Business & Government

Landing a job, one coffee at a time

A recent report finds that nationally, Class of 2025 graduates are enduring the worst entry-level labor market in five years.

The Cengage Group 2025 Graduate Employability Report says just 30% of 2025 college graduates and 41% of 2024 graduates landed those kinds of jobs.

At the University of Virginia, a new professor of practice in the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy is helping students make the most of informal meetings with prospective employers.

Melanie Ann Egorin, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services with 20 years of government experience, is a skilled networker who loves working with young people.

“What I realized … was the thing I was going to miss the most was the energy and excitement of Capitol Hill,” she said. “It just runs on the energy of 24-year-olds that are going to come and change the world for whatever policy issues, passion, reason. So, that’s part of what was really appealing about coming to Batten, coming to UVA.”

Portrait of Melanie Ann Egorin in a library

Melanie Ann Egorin, a former assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, is a professor of practice with 20 years of government service under her belt. (Photo by John Robinson, UVA Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy)

Egorin is planning a course to offer in the spring called “Getting Coffee in D.C.”

“The Coffee in D.C. class actually came out of office hours with a number of my students,” she said. Many were asking her how to make these encounters most effective. Here is some of her advice.

People are generally very generous with their time

“I know it’s really hard right now,” she said. “For certain jobs, it’s always been really hard. I always joke about the line from ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ where it’s like, ‘There are a million girls that would kill for your job.’”

She said it’s not just working for Runway, the movie’s fictitious version of Vogue. “It’s working in these really highly coveted positions.”

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Egorin wants young job-seekers to recognize people want to help, and she wants them to be respectful of their time. “So, being thoughtful about how you use people’s time, but also, ‘How do you make sure that you’re continuing that connection,’ because there may not be anything now. But there may be something in six months.”

Thus the “Can we get together for coffee?” meeting.

Don’t be intimidated – view coffee as a fun adventure

Egorin urges young adults not to be intimidated during these encounters, but to flip the script.

“If you walk into something and say, ‘If I blow this, I’m never getting a job,’ that’s really scary and intimidating,” she said. What if, instead, you walked in and thought it would be fun and a chance to learn about a discipline or profession?

“This is a chance to have a conversation that may explore and open new doors,” she said.

Egorin still has coffee, or wine, or a walk with her mentors. “I still call people and say, ‘I’m working through this really tough issue. Do you have 15 minutes to grab coffee?’” she said.

Do you mind if I follow up with you in a couple of months?

The Batten professor said she always appreciates it when a former coffee partner stops her for a quick “hello.”

“They would make a point of recognizing me and stopping me and being like, ‘Hi,’ and giving me a two-sentence update, like, ‘I’m still looking for opportunities,’ as opposed to ‘I need a job.’ It’s … softer,” Egorin said.

She also suggests people ask their coffee date if they can connect them with other people of interest or suggest associations or professional networking circles that would be a good fit.

Playing it forward is also a good play. “Later in my career … if anybody ever asked me for coffee, I’d say ‘Yes,’ because that is how I actually learned,” she said. Egorin’s advice: Dive in, ask questions, learn and play it forward.