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Issue date: 11/5/07 Section: Business

Media Credit: Ellen Cahill Lindsey Pollak, left, with a Financial Women's Association mentor.

"Get active," urges Lindsey Pollak. And she doesn't mean going to the gym.

In an era of health-conscious crazes, college students are bombarded with new and improved ways to improve their physical selves.

But methods of improving their career health are more elusive. Although students comprehend the need to build their résumés, develop interview skills and expand their professional networks, few actually know how to do so.

In Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to do before You Join the Real World, author Lindsey Pollak offers action-steps to jump start a career.

Pollak, who spoke at the Financial Women's Association Baruch Mentoring Program luncheon last week, shared her top seven tips.

1. Get organized.

"Today's average student will switch careers eight to 12 times," said Pollack.

So much change means much to learn from and much to keep track of.

She advises starting a career notebook. Whether it is a computer file, a Five-Star spiral or even a shoebox, the career notebook should be used as an assessment tool, to help you evaluate past experiences and know exactly what you want in future ones.

In addition to a career notebook, Pollack urges students to get their own business cards. These need not contain anything except for a full name and current contact information.

It is also wise to have your voicemail sound as if it were a company extension. An employer calling to offer a job post-interview may be turned off by, "Yeah, you reached me. Now go away."

2. Become an expert researcher.

College graduates often simmer in a stew of identical GPAs and identical majors.

To not blend in, "differentiate yourself by what you will do," urged Pollak. Become an industry insider.

Set up a Google News Alert for the industry in which you wish to work, especially the company with which you will be interviewing. Make sure to read insider industry blogs and newspapers.

The obvious choice for finance majors is The Wall Street Journal, while someone interested in publishing should subscribe to Publisher's Weekly.

In addition you should "do the human stuff, too," said Pollak. "If you're applying to work at Lifetime, guess which TV shows you should be watching? Or if you are after a job at Google, what e-mail address should be listed on your résumé?"

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