Any recent college graduates looking for a job?

S

steve_k

CAGiversary!
I completed a masters degree in December 2005 after finishing my bachelors degree in 2004, both from an accredited university with a 4.00 grade point average. After being employed with a manufacturing company for nearly three years, I was laid off and am currently having a rough time finding a good job. I did about as well as anyone could have possibly done in college, but the main selling point on my resume is my post-graduate work experience. I thought getting started was rough three years ago, but it is really rough now. I went to a job fair today, reserved for experienced, degreed professionals only, and the ratio of available jobs to job seekers was horrendous (this is in Houston, Texas). I'm curious how this experience is for a recent college graduate who has not yet earned that professional experience.

Are there any recent college graduates here? How have your career-hunting experiences been so far, and where are you? Do you have any stories to share?

I want to exclude responses from those lucky enough to have a successful family member who is able to help them land a perfect dream job straight out of college.
 
I'm pretty darn close to graduating and I'm having a hard time just finding an internship. I shudder to think of how I'm going to fair once I get out there. I'm doing my best, though.
 
I graduated last spring with a bachelors degree in Civil & Environmental Engineering and a masters degree in Applied Hydraulics. It took about two months of sending out resumes, applying online and visiting job fairs, but I did find a job. I concentrated my search in the northwest and snatched up a job in Salt Lake City.

What is your profession and where are you looking?
 
That sucks a lot of ass, OP. I graduate in a few weeks. I was extremely lucky to have been offered a full-time position post-graduation at the accounting firm I interned with last summer, just months before the shit hit the economy fan. And they explicitly have stated that they will not rescind anyone's offer. This is pretty much how most of my peers got their jobs, by getting a full-time offer from their place of internship. Everyone else who has a job in my school that I know of (business school) started EARLY in their job search, like September/October of last year when the career fair is on campus, and got that job way back then, before the shit really hit the fan. Anyone else who only started looking for a job in the past few months has had no luck even with internship experience and high GPAs.
 
I graduated last May, I applied to somewhere around 50 jobs from August to January, and then decided that I'd be better off going to grad school, so I'm heading back to grad school in the fall, and likely picking up a Grad Assistantship at my university.
 
[quote name='ohboy10451']my bro graduated and no luck yet. Its been about a year[/QUOTE]



What was his major?
Any academic honors with a high GPA?
What city?
Any work experience related to his major?
 
[quote name='panasonic']What school did you graduate from? Texas I assume since your from houston? Tech, A&M, SFA, TX State, etc.[/QUOTE]


Sam Houston State University
 
I graduated last May (Bachelor's in Telecommunications Management), and it took a lot of searching to finally land a job (in December).

That was a depressing six months or so. I know others have similar experiences. I blame part of it on my lack of a "real" internship. I didn't look hard enough for one when I should have, and to compensate, took a job through the university (all during my senior year). It didn't really "wow" anybody when I entered the job market, the way a real internship probably would've.
 
[quote name='steve_k']What was his major?
Any academic honors with a high GPA?
What city?
Any work experience related to his major?[/QUOTE]

Major was International Relations. GPA was about 3.3. New York City. Plenty of work experience/internships. Interned with Congressmen, worked in Parks Dept, now volunteering in Mayor Bloomberg's Re-election campaign. Since he cant find a job he started studying for the GRE exam.
 
I graduated with a BS in Information & Computer Science last June and have had terrible luck. I also worked for over 2 years at my university at a help desk position and I have yet to be able to find anything similar or at least in a related area. I apply to at least 20 positions a month and get the occasional 1st and 2nd interview, but never an offer. It been a rough year, but I gotta keep going.
 
I'm taking May off before I really start job hunting, since it's not looking too good just yet. I'm probably going to have to do some contract work outside my field of choice until I can build a stronger portfolio/resume to get a nice career.
 
Graduated this past winter. I have a free lance position for now but after that I'll have to see what happens, hopefully another free lance position somewhere else.

I saw a news segment where they said the salary we recent graduates will earn for the next decade will be 10 to 20 percent less than it has been. That is if we can land a position with the job market being the worst it has been in the last 25 years.
 
I graduated college in August of '07 with a BS in Computer Science, and ended up starting my first job October '07. I didn't have any prior work experience (no internships or anything), but I did do research under some of my profs. I think what sold it for me was 1) I had some pretty nice demos of stuff I worked one...2) The job entailed the very thing I focused on in school, and 3) The Job was only posted on the college's web site. Wasn't advertised very heavily. Every job I applied to through their website I got called in to interview for.

My roommate, on the other hand, ended up finally graduating in August '08 with a Bachelor's in Civil Engineering, and is having a hell of a time finding a job. He even considered flying halfway across the country to show up at one place that was hiring just to show how dedicated (read: desperate) he was.
 
Graduated August of 07 and landed a job in June 08. GPA was just over three and I was looking in the Cleveland area for an Accounting position. Never had a chance to intern in college because I was working full-time to support myself and I know that was what made it take so long to find a position.
 
Graduated with a Bachelors of Applied Arts in May of 2007 and have yet to find a good job yet, I live in Michigan, things aren't too good here economically speaking.
 
I graduated with a bachelors in Finance in 2008 and have not been able to find anything besides insurance sales that are 100% commissioned. I've been looking for jobs that are not in the finance field and have not had much come my way from that either. I graduated with a 3.7 GPA, but also did not intern while in college because I worked full time to pay the bills and went to school full time.
 
It's definetly not easy out there. I worked my way through college (Circuit City), and graduated with a bachelor's about 2 years ago. One thing that got me on my feet was I took a temp consoulting job. It was supposed to be 10wks time frame only. That job ended up lasting over a year. So you could look for smaller jobs or internships with the hope that they will last.

I just got a new full time entry-level job in IT. I still feel like I am behind the game when it comes to where I should be in my career. But at this point, the job is salary and IT entry-leven still pays well. I should be able to move up once I am in and prove my worth.

Try to stay positive!! And good luck!
 
Ugh, I would hate to be graduating right now. Good luck to all of you, and hopefully this will be all cleaned up in three years when I graduate...
 
I graduated in '07, and got a job almost immediately after I got out with a place I had interned with. However, I've been looking to get out since March '08, and haven't had any success. The market has been really bad. Pretty much every interview process that has gone well eventually goes to, "Well we want to hire you, but we're all of a sudden on a hiring freeze."

So the search continues...
 
I graduated in 2007, spent almost a year looking for a job as a level designer, even with some experience. I finally got a job a a freelance 3D artist for about a month. After that I had to resort to taking a testing job. I am currently still working as a tester, trying to work my way up the ladder and gain more experience aside from work. I'm keeping my hopes up as many game companies that are being shut down, 2 or more are created from a closed company.
 
[quote name='BlueLobstah']I graduated in '07, and got a job almost immediately after I got out with a place I had interned with. However, I've been looking to get out since March '08, and haven't had any success. The market has been really bad. Pretty much every interview process that has gone well eventually goes to, "Well we want to hire you, but we're all of a sudden on a hiring freeze."

So the search continues...[/QUOTE]

Definitely keep in contact with those companies that are having hiring freezes. I think that's what sealed the deal for my current position.

The company I work for interviewed me in August of 2008, liked my stuff, but told me they just couldn't hire (froze the position). I was one of four or so they liked at the time.

I kept emailing the interviewer to thank him for considering me and asking about the position. Tried my best not to be annoying. It all worked out when they finally opened it back up in December; he called me almost immediately after they got the word.
 
I just graduated with a Bachelors in Marketing. Anyways, I've been applying for jobs, submitted my resume about 15 times and only 1 company go back to me with an interview so far. The thing that sucks was they they were a scam company. Defining themselves as a "sports marketing company" also working with hotels, and more when really all they do is go door to door or wait outside shopping centers and sell coupons... I simply didn't go to college to do that.
 
I went in for an interview at a company a few years back that was doing marketing for sports and other things. I could tell right away that they were a scam, so I didn't stay too long. They wanted me to come in and work for a full day to see if I was a fit. I am pretty sure that's all they do-- interview people and have them come in for a day when they are busy and need extra help.
 
I am Graduating in January, Information Systems, currently working full time for a small software company and have worked help desk and cabling jobs in the past. The outlook is grim in the 50 mile radius of where I live. Raliegh is great for my field, but the drive would be horrendous, at least an hour and a half each way.

Go on all of the interviews you possibly can, interviewing experience can be half the battle. I know some folks who are great workers, but have terrible interview skills, which often means they don't get the job.

Temp agencies can often get you into larger companies, and usually seem to want a percentage of your pay. If you can take the hit to your pocketbook, this can be a great way to get some experience, put an impressive name on your resume, and help you start making connections in the field.

Good luck to us all!
 
I ended up with a few job offers, including one with the BEA (Bureau of Economic Analysis), but I know I'd end up killing myself if I took them. So, I joined the military. I was under the impression that with a degree,I was pretty much a shoe-in for the officer training program.Not true.It's highly, HIGHLY competitive anymore(especially in the AF and Navy). I got picked up by the board LAST NOVEMBER, and I won't be leaving for basic until THIS November. Thankfully, with benefits, the job is pretty good for a 4yr degree, and I'll get to attempt my Masters for free. It's just...If you get a government job,prepare to wait.

That said, I see a lot of grads unemployed. A degree hasn't been an employment guarantee since 1995. If you want a job,you'd better have internships or community service...which is hard when you have to work 2 jobs just to feed yourself.
 
My stats so far:

Date: May 2009
Location: Houston, Texas
Highest degree: Masters
School type: State University
Major (undergraduate): General Business with minor in management
Concentration (graduate): Finance
Undergraduate GPA: 4.00 (and plenty of awards)
Graduate level GPA: 4.00
internship in college: no
unprofessional experience: 5 years in retail
professional experience: 2.75 years with Fortune 500 company in business administration
age: soon to be 28
status: laid off 3 months ago
resumes sent: 167
legitimate job interviews: 9
scams detected and avoided: countless
ratio of resumes to interviews: 1 out of 18.5 resumes on average
job offers: 0

If you're just now graduating from college, you had better know someone in an industry immune to the recession / depression. Unfortunately, everyone I know is in an industry that has taken a heavy hit. The stats above are only a sample of what your competition will look like, as I am only one of the people you will be competing against for employment. If you feel your combined academics and work experience far exceed mine, you can confidently graduate and enter the work force with no worries. However, if your combined education and experience only match or don't even match mine, you should be worried. My expectations regarding pay match those of many students first getting out of college.

Also, you should be very skeptical as there are many scam artists out there trying to take advantage of gullible college graduates. If you are ever in doubt, type the name of the organization in question into www.ripoffreport.com and read any complaints that may have been filed. You should be looking for consistency of complaints. There are plenty of sales jobs available that pay based on commission only. These are usually for insurance companies or marketing companies. They expect you to sell crap to your friends and family and promise you that you will own your own company within 5 years and make a 6-figure annual income. Be aware.
 
what do you actually do as 'business administrator'? seems like there are far more business majors than there should be, not enough people doing whatever it is the company is supposed to be doing
 
If I had wanted to.. I could have graduated this summer (I'm currently a third year), but I decided to take up an extra major and graduate with the rest of my class next year. This of course is because of the shitty economy. I've had countless internships since my first year in college (Northwestern Mutual, Aramark, Verizon Wireless, various other jobs), but recently, I've been unable to find a decent position. I'm scared shitless to graduate, so I am actually thinking of pursuing a law degree but my mediocre GPA is really going to hold me back (3.4/4.0, Dean's list maybe half the terms). Hoping I can pull a 170+ LSAT just to have a slim chance for a tier one law school. From all my older friends, it's hard as hell to find a job. I have so many friends who graduated with honors and they're either working in retail for minimum wage or working in a family business. Times are hard, and living in California, even the menial labor jobs are impacted. I'm hoping I can ride out this recession by staying in school, but I'm taking a huge gamble if my law degree could possibly be worthless in like 4-5 years. fuck OUR LIVES.
 
gpa doesn't matter a whole lot for law school, 3.4 is fine, it's all about the lsat.. getting above a school's 75th percentile lsat more than makes up for having below their 25th percentile gpa. with a 3.4 pretty much every school is still in play, if you completely rock the lsat.
 
[quote name='Koggit']gpa doesn't matter a whole lot for law school, 3.4 is fine, it's all about the lsat.. getting above a school's 75th percentile lsat more than makes up for having below their 25th percentile gpa. with a 3.4 pretty much every school is still in play, if you completely rock the lsat.[/QUOTE]

Yeah. That's what I heard but it doesn't hurt to have a decent GPA. I got a 150 the first time I took the test (back in freshman year, for fun). I feel as though 170 should easily be in my range. I've always been a pretty alright test taker. Been playing a lot of those brain games on the DS to exercise the old noggin' when I'm bored. :lol:
 
[quote name='Koggit']what do you actually do as 'business administrator'? seems like there are far more business majors than there should be, not enough people doing whatever it is the company is supposed to be doing[/QUOTE]

I felt I would be speaking Greek with many of the board's readers (no offense) if I were to go into detail. I was an MRP user (Macola, JD Edwards) while releasing manufacturing orders for production, procuring thrid party vender servces, updating bills of materals and routers, and took an a major project with the transition of an obsolete MRP system to JD Edwards. I was heavily involved with inventory control.
 
Just graduated from Law School. Studying for the bar ATM. No offers, but I haven't been looking. Can't work until I pass the bar anyway.
 
[quote name='BlueLobstah']I graduated in '07, and got a job almost immediately after I got out with a place I had interned with. However, I've been looking to get out since March '08, and haven't had any success. The market has been really bad. Pretty much every interview process that has gone well eventually goes to, "Well we want to hire you, but we're all of a sudden on a hiring freeze."

So the search continues...[/QUOTE]

While it may seem like they're just saying they have a hiring freeze to blow you off or let you down nicely, it's probably true.

I work for the state, started in September 08 after graduating undergrad from a liberal arts college in May 2008. The entire state of PA has a hiring freeze (save for a few exceptions).

Most of the companies I've dealt with (I work for DEP) aren't getting much work at all. Most of the companies also have a hiring freeze, so I wouldn't take it personally, even if you thought the interview went well (and it probably did).
 
[quote name='scion of ys']http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124181970915002009.html[/QUOTE]

Wow! I just graduated a week ago and have no job. That is really depressing. My goal right now is to get any decent (i.e. non-fast food) job and save money since I'm living with my mom while I take 4-8 courses over the next year or two (since I may have to learn Greek and/or Italian) and then apply to Graduate school.
 
[quote name='mis0']Yeah. That's what I heard but it doesn't hurt to have a decent GPA. I got a 150 the first time I took the test (back in freshman year, for fun). I feel as though 170 should easily be in my range. I've always been a pretty alright test taker. Been playing a lot of those brain games on the DS to exercise the old noggin' when I'm bored. :lol:[/QUOTE]

thinking 170 is easily within your range may be setting yourself up for disappointment.. that's top 2% of law-school-bound students.. it's tougher than it sounds. most people improve ~10 points from their cold test. some more, some less, sure, but 20 point improvements are quite unusual. i tested cold at 158 and i'm aiming for ~167 (berkeley's median).

don't let that get you down, though. even 160 would be enough to give you a shot at tier 1 schools, and if you can do better than that, more power to you.
 
[quote name='lordwow']You took a $130 test for fun?[/QUOTE]

My university was offering a practice test. So I took it to gauge my range.

[quote name='Koggit']thinking 170 is easily within your range may be setting yourself up for disappointment.. that's top 2% of law-school-bound students.. it's tougher than it sounds. most people improve ~10 points from their cold test. some more, some less, sure, but 20 point improvements are quite unusual. i tested cold at 158 and i'm aiming for ~167 (berkeley's median).

don't let that get you down, though. even 160 would be enough to give you a shot at tier 1 schools, and if you can do better than that, more power to you.[/QUOTE]

Yeah. 170 is like super hard to obtain, but I like impossible goals to bring myself a state of urgency--where I panic--because I usually do better under pressure. My dumbass friend improved from a 158 to a 173 just by taking a prep course and I like to think I can do better than him. :)

I'm probably going to take a year off though, meaning I'll take my LSAT next June and apply the following September. I'll probably try find a job on my year off or just kick back and relax and make enough just to get by. 15+ years of school.. and I'm not looking to jump right into it again.

Good luck to you on Berkeley. Boalt would be a godsend for me (I live south of the bay in San Jose), but realistically, I'm shooting for Hastings. I would love to stay in California, but of course, where I apply will depend on my numbers. :)
 
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