Ever since high school, Erin McGoff has always been the go-to person for all things career-related. “I’ve always been the ambitious friend, the friend who can help you with your resume, the friend to help, give you a pep talk before a job interview,” McGoff tells Her Campus in an exclusive interview. Now, she’s that friend for her more than 6 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube as AdviceWithErin.
After graduating from American University in 2017, McGoff originally started her career path working within the film industry. When she began creating content during the COVID-19 pandemic (as many influencers did), her videos mainly focused on giving career advice specific to the film industry, since that’s what she knew best. However, as people began to flood her account asking for tips and intel on specific work scenarios — such as how to negotiate a raise or how to advocate for oneself in the workplace — she gradually shifted to giving general career advice (which has not only earned her a massive following, but most recently, a spot on Forbes’s 30 Under 30 list for 2024).Â
“For me, it’s very much a mission to democratize access to career advice,” McGoff says. “I hate the idea that somebody can get rejected from a job simply because they didn’t know how to properly answer an interview question.”
Although her content is for everyone, it mainly serves the newest generation of workers: Gen Z. Faced with new career challenges such as a more competitive job market, hybrid workspaces that don’t necessarily foster a community of connection, and the online application processes that seem to grow lengthier and more confusing, young people are finding it difficult to get a job. McGoff is here to help them.
Below, McGoff shares three of her top tips for college students looking ahead to their first big job search.
In-person networking is scary, but necessary.
Since the rise of remote work due to the pandemic, almost everything career-related has become virtual — job searching, interviews, and even career fairs. Virtual work environments are all Gen Z knows how to navigate when it comes to anything career related. Afterall, most Gen Zers weren’t able to be part of the workforce before COVID-19. So, McGoff encourages everyone to get off their computers and network in person. “Get to know actual human beings, because humans hire and computers do not,” she says.Â
Networking doesn’t have to be a formal meet-up, though — it can be anywhere, at any time, with anyone. “Anytime you meet a new person, that’s networking,” McGoff says. “If you’re at your friend’s birthday party, if you’re on vacation, and if you’re even at a place like the playground or the dog park, that’s a new connection. Then with that one connection, even if they aren’t directly related to my field, they know 10 other people [that you could connect with].”Â
Starting conversations with new people may be awkward, but McGoff has ways to overcome this. “My best advice is just to get over it and learn how to love small talk — learn how to love meeting new people, and be curious [and] kind toward new people,” McGoff says.Â
Even if you’re introvert and making small talk is actually your worst nightmare, have no fear, because there’s a way to work around it. “Another great tip that I have for networking is to make friends with an extrovert, somebody who is that person who goes up and talks to strangers, because that way you can just hang out with them and then they can be your bridge towards talking to new people,” McGoff says.
Job descriptions are your roadmaps to success.Â
Preparing for job interviews can be pretty stressful, since there’s so much pressure to be the “perfect” candidate. For this, McGoff has a tangible tip no matter what field you go into.Â
“The job description for the role that you’re applying for is a literal road map,” McGoff says. “Every single bullet point should be somewhere reflected in your resume and in your cover letter, and those should be your talking points.”Â
Taking keywords from the job description and incorporating them into your resume or cover letter will help you get that first interview, according to McGoff, and then you can continue to lean on those keywords from there.Â
“[The interviewer is] listening for you to say the words that are in the job description,” McGoff says. “They are going to check the boxes that you said those words, how to do this and that, and that you have experience in this. So, it’s important to know what to say and to repeat the job description as much as possible and talk about the value that you will bring to the role.”
Don’t count out those Career aptitude tests.Â
It’s hard figuring out where your passions truly lie when there are so many options out there to choose from. McGoff’s greatest tip when it comes to cancelling out all the noise is to take a career aptitude quiz, which gives you a few career options that might suit you after you answer a series of questions. (I know, it kind of seems like it’s giving Buzzfeed, but trust the process on this one.)Â
“There are so many great careers out there that people just aren’t exposed to until they graduate,” McGoff says. “I would recommend taking those [quizzes], reading the recommended jobs, and truly exploring them.”Â
However, there are so many to choose from, which is why McGoff created her own. Utilizing her experience with her TikTok page and audience, McGoff’s career aptitude test consists of 30 questions that align with the current job field. Her free aptitude quiz can be found on her website.Â
Even if you’re just a freshman in college, now could be as good a time as ever to find out what direction you want to go in, so you can start the preparations early. “You’re investing a lot of golden years into that [career],” McGoff says. “So yeah, definitely getting ahead of it is [my] recommendation.”