In my talks with hundreds of executives and HR professionals through my work with the College Entrepreneur Organization at UC Berkeley, the number one characteristic employers are looking for is leadership. Hence, I would urge anyone having trouble finding a job or an internship to take a look at their resume with one thought in mind: does my resume make me look like a leader?

Have I taken initiative on campus and started or organized anything whether it be an event, a student organization, a rally, etc.? Have I attained any leadership positions in any of the activities I have participated in? Does my work experience show instances where I took initiative, made a decision, and got results, or is it full of average achievements where I simply did what I was asked to do and nothing more? What awards have I earned which showcase my leadership experience?

If you are now worried that you may not have any leadership experience, fear not, these are experiences you can get by simply starting something. If you are still a student, take time to look up your school’s processes for starting a club, find a faculty member, and begin recruiting members and organizing events.

If you have already graduated, take the time you are spending applying to jobs to also start a community service project or web project and find a few interested individuals from your own personal network (friends, family, and beyond) to get involved. This will not only help you get valuable leadership experience, but also fill time you spent searching for a job so there are no gaps in your resume.

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Networking Tip: Invite Speakers to Campus

September 2, 2010

One of the main challenges students face when trying to network with entrepreneurs, corporate executives, venture capitalists, and other successful individuals is that they have trouble offering these individuals something which makes networking worth their time (aside from simply helping a student out). However, students have access to one resource which many accomplished individuals are [...]

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Adventures in Graduate School Part II

August 30, 2010

A few weeks ago, I discussed my future plans in which I railed against graduate school. It seemed to stand for fear, destruction, and the antithesis of the American Way of Lifeä. Grad school was a dilemma, and I thought that I was to stay firm in my decision on being a part of the [...]

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You’re not ‘pposed to!!!!!!!

August 27, 2010

Am I the only one who can remember little kids saying this?  Imagine a little kid mispronouncing:  ”You’re not supposed to” if that’s not coming across clearly, by the way.  I won’t go off on a rant, but I have about 20 different memories of being told this throughout my childhood and it still annoys [...]

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My First Purchase After Graduation

August 26, 2010

This is another “do as I say, not as I do” diatribe. I think my first purchase was an additional damage payment to my land/slum lord. The item that each and every new grad absolutely must purchase is stationery. Buy some stationery with your name on it and sharpen your penmanship skills. One of the [...]

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What do you want to do?

August 25, 2010

Part of my job as an intern is to use my unique perspective on Generation Y and try to peer into and divine some sort of truth that each person my age must hold self-evident. In English, I act as a sample voice, based on the assumption that I’m similar enough to my peers that [...]

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Run for the Hills…It’s Cake and Ice Cream Day!!!!

August 20, 2010

Once upon a time….at a law firm where I first worked in Overland Park, KS, there was an announcement over the intercom every month at 2pm.  This announcement signified to ALL the secretaries and paralegals that cake and ice cream was in route!  Typically, also over the loud speaker, there would be another announcement about [...]

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Companies to College Sports Analogy

August 19, 2010

By: Megan Krier
Title: Business For Beyond Credentials
http://megankrier.beyondcredentials.com/
I attended a luncheon to hear Bernadette-Gray-Little, the Chancellor at the University of Kansas and the ex-assistant Chancellor for the University of North Carolina, speak at a conference the other day. Someone asked her if athletics played too big of a role in academics. She of course said “yes,” [...]

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READ BEFORE PROGRESSING

August 18, 2010

Instead of coming up with cute ways to tell people to avoid my mistakes, I thought I’d share a book idea for everyone interested in being successful.  “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie. This masterpiece  is nearly 80 years old yet still contains the tools that we all need to “get [...]

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The Graduates

August 16, 2010

So you or your child are about to brave the brand new post-school world… Get a job. Make tons o’ dough… Celebrate your freedom! Right?!? Well, you need to hear this. Part 1 of “The Graduates”, an exclusive news series from KMBZ’s Jeff Bell. Check out Part 2 tomorrow morning on Kansas City’s Morning News. [...]

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