Helping college grads get a job – FREE e-book

Grad About 6 weeks ago, I asked my readers to take pity on all the college students who were about to start their first real job hunt.  I suggested that the greatest graduation gift we could collectively offer was tough lessons learned, insights and practical tips.  "Let’s give them a fighting chance," I said.

Boy, did they bring it on!

50 pages of sage advice. All  for grads. All for free.  Get it while the getting’s good!  You have two download options.  With and without photos.  (In neither case is this going to win any design awards.  Let’s remember that I am a writer.)

3+ mg e-book with photos  Download collegegradsadvice.pdf

Tiny little 300K text only e-book Download collegegradsnophoto.pdf

Please take a minute to say thanks to the many professionals who took the time to offer a word of encouragement, a war story or an idea.  Without them, this would have been a very short book!

As always, I’m honored by their generosity. 

I apologize in advance if there are any errors. Also, if someone posted their answer on their own blog — I tried to catch them all, but if I missed you, I’m very sorry.  And without further ado — the wisdom collective:

Aaron Potts
Andy Brudtkuhl
Andy Nulman
Andy Wibbels
Ann Handley
Ann Michael
Anne Simons
Becky Carroll
Bob Glaza
C.B. Whittemore
Carolyn Manning
Chris Cree
Christine Brown
CK
Darren Barefoot
David Reich
Delaney Kirk
Derek Tutschulte
Designer Mike
Doug Karr
Doug Mitchell
Drew McLellan
Joan Schramm
Kevin Hillstrom
Lewis Green
Liz Strauss
Mario Sundar
Mark Goren
Mark True
Mary Schmidt
Nick Rice
Patrick Schaber
Paul McEnany
Phil Gerbyshak
Roberta Rosenberg
Roger von Oech
Rosa Say
Seth Godin
Sharon Sarmiento
Stephanie Weaver
Steve Miller
Steve Sisler
Terry Starbucker
Toby Bloomberg
Tony D. Clark
Valeria Maltoni

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43 comments on “Helping college grads get a job – FREE e-book

  1. Bob Glaza says:

    What a great example of service and “passing it on”, Drew. You are terrific! If but one grad finds one gem from these contributors your e-book is a success! Heck, who am I kidding? – we all learn something from this e-book. Happy Friday!

  2. David Reich says:

    Wow, there’s some good reading here. I see many names I know and lots that I don’t, but good advice throughout.

    This should be in every high school and college career guidance office.

    Thanks for putting this together, Drew. I’m honored to be a part of it.

  3. Drew, thanks for putting your heart and soul into this amazing e-book. I’m looking forward to reading it myself, discovering new sources of inspiration, and sharing it with many [starting with my niece and nephew]! I’m so proud to be a part of this.

  4. Drew,
    That’s a very high-quality output! Very nice work and thank you for including me. That should provide very useful info to college grads. I’ll get a post up this weekend about it.

    -Pat

  5. Mark Goren says:

    Drew: What a great initiative – thanks so much for putting out the idea and getting it done. I’ve posted this link at my Facebook page and will write about your efforts this weekend.

  6. The generosity, Drew, lies squarely with you; it was your idea and you did all the work. And I was thinking that, between this project and Age of Conversation, you must have gotten some marvelous and well-deserved karma.
    Making it available with and without pics was a good move, too.

    Thanks.

  7. What a terrific collection of insights. I appreciate being a part of it.

  8. Toby says:

    Drew – Thanks for inviting me to be a part of this great project. The advice is not only applicable to graduating marketing students but for people who are still traveling their career “paths.” Have passed it along to my college prof friends.

  9. Drew – I just noticed a typo in my name…. Whittemore [vs. Whitmore]. Any way to fix that? Thanks.

  10. Thanks for including me, just a little embarrassed I didn’t use proper English. I had no clue it would be published for all of the free world to see.

  11. Many, many, many thanks to everyone involved. You guys/gals rock 🙂

  12. Delaney Kirk says:

    Thanks for including me with such a great list of successful people!

  13. Drew:

    This is perfect. I will share it with the students I coach on job finding. Thank you so much for putting it together in a format we can use and share.

  14. Thanks Drew for including me in such great company – I wish I had sich a book when I got out of college! Well done, and all the best.

  15. CK says:

    Wonderfully inspired and exceptionally executed. Thanks for all you’ve done and continue to do. I’ve still no idea how you run an agency(I guess you don’t sleep?) but I guess sleep is the cost of passion. I’m so proud to know you.

    Go Grads!

  16. Bob — you know, you are very right. I learned and was reminded of so many important lessons. The authors of this really offerd up some very sage advice.

    David — hey, there’s an idea. I wonder if there is a network of guidance counselor blogs? Anyone know?

    Drew

  17. CB — thanks for your kind words. And I apologize for the spelling error. I have fixed it and uploaded a revised book. So you might want to download the one that has spelled your name right.

    I’m sorry about the underscoring (you’ll see what I mean) but I couldn’t figure out how to fix that part. I decided spelling your name right mattered more.

    Drew

  18. Lewis & Tony,

    What I love about both of your entries is that they look at the question from a very different POV. That’s the power of this collaboration thing. If I had written it by myself, it would have been a much less valuable tool.

    Thanks for helping make it happen!

    Drew

  19. Pat & Mark —

    I appreciate you both contributing and pointing to the book. The more we can spread the word, the better!

    Drew

  20. Carolyn,

    Thanks for your kind words. I think, between this project and the Age of Conversation I have made some really wonderful new friends AND learned that sleep is optional! ;}

    Drew

  21. Toby — thanks for helping spread the word!

    Cam — yeah, that damn Seth. I wish he’d stop stealing from me and come up with something original. I don’t know, like a brightly colored bovine or something. Now watch him steal that too! ;}

    Drew

  22. Mike — what comes through is your vision and lesson. Don’t worry about proper English. English Sminglish.

    Delaney — I keep hearing these remarkable things about you. One of these days, we need to actually meet in person! Thanks for contributing.

    Drew

  23. Ryan,

    Glad you found it of value. Spread the word…send all your friends over here to download it. Let’s get it spread far and wide!

    Anything you will do differently now that you’ve read it?

    Drew

  24. Valeria — thank you for spreading the word and sharing the wisdom in the book. I knew I could count on your for that! Sharing is one of the things you do best!

    Terry — I agree. This would have been invaluable to me 20+ years ago!

    Drew

  25. Becky — tell your niece I said good luck on the job hunt. And as for the photo — I tried to find someone who looked like you, but had to settle for that stock photo. She’s no you…but she’s not bad!

    CK — As always, thanks for your enthusiasm and support. I love knowing that I can count on you to be in my corner every time!

    Drew

  26. Joan Schramm says:

    Drew —

    This is amazing! I don’t think one needs to be a college graduate to learn from this group — what a wonderful gift of collective wisdom! I’m honored to be a small part.

    Joan

  27. Douglas Karr says:

    Drew,

    I never took the time to thank you for putting this together. It’s a fantastic eBook and I am so thankful to have been a part of it.

    Thanks!
    Doug

  28. Thanks for putting this together Drew and for sharing it with everyone. Well done!

  29. Joan,

    I feel the same way you do — there’s something for everyone in this piece and I’m thrilled to have been a part of it.

    So let’s get out there and spread the word. The more people who benefit from it, the better!

    Drew

  30. Doug and Phil,

    Really, its thanks to both of you and the other contributors! It was the authors who added the value. I just pulled it all together.

    So my thanks right back at you!

    Drew

  31. David Armano says:

    OK Drew, I think I know your secret. There’s 3 of you right? The one I met at SOBCon was a clone. How do you find the time??

    🙂

    Congrats on the e-book.

  32. David,

    LOL! I’m pretty sure there’s no one who thinks that would be a good idea! This e-book wasn’t too bad. All the authors did the heavy lifting.

    But I will admit, I was glad to cross it off the To Do list!

    Drew

  33. Drew,

    One of the key things I learned (among many!) is to focus on the benefit you provide to the company, rather than trying to sell yourself.

    In other words, don’t tout your excellence. Show them how excellent you are by just being you. Demonstrate what you’ll bring to the table and how you’ll fit within the culture.

    No one cares if you were on the honor roll. But they might care how that will translate into success for their organization.

  34. Drew–you did an amazing job with this e-book! It needs to be printed out and given to every new grad on the planet.

    Heck–I’m not a new grad, and I learned a bunch from it.:-)

    I’m just about to write up a post letting folks know that it’s ready. It’s exciting to be a part of this endeavor!

    Cheers,
    Sharon

  35. Ryan,

    In general, one of the life lessons as you enter the work force is that it’s really not about you. It’s about the company and the clients. And if you serve those two well — you’ll be taken care of.

    And if you are not — you need to find an employer who understands the importance of valuing their employees.

    But…you need to give first.

    Drew

  36. Sharon,

    It was filled with some good reminders, even for us “been out of college for a bit” folks. I agree.

    I’m hoping that people just keep spreading the word…and job applicants of all ages discover it and find insights in the pages.

    Thanks for being one of the creators!

    Drew

  37. Chris says:

    Thank you for compiling this great ebook! I wish we would have heard about it earlier. I’ll be doing a post about this book if you don’t mind!

    Chris,
    YourSash.com

  38. Chris,

    By all means…please share it with everyone you can! That’s why we put it together.

    Drew

  39. Stephanie says:

    To Drew and every professional who took the time to contribute to this e-book,

    Thank you for your insight. I’d like to think of this as a gold mine of information at my fingertips. Tips on how to get a job from industry leaders, exactly what a senior in college like me needs. I will read this and read this again during my career search.

    Thank you,

    Stephanie Grangaard
    Senior Marketing Major
    The University of Iowa

  40. Jeff says:

    Hey Drew, your blog rocks! You have a new reader. Look fwd to much from you in the future.:D

  41. The e-book are pretty useful. You always find something new to read from them.

  42. Advisor says:

    As a recent graduate who just found work in tax investigation advice office, I must admit first steps are very hard. I enjoyed reading your e book, great work!

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