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I had my first job out of school in 2011. I sent out over 200 resumes all over the country in jobs in my field (logistics) and got exactly one reply from a company on the west coast (I was on the east coast.) They refused to do a Skype interview, and had no desire to fly me out, so I had to pay to fly there and interview. They hired me, but then I had to pay to move out there (I had to borrow multiple thousands to do it.) Then I worked at a hellish job for two years for $15 an hour, which was not a living wage where I was located.
However, that mere two years of experience changed everything. When I started looking for jobs after two years, I got tons of callbacks, people flew me places for interviews, salary offers were much better, and people were clamoring for me and showing me respect. All because I had some practical experience.
As it turns out, your education probably taught you little about how to actually do the job. Employers are far more interested in experience than education. They want to know what you can bring to the position. Therefore, the first job you get will be the hardest one to acquire, and it will probably suck for any number of reasons. My advice? Send out resumes all over the place. If a rural county in North Dakota wants you to come work there, go, no matter how much it will suck living there (sorry ND folks.) In two years, that experience will open many, many doors for you, and you will still be young.
^^^This is excellent advice. OP, please read this three times. This might be the #1 most important thing for your job search.
^^^This is excellent advice. OP, please read this three times. This might be the #1 most important thing for your job search.
Ok, I will read it three times! lol.
Yeah I'm definitely worried about the first job! I believe I will be successful, but I wish I could already have it now and just not worry about it. That won't be the case. I'll probably start applying for "real" jobs in September or August when I start my last semester.
I have no desire to work for them anyway. Health policy and epidemiology are also concentrated in these two cities because public health is mostly government work and non-profits, and it's these agencies who usually fund the research. Not that they don't exist elsewhere, each state and county government, sometimes even city if it's large enough, have similar positions. But they are harder to come by and the government work is competitive to get into as it is.
Tucson is similar here, with mining and defense. This is the field Im looking into within public health and they are much more evenly scattered and less concentrated that the other fields. Also the biggest one in the private sector. Safety or environmental health is what I want to do. Environmental health is more interesting but they tie really closely together, which is why they are usually combined in college programs and in real life, hence "EHS" acronym that is so common.
Logistics places are big too. For an example Amazon usually hires for this job in their distribution centers. Saw one in Denver the other day but I'm still in college so I'm not ready yet.
EHS if anything favors mid-sized cities with more affordable real estate because it ties so close with blue-collar work. At least what I am seeing.
Depends how the company's health management system and policies run. Some companies will have professionals that handle both enviro and safety, others will have specialists specific to each field (safety vs IH vs haz waste) even though they are all lumped under EHS. Boeing's system, for example, is the latter. EHS is required for almost any company e.g. SpaceX, Facebook, Google, Apple, Tesla, hospitals, universities, laboratories, etc, and not necessarily tied down to affordable areas due to blue collar work, although it can be the case depending on industry.
Just my 2 cents, but working for Amazon, you'll be thrown into the deep end and you better be capable of thinking and learning fast because you'll be in for a surprise. I knew several IH's and safety specialists that ran the gauntlet at those warehouses, and they all hated it with a passion. That being said, having that job at an Amazon dist center will give you great experience which you can use to develop your career and find a better job. You're still young, and even if you only stay at Amazon for 1-3 years, you'll have 1-3 years of experience and still be young.
If you have any questions feel free to PM me. I have an MPH in EOHS/IH and work at Boeing. G'luck!
Yeah living in Tucson isn't good for that, I can agree. Hopefully I'll be able to make it out. I might start cold calling some places who could be interested in someone like me. Speaking of which, what is the best way to go about it?
I mentioned previously that I found an internship that fit perfectly posted a few days ago but I don't know when I should reach out to them to ask about my application. What's the standard protocol for the waiting period? The internship I have now I got hired right when I applied, literally.
It just depends on how fast the organization moves. I'd guess if you haven't heard anything in a month, it's going nowhere, but some organizations move incredibly slowly.
It just depends on how fast the organization moves. I'd guess if you haven't heard anything in a month, it's going nowhere, but some organizations move incredibly slowly.
I actually got a call from their HR this morning, and I haven't had a chance to call them back. I'm assuming it could only mean an interview, otherwise why else would they bother calling to ask about my application? I'm probably going to call them within the hour or so. This company seems to do ok there, I applied on Sunday night. Thank you though!
Depends how the company's health management system and policies run. Some companies will have professionals that handle both enviro and safety, others will have specialists specific to each field (safety vs IH vs haz waste) even though they are all lumped under EHS. Boeing's system, for example, is the latter. EHS is required for almost any company e.g. SpaceX, Facebook, Google, Apple, Tesla, hospitals, universities, laboratories, etc, and not necessarily tied down to affordable areas due to blue collar work, although it can be the case depending on industry.
Just my 2 cents, but working for Amazon, you'll be thrown into the deep end and you better be capable of thinking and learning fast because you'll be in for a surprise. I knew several IH's and safety specialists that ran the gauntlet at those warehouses, and they all hated it with a passion. That being said, having that job at an Amazon dist center will give you great experience which you can use to develop your career and find a better job. You're still young, and even if you only stay at Amazon for 1-3 years, you'll have 1-3 years of experience and still be young.
If you have any questions feel free to PM me. I have an MPH in EOHS/IH and work at Boeing. G'luck!
I might take you up on that offer in the future!
I have heard Amazon isn't the best employer but there is some extremely mixed reviews. The huge benefit for Amazon is free Amazon prime, and since I'm a big customer there well, that would be nice. I know someone interning there right now but not in the distribution side of things, and she enjoys it.
I actually just got a call from a place I applied to for an internship in OSHA with the specialization in "Control of Hazardous Energy". It's capitalized so I'm assuming it's a department and follows a similar structure to where you work. This is for an aerospace & defense company so not too far off from Boeing. I took the assumption that meant hazardous waste though I don't really know yet, it appears from the job description that it also means security of these energy sources when they are stored on-site. I'm 99% sure it's to schedule an interview so I'm going to have to start studying to be a competitive applicant. There are probably a couple other students who applied here, and I really want to get this internship.
Would you say companies weigh more importance on internships or GPA when it comes to the first "real" full-time job?
I've never heard of GPA being important. At worst, it could be used as a culling device if the workplace gets dozens or hundreds of applications. Probably not the primary culling factor.
I work at a freaking college. This is exactly the kind of workplace you'd think GPA would matter. We assign GPAs after all! Even here, demonstrated experience weighs far more than educational pedigree. Usually, strong candidates have a good gpa from a good school as a matter of course. If the candidate is strong I will not even look at the gpa. Sometimes when I see weak candidates, I think "I bet this person had a poor gpa and/or went to a crappy school" and I look at their transcripts.... what do you know, my suspicions are confirmed.
Last edited by redguard57; 04-27-2016 at 05:21 PM..
I've never heard of GPA being important. At worst, it could be used as a culling device if the workplace gets dozens or hundreds of applications. Probably not the primary culling factor.
I work at a freaking college. This is exactly the kind of workplace you'd think GPA would matter. We assign GPAs after all! Even here, demonstrated experience weighs far more than educational pedigree. Usually, strong candidates have a good gpa from a good school as a matter of course. If the candidate is strong I will not even look at the gpa. Sometimes when I see weak candidates, I think "I bet this person had a poor gpa and/or went to a crappy school" and I look at their transcripts.... what do you know, my suspicions are confirmed.
What if they have a poor gpa but a great work experience? Is that still a red flag to you?
And if they are the opposite, great gpa but no work experience, are they considered a strong candidate?
So I'm a college student, looking to graduate in December. I am working an internship right now and hoping to get another internship in the field I actually want to go into. I have been applying at other places. Even unpaid internships are hard to come by, depending on where you live and what field you are looking to get into.
Many of us college students feel lost when looking for "professional" jobs especially right out of graduation. I know I worry about it a lot. Here in Tucson the economy is horrible and even though I like Tucson, if I wanted to stay I doubt there would be an opportunity for me. Odds are I will have to look in Phoenix for employment or out of state. Out of state is where I would like to go, and this seems even more daunting.
Some of you guys are in the position of hiring or at least have been experienced for quite some time. You probably have seen a plethora of people just entering your field, probably young adults the most. What advice would you give them in the act of applying for jobs, so that they have better chances for succeeding in employment? We want to work but for the newbie of the workforce it's hard to be qualified. You can't get work experience without work experience!
I am hoping this would be a thread for all college students to read, not specifically about me.
If you haven't already, I would have someone experienced in hiring review/critique your resume.
Also, find someone qualified to give you a mock interview and give you feedback. If you can tape the process, so much the better.
The best advice I was ever given for an interview was not to blurt out an answer just because I felt the time pressure of doing so. Once the question is asked, give yourself a moment(it will seem endless to you, not so much to the interviewers), collect yourself, think about the question/your answer and then respond.
As others have said, network. One way is to join a service org in your community. I recommend the Rotary Club, but look at whats around, check their facebook pages and pick one. Likely some of the movers/shakers in your community will belong to these orgs. Even if not, many of the people in these orgs will be mid or high level people in academia, private industry and govt. They will likely be majority older than you, but setting up for charity events always needs able bodied people, so they will welcome you. Likely they can provide a lot of advice. Worst case they will adopt you and feed you free.
I know nothing about your field, but have you looked at govt.
Private industry functions that are regulated by govt always welcome people who have govt exp. For example, a lot of tax lawyers at IRS spend only 2-3 years there and then move on to a big accounting firm. They are valued for that experience, and in fact these private firms hire a lot of IRS agents, manager and executives more for their connections and understanding of the IRS than for their actual tax law knowledge.
That being said, when unemployment is high, govt is picky. When its low, as supposedly now, they have trouble filling their positions, esp the headquarters positions in DC. I would look there if you are not having luck elsewhere. Not sure about state govt in this field, but the same may apply.
Good luck.
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