How long did it take for you to find a professional job after graduating college?
snood asked:
I graduate this May with a BS in Journalism (concentration in public relations.) When I graduate I’ll have had 1.5 years of related internship experience, but I’m a little worried about my job prospects. I live in a major city in the midwest and I will graduate from a university with a good reputation.
I graduate this May with a BS in Journalism (concentration in public relations.) When I graduate I’ll have had 1.5 years of related internship experience, but I’m a little worried about my job prospects. I live in a major city in the midwest and I will graduate from a university with a good reputation.
When should I begin looking for a job? How long on average does it take recent grads to find professional work that utilizes their degree? How long did it take you to find work? I’m just curious cause it seems so competitive; I just want to be prepared.
I don’t want to work at a restaurant or as a secretary when I worked hard in college for more than four years!
Caffeinated Content
October 14th, 2009 at 4:54 am
Create a video blog…instantly.
It took me 2 months….that was considered fast because I had a string of part time jobs (during uni days) and good referrals to boost my credentials. I didn’t start my job hunt until I graduated but I wouldn’t advise you to do the same. Start writing in to as many companies as possible even before you graduate because drafting your resume will take a while and going for many job interviews serves as good practice for you.
October 14th, 2009 at 10:52 am
Create a video blog…instantly.
Start looking about two months ahead of graduation. I just got my BA in psychology on the ninth of December and I started looking about three weeks prior. I have only gotten three interviews out of the hundreds (maybe more like 80) of resumes I sent out. It may also be due to the time of the year of the rate of offers (not many people are looking to hire with Christmas right around the corner). So you may have a better shot at scoring a job right after your graduation because many companies’ fiscal years are up around the spring and summer. My aunt got her bachelors from USC and it took her four months to get an offer. I know what you mean about not wanting a job that you could have without a degree. Do research on what you think you should be making come the degree and then hold out for that. Good luck and congrats!
October 14th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Caffeinated Content
it varies from person to person, depending on your chosen field of work, your qualifications, etc. just keep your nose to the grindstone and try to drum up interviews at good organizations by being politely persistent, following up your detailed cover letter/resume mailings with phone calls once or twice a week, etc.
the most important factor that you can control is your own level of preparation. be prepared like you’ve never been prepared. be ready to tackle any question — buy one of those sample question books at a bookstore, or just go someone & read a bunch of interview books for your own edification. what’s really critical is doing your research about the organization — know about it’s divisions, units… the way it’s set up… what makes it different from the rest of the pack. try to get the name of your interviewer before hand & research their stats so that you can ask them good questions.
perservere and you will get the job of your dreams!!
October 17th, 2009 at 3:46 am
Create a video blog
1 month. I started sending resumes out 6 months before graduation. That was a little too soon in my opinion. 4 months would work perfect.
If you find a company you would really like to work for don’t give up. I submitted a resume to my current employer three times in six months with follow up calls each time. I guess they finally decided I wasn’t going away. My interview with them was 2 weeks after graduation and they called me that night to offer me a job that was more advanced than I had applied for, with much better pay. I went from making $11 and hour in college to almost $90k my first year. Perseverance is the only reason this happened. It would have been very easy to give up after they ignored me the first time.
I know what you mean about worrying about not finding a job. I saw so many of my friends graduate and end up as bartenders, waiters and factory workers. Nothing wrong with any of those jobs but why did they go to school for 4 years.
One final piece of advice. ALL of my friends from college that ended up with good jobs spent a lot of time looking and were willing to move. None of us found jobs in our hometowns. We were in Kentucky for school and three of them took jobs in FL, one in GA and I had to move to NC for my position. Be open to moving. It will make your search much easier.