Founder’s Message:
Midterms, searching for summer internships, and preparing for life after graduation are some of what’s occupying the minds of FirstGen Ahead students. Add to this spending most of college in a virtual environment. Witnessing the human atrocities in Ukraine further adds to an undoubtedly stressful and anxiety-provoking time.
At FirstGen Ahead, we’re sensitive to the myriad of stresses that accompany college students and especially with what’s been happening in our world today. While supportive as we can be, FirstGen Ahead coaches are not licensed therapists. We are here to empower students to successfully transition from college to a career. This can be a challenge when students are coping day-to-day and are less able to prepare for their future careers. In these cases, we encourage students to seek professional help. If needed, for whatever reason, we are open to supporting students who need to take a break from participating in FirstGen Ahead for a specified period of time. We encourage those students to return to FirstGen Ahead when they are able to take advantage of the career support we offer. This issue of the newsletter features a few articles that foster mental well-being.
Susan Gershenfeld, PhD
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“Our anxiety does not come from thinking about the future,
but from wanting to control it.” — Kahlil Gibran, writer
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Meet with Employers
FirstGen Ahead students have an opportunity to meet virtually with human resource professionals and hiring managers on Sunday, March 27th from 7-8pm ET. Students will learn from panelists about their career stories and their roles in hiring and supporting young talent. They will receive advice on applying for positions and successfully entering the job market in different sectors. There will also be time for Q&A. See Mark Your Calendar (below) for links to the panelists and the organizations they represent.
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Comparing Ourselves to Others in a Healthy Way
Despite being encouraged to stop comparing ourselves to others, it’s hard to do. Research suggests most of us are hardwired to compare ourselves to others in some ways. Research also shows that not all comparisons are harmful. How can we help rather than hurt our self-esteem by comparing ourselves with others?
One strategy is to focus on the similarities, to view people with stronger skill sets than ours as role models rather than as competitors. Research shows that others’ successes can be motivating. For example, imagine Alex and Sam are both selected to be trained as peer counselors. Sam receives more positive feedback from the trainers than Alex, and Alex begins to experience self-doubt -- focusing on this difference and thinking “I’m not going to be as good of a peer counselor; I can’t do this.” However, if Alex instead focuses on the similarities and tries to frame Sam as a role model, Alex might think, “Sam and I train together, and she’s doing really well. I’m going to try to learn more about how she has been so successful.”
If you find yourself engaging in social comparisons and begin to feel self-doubt, try to focus on the similarities rather than the differences between yourself and the other person.
Another strategy is to set your own goals and standards of success. We can define success by our 1) personal growth, 2) ability to avoid failure, and 3) ability to perform better than others. Researchers have demonstrated that others’ accomplishments will negatively impact you only if you define your goals through your ability to perform better than others.
A third strategy is to not look to just one person. Research suggests that when you identify your own career role models, you’re often combining positive attributes of a number of people who have positively impacted you, rather than just relying on one individual.
Focusing on attributes you admire in a range of different individuals, whether it’s persistence, leadership, or other qualities, allows you to learn from others while maintaining your authenticity.
These strategies can help, rather than hurt you when looking at the successes of others.
Image Source: https://dailyillini.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Comparison-01.png
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Building Relationships with People Who Are Different Than You
“Birds of a feather flock together” is more than a proverb. Research shows individuals tend to befriend others who are similar to them. However, to succeed in a diverse world, developing and building relationships with people who are different from ourselves is a competency that can also enrich lives. At FirstGen Ahead there are opportunities for students and coaches to do this together. While there are often differences in demographics (age, race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status) there are similarities in professional interests.
Shanicka Burdine, a FirstGen Ahead coach, recently shared advice for students who are working with coaches and/or intentionally seeking professional relationships with people who are different from them. Shanicka applies this advice in her professional work with college students:
- People are people. Never be afraid to talk with anyone. “I never go into a room and think I’m less than anyone else. I recognize I don’t know it all but that I can learn from everyone,” says Shanicka.
- Be aware of your mindset. Are you open to relationships? Are you prejudging? Are you giving people grace? Shanicka says, “One bad experience shouldn’t make you judge a whole group of people.”
- Be authentic and genuine. There is more that can be gained than lost by being yourself. “It may feel like you’re taking a risk by being vulnerable, but that is how meaningful relationships grow,” observes Shanicka.
- Listen for interests and understand what is important to others in order to create opportunities to further develop relationships.
- Maintain relationships by checking on people (don’t just reach out when you need something), providing updates, and remembering birthdays, holidays, and small things, too.
Shanicka also has advice for coaches, realizing they bring their best intentions and most likely have had more opportunities to develop relationships with people who are different from them.
- Understand where students are at – How do they see things? Be mindful of your own implicit biases.
- Students who have experienced trauma are in survival mode. Be cognizant of this and make sure they are being seen and heard, and provide them with constructive feedback.
- Provide affirmation that students belong in whatever places and spaces they desire to go.
With Shanicka’s insightful guidance, we can all grow beyond our comfort zones and, in the process, develop meaningful relationships.
Image source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/age-race-gender-etc-value-job-selection-kent-mcmackin
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College Graduation Worries
College graduation marks a major milestone and is the start of a significant life transition. While you pause to reflect on this tremendous accomplishment and everything you’ve gained in the process, it’s also quite likely that you experience “transition nerves” or stress and worry about your next steps.
Researchers found that identifying and maintaining social supports and taking purposeful, meaningful action (such as physical activity) are key factors in overcoming stress during times of major transitions, such as graduation. You can use this knowledge to take charge of your well-being in the days, weeks, and months prior to and following college graduation.
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Stay connected with friendships you developed through college. Make it a point to reach out a few times a week at first. It’s normal for friendships to shift; it takes effort to maintain relationships.
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Form new connections by making yourself visible. For example, if you’re in a new job, talk with people in the lunchroom rather than staying in your office space, checking your Instagram account. Get to know new people and put extra effort into getting to know those you’d like to get to know better.
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Maintain and identify new interests as there’s a world of opportunities for you to be involved in perhaps similar or different than those activities and organizations you were involved in during college. Searching sites like MeetUp and VolunteerMatch can help you find ways to stay active and follow your passions.
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Forge your direction by creating a plan of action before you graduate from college. What are your goals? How will you create meaning in your life? What is a realistic budget to do those things?
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Practice mindfulness by using your senses to better understand, not avoid, your anxiety. Mindfulness practices help you to recognize the emotions and thoughts you’re experiencing, to accept and allow yourself to experience them, to investigate them with curiosity and care, and finally to find ways to nurture yourself with self-compassion.
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Enlist the help of a therapist if you need help processing your anxiety about graduating from college and planning for a positive future. Therapists at your college counseling center (or even your faith organization) will offer you free help with this. Alternatively, Open Path Collective also offers low-cost counseling.
While “transition nerves” are common, staying active and connected will help you overcome challenges that accompany major life transitions.
Image source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danabrownlee/2020/04/04/the-pandemics-unique-toll-on-2020-college-graduates/?sh=2cabe5971c06
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Preparing for, Delivering, and Learning
from the Elevator Pitch Session
By Mahamed Mohamud
Junior, Brandeis University
"Hello! My name is Mahamed Mohamud, and I am a 20-year-old first-generation, third-year student studying biology and health/ science, society, and policy (also known as public health at other college institutions) on the pre-medical track.” This is the beginning of my elevator pitch that I practiced and improved upon along with other students participating in FirstGen Ahead.
On February 27th, we rehearsed our elevator pitches in front of an audience of four FirstGen Ahead coaches and each other. During this one-hour session, we received individualized feedback from a coach after delivering our 30 - 60 second pitches. The constructive feedback we received related both to the content of what was said and how it was delivered. Afterward, students were given the chance to reflect on the feedback received and practice it again in front of the coaches. The purpose of this session was to practice our public speaking skills and to create pitches that are concise, emphasize the professional highlights of our academic and life experiences, and answer two important questions that personalize our pitches – “Why?” (why do I want to do what I want to do) and “So what?” (why is that important).
I prepared for this event in two ways. I initially met with Dr. Lois Benishek to get critical feedback on the first draft of my elevator pitch. She gave me useful advice that I would later incorporate into the elevator pitch I would present at the feedback session. Additionally, several days before this event, I took the liberty to practice executing the pitch to make sure I felt comfortable when it was my turn to present.
Due to my willingness to participate, I was able to learn a lot of important lessons from this event that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. I learned that it is totally fine to have a conventional elevator pitch that doesn’t have to be too flashy or out of the ordinary depending on the context. That is, it’s okay to start by saying hi, your name, and where you go to college. Additionally, I learned that arguably the most important part of your pitch should include the specific motivations for your passion - the answers to how and why you love to do what you do.
Lastly, I want to end by saying how truly grateful I am to FirstGen Ahead for facilitating this event. This was the first time that I had an opportunity to make a personal elevator pitch in a setting that mirrored an interview setting. It has been such a useful experience, one that I will be able to carry with me for the rest of my life.
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Money Matters
What happens when you have an expense that you can’t anticipate? Whether it’s a broken laptop or a flat tire, having an emergency fund can be a financial lifesaver. An emergency fund is an amount of money you set aside (in a bank account to accumulate interest and to ensure it is safe) to cover expenses that you hadn’t planned. How much to set aside in an emergency fund depends on your critical expenses. Broad categories of critical expenses include educational costs, housing, food, health care, utilities, transportation, and any debt you may have. Once you determine the total cost of your critical expenses, experts believe you should have enough money in your emergency fund to cover at least three to six months’ worth of living expenses as a rule of thumb. While it may seem daunting to build up an emergency fund of this size, start by stashing away a smaller amount on a regular basis. Once you are in the habit of setting aside small amounts, you will be able to build and sustain your emergency fund.
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Did You Know?
Over 180 million workers in the U.S. have LinkedIn profiles and over 97,000 companies in the U.S. use LinkedIn to recruit. New hires made through LinkedIn (the LinkedIn hiring rate is the percentage of LinkedIn members who added a new employer to their profile in the same month the new job began, divided by the total number of LinkedIn members in the U.S.) more than doubled in the past quarter, compared to the prior-year period. In anticipation that job recruiters are likely to use LinkedIn as a part of their applicant interview process, it’s important for students to create LinkedIn profiles that represent their past academic, employment, and volunteer experiences, as well as their professional goals. Check out LinkedIn’s monthly Workforce Report on employment trends in the U.S. workforce for more information.
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How Would You Answer This Question?
“When I contact your previous employer, what will he or she tell me you could improve upon?” Unlike the more common interview question, “Tell me about your greatest weakness” in which candidates try to spin a negative into a positive, there is no hiding behind this question. As such, be honest and include in your response what you have done to make improvements.
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Student Peer Group Session, Sunday, Mar. 27, 7-8pm ET. This session will feature an employer p anel. Guests currently include Lhea Townes, HR Manager, PepsiCo; Mike Garcia, Chief Revenue Officer, MP; and Julie Crockford, President, Empower Success Corps. Session facilitated by Dr. Susan Gershenfeld. A Zoom link will be sent to students and panelists in advance.
Coach Support Session, Sunday, Apr. 10, 7-8pm ET. Coach Meeting facilitated by Dr. Lois Benishek. A Zoom link will be sent in advance to all current coaches.
Student Peer Group Session, Sunday, Apr. 24, 7-8pm ET. This session will feature a panel of first-gen young professionals. Facilitated by Dr. Susan Gershenfeld. A Zoom link will be sent in advance.
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