<p>How long should new grads look for a career-oriented job before switching gears and applying for any and all types of jobs (think fast food and retail)? We are only one month out, but I’m curious what others think about having some type of employment vs. none while pursuing an entry level job related to degree or interests?</p>
<p>I’m probably pretty different from other CC parents, but my graduation gift to the kids was enough money to support them for 3 months. After that, I expect them to pay their way. Not that I wouldn’t help out by providing a place to stay, or in DD’s case, some expenses as her Americorp position only included room and board. But in my mind, the college graduate is an adult and should have adult problems and solutions which include working for a living even if not the ideal job. As long as they are doing something, I don’t mind helping out.</p>
<p>The full time job upon graduation should be spent pursuing the career path for as long as you can hold out and/or reality/finances set in. Hopefully the major has some value to someone.
The time/effort spent on a career goal will dramatically decrease once a another job of any type is found if for no other reason than the time/schedule drain.
Having parents who can support you a while longer is a real blessing. But if your intended career is “beachcombing for space artifacts” then forget it. If debt is looming large–get a job like yesterday. But keep job hunting.
A lot of this depends on the job seeker. Do they have the confidence to throw away a safe job once they have the opportunity for a better one? Don’t laugh–many people get stuck in dead-end jobs because they lack the self-esteem to move on.</p>
<p>That would depend on a lot of things…the most important being how motivated the newly graduated student is in seeking appropriate opportunities.Finding a job needs to be a full time job…not an hour a day of just sending out resumes to random websites. If after a short time my student was not receiving any positive responses, I would be more likely to sit down with my student to assess what might be the problem and how things might be tweaked–and to have student get help from professionals with a resume, more effective cover letters,interviewing, etc. I would also try to use whatever network I might have to get the student some informational interviews.</p>
<p>I’d also want to assess what barriers might be impeding the job search. Is my student seeking employment only in home city–and is the student open to relocating, perhaps to a more robust job area? Is it an area where the student needs to make connections?</p>
<p>Does the student have the requisite educational back ground for the job-type being sought? And is the graduate applying for jobs that are commensurate for a new college grad?</p>
<p>A student pulling out all the stops and making dedicated effort to find appropriate employment would be given a lot more time than a student making only a minimal effort.</p>
<p>I agree with boysx3.<br>
If the new graduate is a CS major and had aspiration of working in one of those high tech companies, he/she may want to think about getting a programming job at other more tradition companies. A math major may want to work in finance, but may want to consider accounting or actuarial program. A student with a UG business degree may want to reconsider a consulting job, but go into retail management. I don’t think it is necessary to take an hourly job after a month out of school, which may also be taking his/her time away from looking for a real career job.</p>
<p>S1 finished his classes in May and started his internship the same week. He had to do 300 hours to get credit for it. We told him we would subsidize him until the end of July, then he had to find something to do, even if it was flipping burgers or bagging groceries. Things have worked out better than I ever dreamed they would. He starts his job with the same company for which he interned tomorrow - in our hometown, so he can live with us for a while and get a leg up on his student loans. Too bad his car got hit and totaled a few days ago, but hey, nothing’s ever perfect. </p>
<p>It’s a hard decision – wish there was a crystal ball! We had the same dilemma when my D graduated from college a year ago. She initially concentrated on getting a job in her desired career area. The only way we could support her was to allow her to come home and provide a place to live, food to eat, and use of our vehicles while she did her job search.</p>
<p>She ended up doing temp work in our home town, since that gave her more flexibility in her continued job search. After she saved a cushion, she moved to another city where her bf is in graduate school. While she initially would have taken a position in her desired career area in most any location, when that wasn’t materializing she focused on finding any self-supporting position in the major city where he is.</p>
<p>She registered with several employment agencies and flew there multiple times at her own expense for interviews while still working here in her temp position. After she moved to her bf’s city, she initially did temp work while she continued to interview for a permanent position, and finally was offered a great position doing what she wants to do. She started last month.</p>
<p>A year ago I never would have anticipated it would take so long. We did really enjoy having her home for a time, because we didn’t see her much in the four years she was in college, due to distance. I think she learned a lot from her temp positions and they positioned her to be hired for her current job.</p>
<p>Any work experience is good experience, at this point. </p>
<p>Should look concurrently and preferrably start few months BEFORE graduation.</p>