What do recent graduates want out of companies these days?

Data touch points from a cross Canada survey of University students in Mining Engineering. I heard a very useful presentation from a graduating Mining Engineering student at UBC yesterday. Michael Fuller (Remember that name 6 years from now) , in response to a past question from an Industry Advisory Committee I sit in on, surveyed students across nine universities coast to coast about what companies could do to attract and retain new grads. (Now this in an industry where there are three to five jobs calling with signing bonuses for every graduate. Ave starting salary is $80k/annum. There may be 150 of these students graduate each year in Canada)

And the biggest issues were not for higher salaries. I was impressed that the issues exposed were in line with what we see in the technology industry. What did they want companies to support in order to be interesting to work for?;

• Opportunities to pursue more education once they were out of school ( with some financial help)
• A structured growth program for employees, where the grads help shape their program
• Mentorship
• International and multi department experience
• Compensation for overtime hours (in time , not money), these folks are not overtime hounds.
• Flexible work hours, such as nine day fortnights, 4 - 10 hour days and then 3 off. Fourteen days straight and then fourteen off when the location is not great. They want to maintain a work-life balance.
• Evidence of concern for employees and others. e.g. A company with the highest safety rating was seen as one that would also have high environmental and social responsibility values.
• An HR dept that can be very punctual, with quick turnarounds, yes or no. Job interviews that are casual and personal - learn about the person while they learn about who they would work for.
  • If you really want to alienate young grads use a top grader/behavioral interview method. Seen as gimmicks and not of any value. (This was a surprise to me) These are smart people who want to be treated as such. It is a candidates market where you can not afford to put people off.
• Very last on the list was stock options and profit sharing.

This is very current stuff for a demographic of high performing 20 - 26 year olds. Did you know that the CEO of Computer Associates is an alumnus of UBC Mining Engineering? Past UBC Mining graduates are now CEOs of major international firms.

If You Want To Write. A book about art, independence and spirit. Brenda Ueland. 1937,1987. ISBN 9781555974718. Carl Sandburg called this ,”the best book ever written about how to write.” I have eleven other “good” books on my shelf on writing, I monitor six blogs on writing yet, this is the first author who has really spoken to me on writing. If you strive for reality, truth and want to really communicate, this short and well written book is a must read for you. An example …”everybody in the world has the same conviction of inner importance… Therefore all should work. First because it is impossible that you have no creative gift. Second: the only way to make it live and increase is to use it. Third: you cannot be sure that it is not a great gift.” Her advice runs counter to all the “technical” improvements put forward and addresses our individual ability to tap into an “inner” voice, without guilt, timetables, or “the right way”. She is able to give you examples of incredible writing from very ordinary people. I loved her metaphor that great communication “infects” the reader with what you are talking about. Something like spinning a tale to a child and watching their eyes light up driven by all their senses and imaginations.

The Back of the Napkin. Solving problems and selling ideas with pictures. Dan Roam. 2008. ISBN 9781591841999

This a terrific complement to Presentation Zen . Roam tells you exactly how to use an empirical, tried and works-in-the-trenches approach to illustration and solving problems (Unpeeling the onion and then building something very powerful ) He then shows that there is scientific evidence on how we see and process info that follows the same models his solution uses. Lesson learned, following my reading on creating more insightful and powerful presentations he also adds the nugget that showing and telling are two different worlds. After you have created the very insightful image, it is important to build it in front of the audience using a thoughtful order. Thus, they can discover it too. This book would be great as a consultants handbook on clear communication. If need to communicate clearly, get this book. It is clear, well written and follows his use of images to also lead you to understanding.

Marketing Genius. Peter Fisk. 2006. ISBN184112681. How is that the English can write and publish such terrific business books? This is one of them. Not for the reading trifler, as the book is an opus , not a 100 Aways to Wow Your Audience so like the US market writers. This is a thoughtful, well written, easy to follow guide to all there is about marketing. It is the best all time marketing book I have read. I took voluminous notes and the pages are festooned with numerous sticky flags. If you are a CEO, CMO, VP sales with aspirations to more, you must buy, read and reread this book. The plethora of case studies is worth the price of the book alone. Eg. Did you know that Mercedes only has to approach 107, prospects to get 100, 000 customers, but GM has to hit 500, 000 prospects to get 100,000 customers?

I took 2 enjoyable weeks to get through this one.

The Complete Turtle Trader. The legend, the lessons, the results. Michael W. Covel. 2007. ISBN 9780061241703. As it says on the flyleaf, “If you want to understand the real world of trading, read this book” . The book reads like a novel since Covel is a clear, concise writer with a personable style.

I learned a lot of the background needed to understand where this famous trend following system came from, as Covel is an excellent researcher. I was unaware that Richard Dennis decided to run a training school to prove that great traders (Turtles) can be taught. (Nurture vs nature). Covel provides a clear description of the Rules to the Turtles. Proof that these rules work is the included career track records of very wealthy people who followed the Rules.

I loved Charlie Munger’s ( Warren Buffets No 2 guy) quote, ” In my whole life I have known no wise people over a broad subject matter area who didn’t read all the time - none, zero.“

Lesson learned on entrepreneurs. Nancy Upton and Don Sexton , of Baylor University pinpointed nine traits of those who become fabulously wealthy entrepreneurs:

1. Nonconformists - lower need to conform indicating self-reliance
2. Emotionally aloof- not necessarily cold to others, but can be oblivious
3. Sky divers - lower concern for physical harm, but does change with age
4. Risk takers - more comfortable taking it
5. Socially adroit - more persuasive
6. Autonomous - higher need for independence
7. Change seekers - like novel approaches. This is different than 99% of all other people
8. Energetic - higher need / or ability to work longer
9. Self-sufficient - don’t need as much sympathy or reassurance, but they still need to form networks so self-sufficiency need not be taken to extremes.

If you have any interest in doing the work needed to make the big money trading, this is the book for you . Perhaps like me you are interested but would prefer to be able to find a trader that shares your philosophy who will do the work, then you need this book. Or perhaps you just like to read about people making scads of money trading and like Charlie Munger says, you read/learn all the time.