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“My club in college is zero. I don’t have time to find them. I have to make money,” said Miranda, now 25. If he can adapt to one of them, he can’t afford the cost of the internship. “Even a paid internship is not great,” he said.
“I didn’t realize how many people were prepared for success before graduation,” Miranda said. “My friends and I went to the party too late.”
Until the junior year, Miranda also found a way to participate in Braven career preparation courses. He didn’t know how to start looking for a job before. “We have no one to guide us. We just went to college and tried to get good grades. No one of us said,’Hey, you have to do your resume. You have to be your brand.”
In contrast, he said, “People whose parents have gone to college, they know something. The first generation of college students don’t know what will happen after college. For example, what do you do? I don’t know how to connect or who to connect with. I have no one.”
Miranda found a job as an operations manager in the Amazon fulfillment center, and started saying that he hopes to eventually lead him into a career path in sales. (Braven has no special relationship with Amazon.)
Waintraub Stafford of NASPA said that even trivial things like shaking hands can trip up some college graduates. “If you have never taught you the traditional meaning of a handshake in an environment because it is related to the corporate world, then it will be a dazzling experience for you and the people you meet,” she said.
Very few colleges and universities recognize the unique problems faced by first-generation students when looking for their first job after graduation, and are adding programs to help them.
The University of California, Berkeley now specializes in providing career counseling for first-generation and low-income students, including resume reviews, LinkedIn profile assistance, and a one-semester career course. The University of Toledo organizes a series of social activities to help these students establish contact with employers and alumni, and organizes internship preparation programs to teach them to write resumes, social skills and other skills.
Jennifer Mojarro, director of the employment center of the university, said that last year, California State University Fullerton launched a program called “I am Number One,” which attracted the first generation of working graduates. To guide young colleagues who are still registered. In addition, the program also teaches salary negotiation skills.
Mojarro said, “Admit that I don’t know” how to find a job after graduating from college, which is a bit scary. This is also very nervous. “Their parents make them very excited about being a college student, which can also be daunting because it’s all on them.”
Some non-profit organizations, such as Braven—bringing its vocational courses to universities and community colleges with large numbers of first-generation and low-income students—also work with universities to provide this kind of support.
When Aimée Eubanks Davis, the founder and CEO of Braven, realized the need for this kind of help, she worked as a school teacher in New Orleans. Her students were mainly first-generation and low-level students. Income crowd.
“I watched my students graduate from college and was shocked where they landed,” Davis said. Although they received the same credentials as their peers—usually working harder—they missed the “almost invisible advantage” that students with college-educated and well-connected parents have.
Braven pairs students with coaches who work for participating companies. “Usually, the coach is the first person these students know in the professional workforce,” Davis said.
She said that although it covers everything from what to wear to the interview to when to send a thank you note, the Braven method is mainly to build confidence. “A large part of it is often related to narratives and stories told externally.” Remind students, “Their life experiences, even though difficult, clumsy, and imperfect, actually make them truly great and truly resilient.”
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