• My name is Jacob Lafever, and I graduated in May of 2016 from Purdue University with a degree in Landscape Architecture, and a little over $27000 in student debt.
• I started my first landscape architecture position with Curtis + Rogers Design Studio, a design firm in Miami, Florida as a Jr. Landscape Architect.
• From working extreme hours in studios and other courses at Purdue, I knew work-life balance was very important to me, and I knew I wanted to find an employer who valued me more as a person than a worker.
• The biggest lesson that has helped me to find a place to begin my career is patience. Wait to find something that is worthwhile and enjoyable, and be open to possibilities you may have never considered before.
• In the six months since I started my job my debt has dropped to less than $24K, and I'm currently paying a minimum of $500 a month towards my debts. I'm on track to pay off my loans in a little under 5 years.

How did Kaila Hart get her master's degree, become a branch manager at Enterprise and then move into corporate sales by her mid twenties?

She shares her secret, but I had I ask her two times and then we finally found that "Golden Thread" that leads to her success! 

The great news is that we all can do it! Yes it is not a matter of talent or GPA or financial status but her success is something we can all start doing today.

She does credit some pivotal moments such as an internship with Ely Lilly, but again we all have similar opportunities. Learn how she maximized them and then do the same in your life!

Jeff Eads, Ball State University Career Coach, works with thousands of college graduates each year and shares valuable insights on interviewing.

He talks about the importance of making a strong first impression. Employers report that the first impression usually sticks and hiring decisions often come back to how a candidate did in the first five minutes.

We talked about the importance of a candidate matching the interviewer's energy level and personality. The key is to work on your body language especially the little things. For example are you standing with a confident posture and ready to engage?

In business today there are more distractions than ever and so people tend form opinions about us very quickly. In fact research shows that in ten seconds people are already forming their opinions about us.

So the key is know your story, have confident and energetic body language and then be ready not only with your resume but some with open ended questions to engage the other person.