It’s 2015: Do You Know the 5 NEW Job Search Basics?

by Mark Babbitt

“In this economy, what’s the one thing I need to do to stand out?”

As I speak on campuses around the country, that is the question I get more often than any other. And often, the answer expected is “finish your education” or “follow your passion.”

But those well-worn cliches are never part of my answer, in large part because a college education no longer makes you employable and that “follow your passion” thing is probably the worst career advice ever given.

Instead, I answer with the five items that have become the new minimum requirements… the new “job search basics”:

Present an Amazing LinkedIn Profile

There are now 36 million Millennials on LinkedIn – a dramatic improvement over just two years ago. And yet, many students and recent grads – about 60% – are still not active on LinkedIn. In fact, at a recent workshop YouTern completed at a university for engineering majors, the 100+ students (95% of whom were seniors) were asked how many were on LinkedIn.

Only 4 – four – raised their hands.

If you aren’t on LinkedIn… to employers, you don’t exist. If you don’t present an amazing (meaning: complete!) profile… you’re wasting an opportunity to impress those employers.

Membership in a Professional or Industry Association

A survey by Millennial Branding said that about 78% of college students and young professionals had not yet joined a professional development or industry-related association. From this, we can infer that those young careerists are behind on not just networking skills, but also are far less likely to have established a mentor relationship with an influencer – or gained any hands-on experience in their industry.


In today’s job market, you must be committed to your craft. Failure to get involved with your future colleagues may indicate that you’re just going through the motions.

See all 5 basics and the complete article