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Are You a Recent Grad on a Job Hunt? Career Services Has Tips!

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Looking to Negotiate Your Next Job? An ILR Prof Has Some Top Tips

From résumés to interview prep to best practices on using AI, a Big Red expert offers advice amid 'uncertain times' for hiring

By Beth Saulnier

Erica Kryst is the executive director of Cornell Career Services. With the job market getting tougher, Cornellians tapped her for advice on how recent alumni can improve their chances of finding work and advancing their careers in a competitive and rapidly changing landscape.

Kryst, who holds a doctorate in educational theory and policy from Penn State, has led the Big Red career office since fall 2022.

First off, what does Career Services offer alumni?

They have access to almost all the same online resources as our current students. One of our most highly utilized is CUeLINKS. It’s a tool to help students connect with alumni—but it also allows alumni to connect to each other.

With their NetID and password, alumni also have access to other resources like Handshake, an online network of career information.

Could you characterize what the job market is like for early career professionals?

We’re in uncertain times. You see in the news that early career hiring is down or slowing. A lot of the uncertainty is blamed on AI, but it’s not the sole cause. There’s uncertainty in different markets that impacts how open companies are to hiring, and their volume of hiring.

It’s critical for recent alumni to build their networks—to find contacts to learn more about an organization and start to build connections. Given the ease with which people can apply to jobs, employers are flooded with applications. How do you stand out among 20,000 applicants for one role? It’s through your networks.

It’s critical for recent alumni to build their networks—to find contacts to learn more about an organization and start to build connections.

You also need to think outside the box. Is the work you want to do only in one industry, or could you pursue it through other organizations? You may want to be at Google—but could you work as a software engineer for an insurance company?

What are some of the most common mistakes that early career professionals make?

I don’t know if it’s a mistake, but one of the places I see recent grads struggle—both with the search and with their wellbeing—is putting so much pressure on their first job, thinking, “If I don’t get into this now, I’m never going to.”

That first job can often be a great learning experience, and every job is a springboard. You’re going to meet people, learn from a new manager, gain technical or analytical skills that you can continue to use. And exposure to different fields or career paths might give you clarity about what you want—or don’t want.

A career is longer than that first job; it’s most of your adult life. We’re not playing the short game.

How important is it to craft your résumé to each job posting?

We really think it’s important—and we have some newer resources that will help. One, Big Résumé, allows you to upload a job description and your résumé; it’ll tell you whether you have tailored it to that job, or what the gaps are.

A career is longer than that first job; it’s most of your adult life. We’re not playing the short game.

Is it OK to use AI to generate a résumé or cover letter?

We’re hearing from employers that it’s very easy for them to tell when they’ve been solely generated by AI. Tools like ChatGPT and Copilot can be helpful starting points, but you have to give AI guidance for it to work well.

It’s really about the prompts: not just “write me a cover letter for a software developer position” but: “Here are the things they’re emphasizing for this position. Here’s my résumé. Now draft a cover letter for this job.” And then make sure you tailor whatever AI produces, and that it’s using language you would use.

You mentioned the importance of networking. How do you start?

First, your network is the people around you. So if you’re new in a job, get to know your colleagues. Get to know the mid-level folks above you. Ask to go to coffee and learn about their career path. How did they get into this position? How did they know what was right for them?

Some people think that networking is randomly reaching out on LinkedIn. It can be that, too—but I always encourage folks to start with people they have a connection to. And that includes fellow alumni, who help one another as part of the larger Cornell family.

An overhead photo of a job fair with people shaking hands — lindsay france / cornell university

Keep in mind that a great question at the end of any networking conversation or informational interview is, “Is there anybody in your network you recommend that I reach out to? And would you mind sending an email introducing us?”

Also, networking is meant to be a mutual relationship; the other person may not benefit in the moment, but now you’re part of their network, too. So always offering that—“Please reach out if I could ever do anything for you”—is really important.

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What are your tips on crafting the best LinkedIn profile?

When you build it for the first time, it defaults to some basic information. There’s a tagline under your photo, and you should customize that. You might highlight your current role or what you’re searching for, as well as some key attributes.

The other section I really like is the summary. It’s an opportunity to put your elevator pitch out there. If I’m a recruiter or someone else in your network you’re trying to connect with, that gives me the basics about you, your skill set, and your interests.

And if you’re going to have a profile, fill it out completely. Write descriptions of your experiences.

Once you land a job interview, how do you stand out—especially if you’re competing against people with more experience?

Be prepared, and know what you want to communicate about yourself—your strengths and skills as a candidate.

Practicing interviewing is so important; it makes you more confident going into the room. AI can be very helpful: “I’m preparing for an interview in this field; give me some questions,” or “What are some tips for answering a question about weaknesses or goals?”

Practicing interviewing is so important; it makes you more confident going into the room.

Another critical thing is having examples. Don’t just say, “One of my strengths is communication.” Say, “One of my strengths is communication, because of X, Y, and Z; here’s a time I used that skill to my advantage in my previous job.”

In our more casual era, how important is it to be professionally dressed for an interview?

You need to know the norms for the organization you’re interviewing for—and don’t be afraid to ask questions about that. But overall, it’s usually better to overdress than underdress.

I’d say the same for virtual interviews—and dress the whole part. Even if they’re only seeing your top half; what if someone knocks at the door and you have to get up to answer it?

Once you have an offer, should you negotiate the salary even early in your career?

In tougher economic times, people can be hesitant. But we encourage everyone to negotiate—whether it’s their first offer or their 10th. And the salary you start with can determine your growth over time.

Could you give some tips on negotiating?

Do your research and understand the averages in your field, and use that to inform a range to ask for. Say, “You’ve offered me $75,000, but I’m looking to negotiate in the range of $80,000–90,000.”

The range communicates flexibility; you’re not giving a hard number. Hopefully they’ll come back and say, like, “based on the data you presented, we can offer you $82,000.”

We encourage everyone to negotiate—whether it’s their first offer or their 10th.

Sometimes the answer is no. But there are other things you can negotiate on, like vacation time or tuition reimbursement. And if it’s a hard no all around, ask, “What’s the progression in this role? Is there a bonus structure? When would be the time to explore this further, like during the annual performance review?”

And finally: what’s the best career advice you ever received?

My last boss told me, “You will never have all your ducks in a row.” What that means is there’s only so much you can do to keep everything organized and moving in the direction you want it to go—because there are always things coming at you that you didn’t expect and don’t have control over.

You just have to accept it and do what you can. If you get to a point where 80% of your ducks are moving in the right direction, you’re doing great work.

And I think about that with a job search, too. It’s not going to go perfectly; there will be opportunities and setbacks. But you can only keep moving forward.

(Top: Illustration by Ashley Osburn / Cornell University)

Published September 29, 2025