude to knock that out. All right. So you wrote a book, it's called lift and you brought that in. Tell me what's inside. So lift is all about the importance of investing in people and building relationships. And it has 10 touch points in there just to remind you how to be human in our very technology facing world right now. And it's simple things, but it's things I think that we're forgetting a lot of. So whether you're leading a company, leading a team or just trying to make your next move, you know, how do you be human in this world that is blocking us from interacting with each other? One more piece of advice. If you can give to those watching, there's someone who's watching right now who's frustrated. It's been a long time since they've been able to get their foot in the door and they're trying. What would you say is your biggest takeaway for them? I would say today you just have one assignment. I want you to have one conversation, a real conversation. So don't submit any resumes today. Don't connect on LinkedIn. Have one conversation. Call someone spontaneously. You know, talk to a family member that maybe knows somebody else that can help you. Tell people that you're looking for a job. Let people know what your needs are. I think we don't do that either. We're not letting people know that we're looking for a job or what we're interested in. I had a journalist contact me the other day and said, can I just have 15 minutes with you? So of course I'm like, yes, because that never happens. And he called me and he was trying to make a career move out of journalism into marketing. And he goes, I don't even know what I'm asking you, Amy, but I just know that you know everybody. And so what should I do next? And I instantly connected him to a client of mine that I know was looking for someone with his skill set and had a conversation with my client, connected them. And all it took was this person just reaching out to me and saying, I just need 15 minutes and us having a phone conversation. It was so much more effective than him emailing me and say, do you know anyone that's looking for a job? Because I'm going to delete that email because I don't have time for that. Right. But when you talk to me, ideas start to bubble up. So I would say have one conversation with somebody today. Fantastic advice. Wow. Amy Summers with us today. Amy, thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us. Thanks for having me appreciate this. What a pleasure. And you can pick up Amy's book, lift 10 membership touch points to empower your team and accelerate, accelerate your career. It's out now.