Founder of 'Life After Graduation' Shares Advice with Students

Within the first two minutes of meeting a recruiter, your fate has been decided: whether your resume will go into Pile A or Pile B.

On Feb. 13, Terry Arndt, founder and President of Life after Graduation, and author of "From Backpack to Briefcase" discussed the transition from the classroom to the workplace, and focuses on the time period between graduating and becoming a professional.

Ardnt grew up in the farmlands of Central Washington, where his father was a farm manager of an apple orchard. After graduating high school, Arndt believed it would be in his best interest to follow his father's footsteps. While working on the farm, Ardnt received his Associate degree in Farm Management from the local community college.

After five years, Ardnt realized that he wanted more out of life, and attended Washington State University to receive a Horticulture degree. After graduating college, he was recruited by Land of Lakes, to head a new division in central Washington.

Arndt was responsible for wining and dining businessmen, and convincing them to buy his product. For the first few weeks, Ardnt was living it up; a $45,000 expense account, new truck, and a cell phone. There was only one problem: Arndt was paid by commission, and he had not secured any sales. After investigating why, Ardnt found out that the store manager, Harry, told the businessmen who went to buy his products, that they did not carry them.

Once Ardnt confronted Harry, he quit. During this time, Ardnt had roughly $5,000 due on his credit cards, and not to mention student loan payments. He sold his new truck and moved in with his parents.

Two months later Ardnt was on the road again traveling across the western United States working for a biotech company that sold non-toxic pesticides.

"My office was my truck, I never flew anywhere, and every year I got a new truck because it had 150,000 miles on it. Try convincing eighty year old farmers to hang little dispensers instead of using toxic chemicals," said Ardnt.

Ardnt and his wife moved to Florida where he pursued his Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida. After graduating, Ardnt worked for the United States Senate within their Entrepreneurship and International Marketing program. Ardnt coordinated trade missions in China and Taiwan.

Switching jobs yet again, Ardnt joined the National Club Association, a lobbying organization. The organization represents the top 1,000 clubs within the United States, and Ardnt was the Director of Marketing, in which Washington DC paid him to represent them.

After several jobs and career paths, Ardnt founded his current organization, Life After Graduation, in which he has been the President for eight years. The skills he learned on the road influenced how he runs his organization, and the strategies he preaches, he used himself.

"If you fail the first date, the chances of progressing past it are pretty much nil. If you screw up that first day on the job, your chances for advancement within that job are pretty much nil," said Ardnt.

Ardnt met his wife through her roommate at Washington State University; she was a music major and he was an agriculture major; they rarely crossed paths.

After asking her roommate, and finding out she was with someone, Ardnt decided to ask her out anyway. He took her four-wheeling on his father's farm followed by a barbequed dinner: beans, potatoes, and two-inch thick tenderloin steaks - little did he know, she was a vegetarian.

"There she was eating beans and potatoes and I had myself two steaks, it wasn't a bad deal, but I could have figured it out myself"

Ardnt has been married twelve years, and he lives his life through a tip a friend wrote on their wedding guest book, "For a successful marriage, live every day like it is a date."

The life lessons one has learned through dating can be directly correlated to the jobs needed after graduation.

According to Ardnt, the first step is to make yourself attractive. When attending a job fair or going to an interview, business attire is mandatory. Learn how to eat at a business dinner, and take a class if you can. Avoid street language, or slang, when talking to coworkers or your boss. Having a positive attitude and outlook on both life, and the job, will improve the image you present to the company.

Communication skills and networking are vital, send every e-

"I applied to the University of Florida, and was rejected because my GMAT scores were too low. While me and my wife already relocated, I called up two hundred of my past clients and asked them to write me a letter of recommendation. Two weeks later the school received one hundred and thirty letters, and I was admitted," said Ardnt.

Understanding the organization, and the people within that organization, will allow for further professional growth. Avoid making a "big splash" when entering a new company, observe the employees and try to fit in, especially during the first few months. Observe what the employees do, whether they spend their time in meetings or by the water cooler, and find out what their expectations are of you. Assess the political climate; find out who you can trust.

Making others feel great will increase your chances for fitting into an organization. Show interest in other employees; give plenty of compliments, respect their expertise, time, and opinions. Participate in extracurricular activities as you will get to learn a lot, but watch out for the political aspects.

Making your boss feel great will make asking for a raise easier, learn what the boss needs, wants, and expects from you. Ask to schedule a weekly meeting to make sure you are meeting his expectations, and receive confirmation for what you do well. Determine what gets on your bosses nerves, and what their soft spots are. Bring your boss solutions, not problems. Demonstrate that you are more invested in their needs than your own agenda.

"For the first few months, even years, it will be tough. Don't let the glorified job descriptions fool you, ask lots of questions, and be aware of what you are getting yourself into. All employees have to pay their dues, but give it time. Go and follow your dreams."mail, write every letter, and respond to every memo as if you are turning in a quarterly report.