As the summer approached and COVID-19 wreaked havoc, the Brothers at our Virginia Eta chapter were disheartened and uncertain about their career and internship opportunities. Many of our brothers lost their internships that they worked so hard for, and did not know how to navigate the job market in times like these.
Because of this, our executive board decided to reach out to SigEp Alum Scott Swedberg, Founder and CEO of The Job Sauce—a career coaching start-up that helps professionals land their dream job. He graciously agreed to facilitate a professional development e-workshop for our brothers.
During the workshop, he covered topics such as:
- Most needed skills in today’s workplace
- Resume and LinkedIn do’s and don’ts to land your first job after college
- Navigating the current job market and landing an internship/job during COVID-19
Did you know that 98% of companies use tracking systems that cut out 90% of applicants automatically? For this reason, we learned that it’s important to include keywords in our resumes that highlight our relevant accomplishments and skills. As bleak as it sounds, 41% of graduates are going to end up working in a role that doesn’t require the education that they have—they are overqualified.
Although we were shocked to hear this statistic, we felt more confident after Scott taught us not only how to perfect our resume, but also, how to use LinkedIn to tell our story through a professional lens. The biggest component of LinkedIn is its networking capabilities, which we learned are essential for getting hired. Overall, a referral will increase your chances of getting the job around 50-100x! As Scott said to us, “People want to help people who they identify with and enjoy being around.”
We want to thank Scott for taking out the time to lead a workshop for our brothers and teaching us invaluable information about the current professional landscape. We are grateful for all that we learned, and we’re now eager to spread the knowledge to the rest of UVA by distributing the recording to multiple outlets on Grounds. Scott left us with a powerful reminder:
“What you and the other founders accomplish over the coming semesters will affect thousands of people for years to come.”
We sincerely thank Scott for his time, wish him the best, and we cannot wait to continue to build our relationship with him.
Scott Swedberg’s Email: scott@thejobsauce.com