Charlotte Kritikos, career coach and founder of Compass Careers in Moorestown, led a presentation on how young adults can find employment in today’s marketplace at the township library earlier this month.
Kritikos explained what actions a student should take during sophomore, junior and senior years of college to facilitate the job search process after graduation, including networking, how to prepare for a job interview and submitting resumes and cover letters. She advised students not to give up, no matter how difficult the process.
“It’s easily a three-month process,” Kritikos said of finding a job. “You have to keep going. Maybe you need to widen your search. If you’re finding that you’re just getting no’s from every angle … you might need to feel a little bit more flexible in terms of where you’re living.”
According to the Compass Careers website, Kritikos is a graduate of Syracuse University with a degree in information studies and a minor in architecture. She has 20 years of recruiting experience, including in the college career services fields. Her resume highlights include director of career services for Drexel University and investment banking executive recruiter for JP Morgan Chase.
Kritikos believes young adults shouldn’t hesitate when trying to land their dream job.
“You’ve graduated from college, you’ve worked hard, you had this dream …” she advised. “You went to college to do something, and so now it’s time to do that ‘something’ that you went to college to do. So let’s go.”
Kritikos emphasized at her presentation the ways college students and graduates should prepare themselves for the job search sooner rather than later, and highlighted how timing and preparation come into play.
“The best way to do that is, as you’re in the middle of your college career, is to start looking for an internship,” she said. “But a lot of times we don’t have that luxury of doing internships in college. As soon as possible, when you get done, start interviewing, start looking …
“The longer you’re out of college, the harder the search is; the shorter you’re out of college, the better the results will be.”
Kritikos reflected on why she offers advice on the job search.
“I love it; it’s really fun and it’s really rewarding,” she noted. “I do this because it’s rewarding, there’s no other reason. I love working with young people … I can relate to them as well as their parents too…
“I’m really here for people to help them.”
