SAN JOSE, California: Those first months after leaving college can
bewilder many graduates, but some apps may help to ease the transition from the
sheltered halls of academia to the harsh realities of the business world.
Landing a job, handling finances, creating a budget, finding a new
home, socialising with other young people, or identifying deals on food,
clothing and other goods can be pretty overwhelming – even if they are dealt
with one at a time.
It can be even tougher for those who have to juggle a lot of these all
at once. But the apps – some from startups, some from big-name companies – can
help automate and organise many processes for new graduates.
San Francisco-based Handshake is tackling one of these challenges
through an app it's developed to assist graduates in hunting for jobs.
"We created Handshake to democratise the process and help students
to get into a career and find a job," Lord said.
A screenshot of the Handshake app that helps college graduates find
jobs. — Bay Area News Group/TNS
Handshake aims to help students land jobs regardless of where they
reside or go to school. The company vets employers to allow them to post job
openings to the app and to target certain majors.
"We are bringing a diversity of employment opportunities to
students," Lord said.
Students educated on the West Coast who have an interest in the oil and
gas industries might be less likely to see recruiters representing those
industries. Students living in Gulf Coast states – or in Houghton, Michigan,
like Lord – might be unlikely to encounter recruiters from Silicon Valley's
tech sector. But Handshake aims to banish the days when college graduates or
students pinned hopes on whether recruiters might grace their campuses with an
appearance.
"With our app, students can tell us what locations they would like
to live and work in, what industries are you passionate about, what student
organisations are you a member of," Lord said. "We will then curate
based on background, major, minor, and so forth. With Handshake, it's a
personalised, friendly, career-seeking journey."
Handshake is being used by more than 8 million students, up from 3
million a year ago; 450 universities are on the app, up from 160 a year ago.
About 160,000 employers post jobs on the app, up from 60,000 a year ago,
according to Lord.
Handshake is available on all desktop platforms and Apple's App Store,
and the company is working on a version for the Android phone platform.
The top job app on mobile devices is provided by Texas-based
Indeed.com, which is available for both Android and iPhone users. And, like
Handshake and other apps for college grads, Indeed's offering is geared towards
the go-go nature of college graduates and other phone aficionados.
"Our mobile app allows you to apply with just one click, no matter
where you are," said Raj Mukherjee, a senior vice-president of product at
Indeed. "Over half of the job searches on our site happen on mobile."
Indeed's app has been downloaded more than 100 million times, and
people can upload their stored resume to apply for jobs on their phone.
One of the biggest challenges for new graduates is getting their
finances under control, and that's where Mint, offered by Palo Alto,
California-based Intuit, can help.
"Graduates go through a major life transition after college, and
really the idea of Mint is to help people stay on top of their finances,"
said Kimmie Greene, a spokeswoman for Intuit. "It's an all-in-one-place
tool, and we think that college graduates can really benefit from Mint."
Intuit described Mint as an app publicised largely by word of mouth, in
many cases among college graduates.
"About 70% of the people who use Mint are under 35 years of
age," Greene said.
With the Mint app, people can receive reminders about paying bills,
craft a budget, scrutinise their credit scores and track expenses. For those
who are serious about creating a budget and sticking to it, Mint provides an
array of tools.
"You can connect your financial institutions with Mint, and that
gives us the ability to see what you have spent recently and how you are
spending your money," Greene said. "Mint beats just putting all of
your receipts in a shoe box."
Intuit's Mint app provides a comprehensive look at a user's financial
picture.
"You can find out that you are spending X on rent, Y on food, Z on
transportation, and other hot categories are travel, how much you put away for
savings every month," Greene said. "People are often surprised that
they spend a certain amount on clothes or some other category."
The Living Social app lets people discover top restaurants, spas and
other things to do in their area.
Looking for that first place to live off campus or away from the
parents' house? HotPads enables people to scout through a specific area, or
look for a new place to live with particular parameters in mind. Entering the
criteria lets people see properties that can fit a person's need in a
particular geographic area.
The whole point of these apps is to ease the pressure on a newly minted
graduate.
"There's a lot facing college grads," Intuit's Greene said.
"They have income for the first time, but they also have bills every month
for the first time, not just once a semester. They are looking for work. It's a
lot of pressure." — San Jose Mercury News/Tribune News Service
Comments
Post a Comment