How to Find a Strong First Job After College

Aimée Eubanks Davis, founder and CEO of Braven has always been aware of her relative privilege in her community. Growing up in a historically Black neighborhood of Chicago’s South Side, her parents had a flourishing business. Soon, she’d realized that her family was more fortunate than the others in the area. When she was three, her parents bought a property in the area, and that, she believes, was their “stroke of luck.” “My older sister and I had opportunities that looked much different than that of our friends, extended family members, and the people we went to church with,” Eubanks Davis says. “That made me very conscious about equity, access, and economic opportunity early on.” After college, Eubanks Davis moved to New Orleans, where she taught young, Black students from low-income backgrounds as a Teach for America (TFA) corps member. “Education, I believed, was the great equalizer. It had helped me get to where I was, and I wanted to pave the way for my community.” She stayed there for the next seven years before moving back to work at TFA’s Chicago office in 2005. That same year, her maiden cohort of students in New Orleans were looking for their first jobs. She recalls feeling proud, confident, and positive about their futures. Unfortunately, by August, Hurricane Katrina had wrecked Louisiana. While Eubanks Davis hoped that her students would be able to weather the storm and land good jobs, most did not. The effects of Katrina in the state only deepened the race and class divides and left many of her students vulnerable. When Eubanks Davis took a hard look at the gaps in the education-to-career transition, she realized: Education alone did not ensure economic mobility for students of color from low-income families. The job market was far from an equal playing field. Now, Eubank Davis’ nonprofit helps underrepresented college students — those from low-income families, first-generation college students, those who receive federal student aid like PELL grants, and often students of color — to develop the skills, confidence, experiences, and networks they need to start a strong economic opportunity after graduation. Braven partners directly with higher education institutions in the U.S. and is currently on four campuses across the country, adding a fifth this academic year. I spoke with Eubanks Davis about her work at Braven, what students from underrepresented backgrounds need to land strong careers, and how we can bridge this gap. What has been your biggest learning working with students at Braven? Most of us, especially teachers, often assume that when students from low-income communities go to school, study well, and graduate, they’re likely to be on the road to economic mobility. That’s not always true. We don’t account for behind-the-scenes coaching and development opportunities that young people from high-income families get. This looks like the dinner table conversations with parents, a career coach to figure out what college to apply to, or a family friend who can connect you with the right people for your first internship. These social contacts matter a lot because they serve as a bridge to actual opportunities. You can send in your resume on LinkedIn or cold email a recruiter to land an opportunity, but when you have a referral along with your resume, or someone who can formally introduce you to a potential employer, you’re likely to have a much better chance of landing the internship or job. What it means is that a young person without a strong social network continues to be at a huge disadvantage. We need to be more intentional about teaching students these skills. So, what I’m hearing is that building social capital matters — a lot. Absolutely. Building social capital is critical for college students, especially first-generation students from low-income families. To be fair, though, this is a hard one. In my experience, a lot of these college students feel awkward and unsure about networking or reaching out to strangers. I’ve heard our students say, “Why would I do that?” or “They won’t really be interested in talking to me.” There’s a myth that reaching out to others can be perceived as disrespectful or intrusive. However, this is far from the truth. We live in a world that runs on relationship-building — and networking is a skill that can make all the difference. How do students identify and cultivate their network? Could you give us an example? It starts with your immediate, personal network. This could include your peers, friends, professors, alumni, or an employer (if you’re working part-time or doing an internship). Take a hard look at this network and see if someone you know can help you with what you need. Say, you’re working at McDonald’s after college, and you’re curious to know more about the business. You’ll likely have a manager. You will have colleagues and peers. You can set up some time with them to understand how long they’ve been working, what their roles look like, and how the company is structured. Next, think about all the people this person in your network might know. For instance, your manager has a manager, who might often be the head of the region or a group of stores in that region. Ask your manager to help you connect with their manager for an informational interview. Similarly, if you have a colleague or a classmate who knows someone that’s doing work that you’re interested in, ask them for an introduction. Working with mentors from across the country, I’ve realized that most people love to help. When you approach someone to know more about their career journey or learn something from them, it’s likely to make them feel valued. They will help you out. Even when they can’t tangibly help you in the moment, making these contacts is very valuable. The idea is to make yourself visible to people — in relative positions of power — and let them know that you are interested in learning something from them. It also shows the other person that you want to potentially grow in your area of interest, or even grow beyond your current role (as in the case of a part-time gig or an internship). Since the pandemic, college enrollments have dropped. Many have been pushing for a shift away from college degrees to skills-based education. Is this beneficial for students of color? What’s your opinion on this? This is a very nuanced topic. A college degree is not the only pathway to better jobs, but it is the most likely. Research shows that if you were born in the bottom 20% of family income and got your college degree, you are then four times more likely to move into the top 20% of income in your lifetime than if you didn’t graduate college. I absolutely believe that skills-based education is important, especially for students who can’t afford a college degree. However, in America, I believe — and this is my opinion — that we must address the deep-rooted racial and economic inequality in education as well as the job market before having this conversation. I don’t think skills-based education, in and of itself, creates a level-playing field for all students. As things stand, I don’t think it’s fair to say that a first-generation student from a low-income family with a vocational certificate will get the same quality of jobs as compared to a more privileged student with a bachelor’s degree from an “elite university.” Those two students aren’t standing at the same starting line. For skills-based education to truly bridge the gap — in terms of better incomes, better promotions, and career growth opportunities — it’s going to take a while. So, until those with the privilege of race and class continue to opt out of college degrees, it’s not really going to do much for Black and brown students from low-income backgrounds. That is the brutal reality of race, of class, of privilege. Here’s what I’m taking away: College is a likely path to economic mobility for many students of color, but even when they make it to college, they must overcome several challenges to get access to quality jobs as compared to some of their peers. How do we fix that? The first step is to believe that inequality is a problem that can be solved. I really want to emphasize that because it is critical to bridging the racial and economic gaps in the country. I want to address this from the perspective of the student as well as the employers. For students, this means building their social networks. A lot of students simply don’t have access to information about networking. They don’t understand what it means, why it matters, and how they can go about learning it. Recognizing that and empowering students with the tools of networking is important. This, in my view, is the path to securing quality jobs for students of color from low-income backgrounds. For employers, the challenge lies in hiring the right people. It’s well-known that employers often go to the same colleges, or prefer the well-known names, or tap into the alumna networks of their senior leadership. To break this vicious cycle, employers need to diversify where they hire from and what their potential candidate looks like. I want to talk about “quality jobs.” Can you explain what that means, and how students can identify a high-quality job? Sure! Often, students enter the workforce, unaware of what the bar is for their first job. There may be a mismatch between what someone is capable of and what they end up with. A quality job is a job that puts a young professional entering the workforce on the path to economic mobility and helps them grow and advance in their career. There are four dimensions to identifying a quality job. It must align with your interests. Is this something you see yourself doing for a couple of years? Does the work sound interesting? What would a typical day look like? If you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy sitting at your desk the entire day, and you’re taking on a job that requires crunching data for long hours, would you really enjoy this work? It must provide scope for learning and development. If you can’t learn and improve your skills in a role you’re offered, that is a red flag. Learning new skills and upskilling yourself is critical to prepare you for subsequent career moves. It must pave pathways to promotion. Quality jobs must allow you to advance in your career. Think if there will be opportunities to grow in the role, industry, and company. Even if you aren’t able to grow within the same company, your experience should prepare you for growth outside that particular company. It must help you earn the full dollar. Look at the compensation. Is it fair? Do you have strong benefits, a 401(k) plan, and health insurance? Being able to start at a place that offers you competitive pay is important to continue building wealth — and also, bridge the income gap for students from low-income backgrounds. Often, there are contradictory opinions on whether first jobs matter. How important are first jobs for students from low-income backgrounds? At Braven, we believe that a strong start helps prepare for a strong career. Research shows that only 30% of the 1.3 million low-income or first-generation college students secure a strong first job or enter graduate school. We’ve also studied data from the Great Recession — and according to that, when a young person enters the labor market underemployed or lands a job well below their full potential, they almost never recover economically. This is harder for students of color from low-income families. With the pandemic, however, this underemployment from recent graduates is now worse than ever. This was the first year that we had to advise our students to take up what we call “pathway job offers” even if it didn’t meet the four dimensions of a quality job that I discussed earlier. A pathway job is a role that does not require a bachelor’s degree but helps students’ financial sustainability, is aligned with career interests, and will likely lead to more career-accelerating possibilities by providing the opportunity to build in-demand skills like collaboration and communication. Having said that, this isn’t the dead end. It’s about being intentional, making the most out of the job available to you, and using it as a springboard to move on to something better. This isn’t going to be easy, but instead of losing heart, recent graduates can focus on how to capitalize on their strengths and prepare for that next career move.

How to Find a Strong First Job After College

Summary.

Partner Center