<p>What do young people do when this brick wall is in front of them? If you are not currently in your field, networking is a also a dead end.
Do they become perpetually unemployed/underemployed(and underemployed I mean minimum wage employment).</p>
<p>With the labor market remaining weak, such back-channel methods are becoming the rule, not the exception, when companies hire. Many open jobs are never advertised at all, or are posted only after a leading candidatean internal applicant or someone else with an inside trackhas been identified. Sometimes, as in Mr. Nottingham’s case, a hiring manager creates a new position ahead of schedule to accommodate a favored prospect.</p>
<p>[Want</a> a New Job? Beware ‘Phantom’ Postings - WSJ.com](<a href=“http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323706704578229661268628432.html?mod=WSJ_article_comments#articleTabs%3Darticle]Want”>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323706704578229661268628432.html?mod=WSJ_article_comments#articleTabs%3Darticle)</p>
<p>I suggest internships (paid or unpaid) as well as volunteering while a student is in school. Students can also network with their professors, friends of parents, etc. Anyone can be a potential contact.</p>
<p>Not speaking of students, speaking of already graduates.</p>
<p>I know of several kids in this position, have been asked myself to help. People do run out of friends/neighbors/colleagues if you have already asked them all.</p>
<p>My son landed his first real job from a former classmate that was already in the working world (he was two years ahead of son). This classmate pushed him hard for two positions in his own company and another organization. This classmate was really big into personal networking. Those are the type that can really help you out - they know you, what you can do and will go to bat for you.</p>
<p>I think that networking where someone doesn’t know you that well or at all isn’t as effective as the person can pass your resume along but can’t make a personal recommendation. I can take a resume from a BC or BU grad for a position that I know is open but can’t make a personal recommendation - and that personal recommendation is something that gets people hired all other things being equal.</p>
<p>BTW, the strange thing is that once you get a job, people come looking to hire you.</p>
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<p>It is well known that a lot of people assume that a currently unemployed person is “damaged goods” and that the reason s/he is currently unemployed is that s/he is somehow a low quality employee. This effect gets worse the longer one is unemployed, which is why increases in long term unemployment tend to cause a country’s base level of unemployment to rise.</p>
<p>This has always been the case. You hire people you know can do the job. The laws that require the posting of jobs when someone is already slated for it have created this problem. Makes everyone waste time. </p>
<p>But sometimes, it can get your foot in the door. I applied for a job some years ago, and the job was already filled before I interviewed. But I had a great interview, like the company, it was a great fit and my name was taken down for when an opening should arise. So it’s not a total loss at time. People are always looking for a book of possibliities.</p>
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<p>What can someone do if they’re caught in this position? Say someone with an excellent degree but not great GPA, one year of trainee work experience for a company that had a massive layoff, then nothing and networking has fizzled out? I’ve recommended volunteering, part-time and temp work, and going back for a higher degree. Would someone in grad school be better regarded even with that unemployment gap?</p>
<p>Re: #7</p>
<p>The problem is, much of job market success is just being lucky or unlucky at the right time. During an economic downturn, a mediocre employee at a company that manages to do well enough to avoid layoffs often does better than a great employee at a company that goes out of business, leaving the great employee unemployed with poor chances of finding a job in the near future (and a record of long term unemployment when the economy or industry turns back up).</p>
<p>It is also known that the timing of when someone enters the labor force (i.e. graduation from school) has a significant effect on job success and pay levels even a decade beyond. A college senior may be able to somewhat manage that risk by applying to funded graduate degree programs as well as jobs, hoping to hide out in funded graduate school if the economy or industry goes down when s/he graduates.</p>