Everyone wants you to have experience but no one wants to hire you to get experience (employment, applying)
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Location: where people are either too stupid to leave or too stuck to move
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Okay I graduated from college(like that matters now a days) about 8 months ago, and even though I have done internships in my field, I can't find a job because when I look at job descriptions even for entry level they want you to have 3-8 years experience..
like where the hell am i suppose to get that?
like i know i can do a job, if was given a chance but i can't get a chance with out chances..
anyone else experiencing this?
and another thing, is the internet the only way to find a job?! i mean the newspaper of course (which i rarely work in my major/close to it anyway) but what are other ways...or am i slave to the net forever?
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
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Quote:
Originally Posted by L'Artiste
Okay I graduated from college(like that matters now a days) about 8 months ago, and even though I have done internships in my field, I can't find a job because when I look at job descriptions even for entry level they want you to have 3-8 years experience..
like where the hell am i suppose to get that?
like i know i can do a job, if was given a chance but i can't get a chance with out chances..
anyone else experiencing this?
and another thing, is the internet the only way to find a job?! i mean the newspaper of course (which i rarely work in my major/close to it anyway) but what are other ways...or am i slave to the net forever?
If a job is "entry-level", then no prior experience should be required. It's a frustrating situation you are in right now ... What is your industry/field? In addition to responding to online job postings and newspaper ads, I would try to attend industry-specific events and network. What about the company/agency that you did your internships? Do you still keep in touch with them? Also, let those in your circle of contacts know that you are looking for a job within ___ field ... It's called networking and could result in job leads as your contacts could possibly know someone who is in a position to hire or recommend you for employment. In the mean time, look into volunteer/internships opportunites to gain more experience.
BTW: Do you even list the internships on your resume and highlight the accomplishments or skills gained from those internships? When I graduated with my masters degree in a highly competitive field, I had three internships under my belt. My industry requires that I gain part-time experience before I could be seriously considered for full-time opportunities. I gained so much from my three internships that my resume got me an interview for a full-time position (out of hundreds of applicants)!
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,035,808 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSchemist80
Pretty much any professional job nowadays.
Um ... Entry-level jobs are not supposed to require prior experience ... I can understand positions asking for experience but they should not be designated as "entry-level" as that is incorrect.
Some job ads specifically want fresh college grads. However, you have slim chances of getting those interviews because a new crop of fresh grads has just flooded the market.
Trust me, I know how you feel. I graduated in December 2009, but I have been sending out applications since May 2009. I have a solid six month internship under my belt and I am currently freelancing my services for free because people won't respond to my craigslist ad's if I ask for money in exchange for my work. Since I graduated, I have had about six or seven interviews for full-time positions with no offers. Some of my interviews were intimidating group interviews where I was staring seven or eight fresh grads in my age group in the face. Other interviews I was told by the interviewer that I was competing with people who "worked in the industry" having decades of experience with stellar professional portfolios working for mega-companies like NBC. How can I compete with that? I've been unemployed for a year now and haven't had an interview in almost six months. I apply to places everyday. It's pretty sad.
My only advice would be to keep applying to places. Maybe spend a few hundreds to go to bar-tending school for a few weeks and land a bar-tending position at a fancy local country club where rich older folks like to relax. There you will get to network with drunk rich people who might be able to give you a job. However, it is hard to even get a bar-tending gig these days.
Okay I graduated from college(like that matters now a days) about 8 months ago, and even though I have done internships in my field, I can't find a job because when I look at job descriptions even for entry level they want you to have 3-8 years experience..
like where the hell am i suppose to get that?
like i know i can do a job, if was given a chance but i can't get a chance with out chances..
anyone else experiencing this?
and another thing, is the internet the only way to find a job?! i mean the newspaper of course (which i rarely work in my major/close to it anyway) but what are other ways...or am i slave to the net forever?
I remember that happening to me after college and had to end up taking a job as a telemarketer since I needed money. No TV station would call me because I had no experience and I thought having a degree would make them overlook that. And no the web is not the only way to find a job, have to network and be in position to meet new people.
They call us generation (cr)Y for a reason. If you ask me, most of you have a lot to complain about though. But the truth is, you really don't have it much worse than the older or more experienced folks. How would you feel about making over 6 figures one year, then go through unemployment, only to end up working entry level? I've heard countless stories like that. This economy sucks for everybody. Most people are just trying to survive right now, so it's probably time to start considering any work possible, whether it's walmart, Mcdonalds, retail... Anything! If you can put some time into earning a steady, albeit low paycheck, it will at least show you can show up to a job on time, meet certain standards of employment, function in a work environment. Not to mention, if you do good work, you will gain a solid reference. You could even be promoted to something better paying with more responsibility, which would serve very well on a resume.
The sad thing is, many of those once good paying jobs don't exist anymore. There are engineers in India, people reading EKG's in India, the list goes on... White collar work of all kinds is easier to coordinate overseas nowadays. Most of these cooperation today just skim off the top when it comes to making their money. Labor is a big expense, and it always has been. By having the work done overseas, or bringing cheap foreign labor here legally, they have an easy time boosting profits in a down economy, which can offset slumping sales. Will these jobs return??? Who knows. Companies love profits. But anyone holding out for their dream job may be waiting a long time. In the meantime, it may not be such a bad idea to take a truly entry level job at the jobs mentioned.
Okay I graduated from college(like that matters now a days) about 8 months ago, and even though I have done internships in my field, I can't find a job because when I look at job descriptions even for entry level they want you to have 3-8 years experience..
like where the hell am i suppose to get that?
like i know i can do a job, if was given a chance but i can't get a chance with out chances..
anyone else experiencing this?
and another thing, is the internet the only way to find a job?! i mean the newspaper of course (which i rarely work in my major/close to it anyway) but what are other ways...or am i slave to the net forever?
Lower your standards. Work an entry-level position. I've had my job for two years now--since I started college--making $7.75/hr as an executive assistant. My degree is in political science, but I don't plan to use it--I'll just keep working as an admin assistant/exec assistant/secretary/receptionist because that's where my experience is, and i can't throw the 2.5 years I'll have at this place once I graduate down the drain just because this job field isn't absolutely perfect for me and what I dream of. Granted, I made this decision based on the fact that beginning a semester after I started school, I started looking around Craigslist and got a general idea of what would be expected of me in order to get a job once I graduated. In other words, I've known what I would be up against and what would be expected of me for a while.
Further, NO, the internet is NOT your only resource. In fact, it's not even a very good resource. Want to know your best resource? THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW. Go to your local library (or buy it for twenty bucks) and check out What Color is Your Parachute.
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