<p>I don’t have any kids graduating this year but you do have my sympathy! Just one suggestion. When my H was looking for a new position he hired someone to rework his resume. I don’t think he met with her in person, they just talked over the phone and she took his old resume and what he had done and reworked it. It was amazing what she did. I think it really helped him get interviews and it helped his self confidence. I think it was only $200 or so.</p>
<p>We also moved after our kids graduated HS so I also understand what you are going through. My D really wanted to come home this summer (she’s still in school). I was so nervous, we don’t know many people, unemployment is very high here, and I had no idea if she would find a job. Well she got 3 job offers and if we had been thinking she probably could have got an internship in her field (engineering). She got a job in a factory, it’s a job, she likes it and while it’s not an internship, she getting production experience which will look good on her resume.</p>
<p>How she got the job. I took her to a home party (she was so mad, it was awful, I never ever go to those things). Someone at the party’s husband is the production manager at the factory. She asked her H, who called her and asked my D for her resume, but he didn’t have an internship but would she be willing to work on the line. Sure, it’s a job! She working at least 40 hours a week and this week worked 48.</p>
<p>So be open and talk to everyone you know. You never know who might have a lead on a job. I know my D is only in college and not looking for a full time job but you never know how one thing will lead to something else.</p>
<p>This is true! He’ll put all sorts of irons in the fire and then nothing will seem to happen for a long time. And then suddenly, everyone will be just moving forward at the same time. Some won’t pan out; hopefully one will. The trick is to keep putting irons in the fire.</p>
<p>Good idea about looking at other areas of the country. Minneapolis anyone?</p>
<p>A young woman I work with had the same experiences. She graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and ended up back in CA with her parents in an area she was not raised in.
She took a job working in the wine industry. The money is actually pretty good. With tips it’s around 22 dollars an hour. After nine months she landed a job in her field. She gets paid $10. at that job and they hire enough people so no one is full time and no one has benefits. She is now working both jobs.
My son is about to finish his undergrad degree. He is moving back “home” 3,000 miles away from his school. (His choice). He wants to take a year off and then go to law school. He will likely end up with a low paying job in a legal office (if he is lucky) and with some hours in the wine industry for real money.
Encourage your son to take anything for now and start at least paying his own cel phone, gas, food, etc. He can always keep looking. The temp agencies are also an option.</p>
<p>Why would you hope that your son would return some of the money to you? That doesn’t make any sense.</p>
<p>I am a business student. There have actually been some classes and some semesters where I actually learned very little and actually couldn’t tell you what I really learned. I really don’t think that is abnormal at all.</p>
<p>PSU has a huge, active alumni association. If your son isn’t already a member, he should join and make use of the many resources available to job seekers.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies. I didn’t mean to come off sounding like I resent my son. I really thought that he would receive more help from PSU. I think that PSU was way too big of a school for my son. He chose PSU. I expected him to get involved in clubs, etc., but that didn’t happen. If you aren’t aggressive and outgoing at such a big university, you aren’t going to get anywhere. </p>
<p>I was raised thinking that if you had a college education, you’d have your choice of jobs. I guess I didn’t realize how much times have changed. I’ve heard it said that a Bachelor’s Degree is as common as a high school diploma. </p>
<p>My son made an agreement with us to return the money we paid for his college education, interest free. We aren’t in a hurry for him to do that, but he will when he can. </p>
<p>He is doing almost all the suggestions that everyone mentioned. We’ll look into finding a professional to re-do his resume. We don’t have very many connections in our new area for networking. People are a bit different here in Southern CA I work at home through my computer, so that hasn’t enabled me to meet new people. </p>
<p>He just found the PSU alumni connection in San Diego and is following up on that–thanks! </p>
<p>I’ll mention wine country to him–thanks for that tip also!</p>
<p>He is willing to relocate to anywhere in the country and applies for jobs throughout the US.</p>
<p>Limabeans…how do I find your prior posts? Thanks!</p>
<p>Does anyone have a suggestion for finding him someone to practice interviewing? I can do an Internet search, but how should I judge if the person/business can really help us?</p>
Do you know anyone who’s a manager at a company? They should be able to do the mock interview with him if they’re a manager who hires people.</p>
<p>Has he tried using something like dice.com to search for jobs? They specialize in the technology area. Also, don’t let the posted requirement for x years of experience stop him from applying. Firstly, he already has some experience in his coursework and internships. Secondly, it shows that the company has people employed in the particular area and you never know if they might be willing to employ someone at a lower level of experience (and a lower cost to them) either instead of or in addition to the advertised position.</p>
<p>Remember again that he should apply to all kinds of companies that might have IT departments and not just the well known high tech companies. Also, with his background he likely won’t be ‘fixing computers’ and likely wouldn’t work at the help desk. IT has a number of people involved in software application integration, i.e. purchasing off the shelf software (as opposed to writing software) and getting it installed and operational in the company, doing project management, requirements collection, security analysis and processes, etc. None of this is programming, fixing computers, or working a help desk (which is a lower level job than I’d expect him to be qualified for).</p>
<p>Of course it would be wonderful if your son was making a big salary and could repay this money over a few years. But it takes a long time for young people to earn enough to pay off a big loan, and support themselves at the same time. Was this (his paying for his education) part of your agreement from the beginning? I hope so. I’m sure you don’t mean to, but it does sound like most of your concern is about getting your money back. Be sure that attitude isn’t passed on to your son, as it could be causing him extra anxiety, which wouldn’t be productive in his job search and interviews.</p>
<p>Any working person could serve as a practice interviewer. Do you have a friend, neighbor or relative that would be willing? I would tend to take this route first and get some feedback. Maybe all your son needs is a bit more practice and a few tips to gain confidence. Smiling, looking people in the eye, asking a few good questions- each little thing can make a big difference.
Good luck to you, mom. Remember that we moms are our kids’ biggest cheerleaders. If we have faith and give off positive energy, good things will happen.</p>
<p>You are not alone! Son just graduated from Chapel Hill with a degree in psych and is currently taking summer classes with an eye to…? He’s still figuring that out. Not sure what will happen after the summer, probably low paying job that anyone with a GED could do. (if he can find that)</p>
<p>Daughter has been on unemployment for almost a year. Has sent out applications for everything from mortgage work (what she was laid off from) to cleaning dog kennels–no offers. Have told her when Bama Bucks run out she will have to move home or live in a box (she says she opts for box).</p>
<p>My thoughts exactly. The $100k is really irrelevant right now. If you are really desperate to get the money back, then you shouldn’t have lent your son $100k.</p>
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<p>When did you realize that times have changed? A Bachelor’s degree isn’t as common as a high school diploma (not everybody that graduates from high school graduates from college), but a Bachelor’s Degree today is worth as much as a high school diploma was 20,30, 40 years ago.</p>
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<p>Do you have that agreement in writing? If not, you are basically SOL. $100k is a large sum of money. I couldn’t imagine starting out in life and owing that kind of money. Glad I took the better route and paid less than 1/3 of that to get my education.</p>
<p>Does your son have any savings at all? If not and if he doesn’t even have a job now, it’s going to take many years (10, 15, 20, 25, who knows how long) to pay you back. Was there a timetable in your agreement?</p>
<p>Taking summer classes in what? I don’t get it. What are the summer classes going to count towards?</p>
<p>It seems to me like you are putting somebody down who has a GED. Remember, having a college degree doesn’t make you smarter than everybody else, it just makes you more qualified. Everybody has to start somewhere.</p>
<p>Another suggestion I just thought of. My H was talking to someone who had a child who just graduated from college. Apparently the kid had some knowledge in SAP, which I guess is a business software program, and it made him very marketable according to his father. I guess that this software needs people who are proficient in it.</p>
<p>This is really a shot in the dark and something my H heard but maybe he has knowledge of SAP or can take a class in it. Maybe that is something he can research and see if they have a need for people who are proficient in SAP.</p>
<p>No red, not putting anyone down just pointing out that entry level jobs really don’t seem to require anything beyond high school. </p>
<p>The summer classes are to finish up some science series which would give him equivalent classes to a minor in bio and would meet prereqs for grad school in a science area.</p>
<p>Good luck to your son. Sounds like he’s doing a lot of things–everyone just has to have patience that something will pop. When he lunches with the PSU person, remember that one of the important objects is to get a lay of the land about where to look for opportunities–not just about getting something at alumni’s company.</p>
<p>I have been a hiring manager at a Fortune 500 company and had many informational interviews with all kinds of people. If he is lunching with an alum, ask about interviewing. Don’t go asking for a job. Ask about skills needed to land a job. At the end, he can always ask if alum would be willing to send his resume to anyone who might have an opening.</p>
<p>OP a question that is sort of off of the main focus of your post. When you moved were you able to continue to pay instate tuition. We will be finding ourselves in a similar situation in two years and after paying taxes in Pa for 30 years I sort of feel entitled to continue to pay in state rates.</p>
<p>jeetermom…I don’t think your son’s experience is unusual. My son is a PSU grad - has a few friends with IST majors and some of them do not have jobs at this point. Again, it’s primarily lack of work experience and skills. It does seem to be a rather unfocused major too…but still many will go on to find their niche and do something useful. They just need their first break. Maybe he could get Microsoft certification…it would be an investment but may lead to more opportunities.</p>
<p>I second the idea of leveraging the PSU network. It is strong and there are alums all over. Information interviews are a good idea. They’re a very loyal bunch and usually will do what they can to help. </p>
<p>For interviewing help, check in with your local HR association (Society for HR mangement or SHRM - look for it online) to see if they can refer you to an independent career planning professional or other resources for interview help. They may even offer an interviewing skills workshop. I know a few folks who do career counseling in this area (east coast) and they charge about $50 an hour. Well worth the cost… </p>
<p>Above all, please try to keep things positive and encourage your son (vs nagging). It’s hard to do I know, but keep in mind that this is probably VERY hard for him too. It’s a tough transition and the economy is lousy. Timing is so much a part of this game…and all these new grads are being forced to “kick it up a notch” AND be ultra flexible to get jobs. Give him time. Good luck!</p>
<p>Re career planning at PSU: you really have to be assertive to get value…and perhaps your son was not. My son has friends who did get lots of help…primarily accounting majors. But it’s not easy - they don’t come to you. I think career planning services at most colleges are going through tough times. It’s not easy when companies cut back on hiring. Honestly, most of the grads that I know that have jobs landed them from connections (family/friends) or through REALLY hard work and networking. Some get lucky but you can’t count on that!</p>
<p>OP’s S should consider volunteering for a non-profit org. that interests him. Not only will it open doors to a personal connection in the new community, but also keep his resume from getting stale.</p>
I work at home through my computer, so that hasn’t enabled me to meet new people. </p>