<p>I was surprised to read that a friend’s most intrepid son is without a summer job this year. He has ALWAYS worked since he turned 16, and now is coming up empty. Had a job lined up early and it fell through and he has not been able to find a thing since despite interviews and apps for the last two months.</p>
<p>cpt - I think it’s the worst when a job falls through…and it’s happening quite a bit. You think you’re set…and then bingo…no more job…and you’re late to the party for others. DS had two internships cancel on him last year. Ended up working a job at a summer camp - and he was glad to have the work. Things seem a bit better this summer…by not by much. I don’t know, I’m hearing that “double-dip” word again, and all it takes is some more fear to bring things to a halt. Tough times are not over yet.</p>
<p>Son’s friends have all found jobs or are in grad school. The job search did take them around the country though and many are in non profits. Majors include business, engineering and supply change. </p>
<p>Daughters friends are having difficulty finding teaching jobs here in the Phila area. Daughter got full time job in her field with associates degree. She spent the last few yrs doing a great deal of freelance work which landed her the full time job with great benefits.</p>
<p>Just to clarify-- my reference to internships & grades in post #3 wasn’t meant to say that those elements would make the job search easy – I simply meant that they were more important than major. No matter what the “major”, employers are going to look for what they perceive as the best of their applicants. So the engineering firm is going to have plenty of engineering majors to choose from – a person who is more inclined to major in English is not likely to do particularly well in engineering, nor get good contacts and recs from engineering internships (unless they magically discover a hidden talent within themselves). So I’d rather see that student looking for jobs in the publishing industry and able to submit great writing samples, than have chosen a major in a field where there is little interest and aptitude. I mean, the hypothetical publishing house may not have all that many openings for copy editors, but when they do, they aren’t looking for engineering majors to fill them. </p>
<p>AUtransfer in post #12 has a great post – it kind of mirrors the stuff my daughter was doing with her college career center her senior year. FWIW, d. is a poli sci major and had a job with benefits in hand the day she graduated. But she did a lot of work to get it.</p>
<p>Honestly, these days, especially in certain areas of the country, I don’t think you can assume that those grads who don’t have jobs haven’t been working hard to find them. I work with a number of large companies and they are just NOT hiring new grads at this point. Maybe sometime in the future but not now. And those that do are getting flooded with apps. </p>
<p>That said, I agree that post #12 has some excellent advice. It requires getting out of a comfort zone for most students…but doing all the hard work gives you the best shot possible. And confidence, good grades, and relevant work experience helps…a LOT.</p>
<p>I’m sure that most of the new grads who don’t have jobs are also working hard – I’m just saying that everyone has to work at getting the job. It doesn’t come easy for anyone. </p>
<p>But post #12 gives some indication of the type of work and preparation that is likely to be effective. A lot of students waste effort because they don’t have the job-hunting skills or knowledge they need.</p>
<p>calmom - It would be interesting to start a post in the Parents Forum on job hunting techniques for recent grads. Perhaps someone can uncover an interesting trick of the trade. The major problem is that - as toneranger said, companies are FLOODED with applicants for any advertised position. Being one of a thousand will not lead to a job. Come to think of it, it’s kind of like applying to HYPS. How do you stand out?</p>
<p>The key to getting hired, I think, is to network, but there might be some interesting ways to approach it.</p>
<p>I have some ideas that have worked (for me as an employee, but also with me as an employer), but maybe we’ll discuss in another thread.</p>
<p>There are some areas in this country that do not have much in the way of jobs. Here, the unskilled labor jobs go to immigrants so there isn’t that fallback when the career jobs are scarce. It’s tough for students to find part time and summer jobs for that reason too. You have to get some skill or specialty to find something unless you look hard and early, know somebody who can get you a job, or get lucky. My husband’s cousins all worked on lawn care crews in their area. Here, there are virtually no young American doing this work. All immigrants. </p>
<p>However, baby sitting and tutoring/indiv coaching are lucrative for kids around here. And driving kids to activities. </p>
<p>There was an article in the NYTimes discussing how many volunteer/community service positions are filled. My friend whose son needs lots of such hours for his school is having trouble finding anything.</p>
<p>But the issue of summer employment for students is very different than the post-grad employment issue. I mean… that really belongs in a different topic. The students coming out of college are looking for full time, entry level work --hopefully with some prospects of promotion and career development over time. And they definitely should not be looking for “unskilled” stuff at that point.</p>
<p>Obviously, they don’t all find what they are looking for – but my point is that those are two different markets.</p>
<p>My niece had the stars aligned. She graduated this past May, but had all sorts of distractions, including week-long trips to CA and Maine and jury duty. She only really started to look for a job 5 weeks ago. Her dad told her about openings in two different companies. She interviewed at both places, but ultimately they explained they wanted someone with experience. </p>
<p>About 4 weeks, she heard of another position (also through her dad). Sent in her resume. Spoke to HR. Unfortunately they had a training program for new graduates, but she was late to apply: the other newbies started that week. Nevertheless, they asked her to take their competency test, and fill out the online application. Then the lady from HR told her all about their benefits and salary. On Friday of that same week, she had an intense series of interviews and by was offered the position Friday night. Monday morning, three weeks after she started her search, she was working.</p>
<p>That’s what can happen when you network, position yourself well, have some practice in answering interview questions, and know just what you want which corresponds to what the company is looking for. It’s absolutely true what moonchild’s said on an earlier page:
</p>
<p>I saw a forwarded email from son’s department. A company managersent out emails to engineering departments at nearby universities looking for an EE grad this past May. Apparently he got no responses back. He assumed that there would be grads that didn’t find jobs to start at graduation and that he would get lots of resumes. The company makes mobile network repeaters (don’t know if it is for phones, WiFi, etc.). He sent out the second email stating that he’s still looking for EE grads.</p>
<p>Maybe most EE grads have jobs. I know that the engineers in my class had no problem finding jobs.</p>
<p>I agree with Calmom in that work experience is very important these days. It can overcome a lot of things like a major not in the field etc. I think the job market is terrible. You should see the resumes my company is getting- at all levels. We aren’t hiring. Period. No one. We are Fortune 200, by the way.
My son was smart, lucky and positioned himself well and got 2 offers. The latest one is for a very large amount of money and was very tempting (he is all about money…) but he realizes the first offer (which he accepted) has more long-term potential and is the right thing for now, even though it means a move to a city where he knows no one. Most of his friends got jobs but they came later and for less money than what would have been the case in other years.</p>
<p>Re post #31 – my guess would be that the emails didn’t go to the right place, and ended up in spam folders rather than posted at the appropriate career centers. Some college have specific procedures they want employers to follow in order to get their positions posting – merely sending an email might not be enough.</p>
<p>Re post #30 – my kids got jobs by submitting apps for positions that were advertised on appropriate web sites. No family connections. I certainly agree that college networks and connections via friends or family help, a lot – but its a myth to think that they are the exclusive way of getting employment. </p>
<p>The reason I think its important to point out that it’s a myth is that I think some job seekers use such assumptions to rationalize holding back on applications – that is, they don’t bother to check various resources on the assumption that they don’t have a chance anyway.</p>
<p>However, I have to note that my kids were a good fit and well qualified for the positions they applied for. And “networking” played a back end role as well. Because of their previous experience, they had connections to people their prospective employers also knew and respected.</p>
<p>My concern is hearing about kids graduating top name universities and not having a job.
Of course, I don’t know the particulars in each situation (ex. did they interview well? network?, etc.) but sense it is much more difficult this year than in the past to find a job.</p>
<p>But that’s another myth – that the name of the university is going to get the job. In some ways, students graduating from top universities may be at a disadvantage. For example, if they traveled to attend a distant college but want to return to their home community – they may find that the local jobs have been filled by students who attended the local publics, and were able to maintain connections with prospective employers over the years.</p>
<p>It’s definitely a tough market out there ('10 grad here). Of my friends that come to mind,
-I’m going to grad school (which a GAship, so that’s a job in a way 
)
-another going on to get her (as of yet unfunded) Masters of Accounting,
-one had a longstanding secured job offer in business
-another is still searching for full-time work in health/fitness
-another is looking for temp work while applying for Americorps positions (which I hope she gets, as I think she would be amazing at it 
)
-another has a summer job that may or may not carry on to the fall, one has a part-time job and is looking for something to supplement that
-one has a full-time job at a grocery store chain (he’s thrilled just to have something, which is the best attitude to have in this economy, IMO!).
-one has a very well-paying job in engineering
-a couple having nursing jobs</p>
<p>Out of the people I know, only nursing and engineering majors seem to be having an easy-ish time. To a lesser extent, business majors seem to be doing okay, too. Internships seem to help a good deal but not act as a panacea.</p>
<p>I know a number of engineering students without jobs (Penn State, Purdue…)
The name of my son’s school was definitely a factor in getting him his job in a city where you wouldn’t think this school would be a player.<br>
It’s somewhat like college admissions- a lot of things are important and it’s not easy to pinpoint what the thing will be that makes an applicant stand out in someone’s mind. In a market with limited jobs (which this is), everything helps.</p>
<p>This recession has had a terrible impact on the availability of jobs, but it will pass.</p>
<p>Just want to say that I do not believe majors should be so tied to careers, at least in most cases (the exception being undergrad vocational programs). This may seem to be an old-fashioned view, but in my own job search, major has not been especially relevant. And I still believe kids should be able to spend 4 years exploring their academic interests, without thinking about careers.</p>
<p>A college degree can be seen as proof of work ethic and persistence, as well as high levels of skill in reading, writing, research and other academic skills that should be applicable to many jobs. Most employers who require a BA, do not specify a major.</p>
<p>Having spent a few weeks on craigslist, I am reminded of the infinite variety of jobs, which do not fit into the neat categories young people are taught about, as defining “careers.”</p>
<p>If a student is having trouble finding a job, I would not blame it on the major, but on the recession. Volunteering, as someone said, is a great way to build interests, skills and a resume, accompanied by a job for cash if need be.</p>
<p>Actually, I think many job seekers (including new grads) make the mistake of ONLY applying online for jobs. Although that can work, research shows the networking is more effective. And honestly, networking is harder too…especially for introverted types…it’s easy to fall into a trap thinking you’re doing all you can by sending 25 online apps per week (NOT). </p>
<p>Regarding the name of the school, I DO think a top name can get some extra attention, especially for a first job. Any little bit helps. That said, this recession seems pretty equal opportunity from what I’m seeing in our community. Although many of the Ivy and other top school grads we know are going to grad school, a few we know are still looking for work or are underemployed. And it does seem tougher for liberal arts majors from what I can tell. Almost all of the accounting and engineering students my son knows have jobs -regardless of school name. Other business majors are having a tougher time. And architects? Well, this is a good time to go to grad school…</p>