Friday, August 22, 2008

Archived News – Closing Bell Transcript of Trent Perry on CNBC’s Closing Bell

Tyler Mathisen, Co-anchor:
Coming up next, college grads facing the most daunting job market in years.

Maria Bartiromo, co-anchor:
Yeah, we’ll get some tips on how college grads can stay out of the unemployment line and find out how to get a job and a career. Back in a moment.

Commercial break

Mathisen:
College grads facing the toughest job market in years. Launching a career, let alone finding a job, can be a very difficult thing these days. But one career management expert says it doesn’t have to be that way. Trent Perry joins us now…

Mr. Trent Perry: That’s correct.

Mathisen: Trent…thanks for coming by.

Mr Perry: Thank you.

Mathisen: Let’s cut to the bottom line, what’s best way to find a job today?

Mr. Perry: Well I think it’s important to, first of all, make sure that you have a real effective resume presentation for your skills. Young people need to assess their background, their experience, everything they can into a marketing design that will be effective in identifying their skills and allowing managers to see the value of their background. And then they have to, basically, use all the options they can, including the Internet. But also, in terms of looking at other non-traditional employers like larger corporations. I think they need to look also at smaller businesses for today’s opportunities. Smaller businesses are hiring a lot of recent grads.

Bartiromo: Mr. Perry, Wall Street has been certainly a landing place for many college grads over the last 10-year period or so. Do you see that trend reversing? Do you think that given the fact that Wall Street has been now, over the last two years, among the biggest job layoff, you know, that’s where the layoffs have been coming from? Do you think people will be changing their majors, changing their focus, maybe going into law or other professions?

Mr. Perry: I think there could be a lot of that. I think there are a lot of young people going into graduate degree programs now because the economy is so soft.

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Mr. Perry: I think that Wall Street and other industries have shown that they’re cutting back some- somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 percent to 40 percent in some cases in terms of hiring recent college graduates. So I suspect Wall Street would be in there with the rest of the industries.

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Mathisen: Let’s talk a little bit about small business. What kinds of small businesses are hiring? And are we talking about going to someone, a local machine tool shop if you’re an accountant and seeing what kind of work you might be able to do for them or what ever?

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Mr. Perry: I think across all industries there’s a lot of small businesses that have significant needs for people. There are approximately four times the number of businesses under 100 employees than there are businesses over 100 employees, so there’s a lot more businesses out there.

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Mathisen: Don’t small businesses employ something like 80 percent of the nation’s work force or 85 percent? I mean, it’s a huge number.

Mr. Perry: It’s a large percentage. It’s a large percentage. And admittedly a lot of those companies are small businesses, very small, and may not be taking on college graduates in professional opportunity areas.

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Mr. Perry: But there are a lot of opportunities in the service industry, the retail, the manufacturing settings and so forth. There’s a lot of opportunity that we just aren’t looking for.

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Bartiromo: What, in your opinion, are the must have qualifications that can get you into a broad range of industries? When a candidate comes for a job – I mean, what are the qualifications that really impress you regardless if it’s small business, Wall Street, law?

Mr. Perry: I think the willingness to make a contribution to their employer. I think so many young people are so anxious to get their career started and so forth, they have to realize that the important part of developing a career relationship with their employer is to define what the employer wants out of them and then make sure that they deliver that type of service or that type of work effort. Too many times they just sit back and wait for their job requirements to be outlined. I think it’s important to take some initiative and communicate with your employer. Communication is very important.

Mathisen: I want to get your thoughts on two thinks

Mr. Perry: Mm-hmm.

Mathisen: One is should a perspective employee ever take a job that they think is beneath them, number one? And, number two, should they consider taking jobs that may not be permanent, may not have benefits or part-time, temporary or what for?

Mr. Perry: I’ve seen a lot of young people do very well by going into temporary contract positions and working their way up into permanent employment. Sometimes it’s necessary with young college graduates leaving with college debt and the lack of opportunity and sometimes in major corporations and traditional career paths it is important to get to work and begin planning your career. But don’t stop and not continue to look for better opportunities to grow your career professionally.

Bartiromo: Mr. Perry, good to have you with us. Thanks so much for your insight.
Mr. Perry: Thank you.

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