<p>Re: the cities she’s applying to not where she’s currently living.</p>
<p>I’ve had lots of friends who have had this problem – they’ll relocate for the job, they’ll fly out for the interview, but their resume gets circular filed when the address at the top reads KY instead of NYC.</p>
<p>The best way they’ve found to counteract this is to find a buddy living in or near the city in question and put down their address rather then your home address. Once you get your foot in the door, then you can explain that you’re splitting your time (or whatever) and you are totally willing to relocate (with no relocation stipend) for this job.</p>
<p>My first job out of college was in college admissions. I got the job at my alma mater and had been a student worker there so they knew me and my work. These jobs are attractive to a lot of young college grads so there are hundreds of applicants for every position. The flip side is that it is also a high turnover position because a lot of travel is usually involved and people get burnt out. </p>
<p>My advice in addition to the excellent recommendations of all the posters on networking would be to look more broadly within the college environment than just in admissions. Development, for example, is a department that is often hiring. My alma mater, for example, is hiring for 80 new positions with a whole range of skills and experience because of a big capital campaign. Sometime you can get your foot in the door in one department and be able to hear of openings in other departments (like admissions) before they are widely posted.</p>
<p>It sounds like your D is trying very hard and I can understand her frustration. I agree with other posters that sending out resumes cold is a waste of time. </p>
<p>Her best shot at getting the kind of job she wants is through direct person to person contact and referrals. So what she should focus on right now is to meet, befriend, and interact with as many people even remotely related to her target field as possible (and people who aren’t — you never know who your mail carrier might know!). scualum’s advice is spot on. And as long as she has time, she could offer her time to those people she meets who might be well positioned to help her some day. She should stress that it is for her own experience and learning so that there is no pressure about a potential job, which might scare away those who feel they have nothing to offer. The point is that right now she should aim for personal introductions and building experience, not job offers. </p>
<p>It’s important for her to feel positive about all this. She should see this time as a period to be out there in the real world (which is very different from college), meeting, talking, learning. If she sees that as her project for now, instead of job hunting (which is currently so demoralizing), she’ll feel more open and curious, and she WILL eventually find a job. </p>
<p>Perhaps this is where you can be the most supportive. You mentioned that you are in a position to support her financially for a few months – why not do that while she’s out there networking? She could do temp or part time work, work at McDonald’s if she has to to supplement her income.</p>
<p>Also, it is really hard to find a job in another city unless you are there meeting people. If she has any friends in one of the places she’s looking, she should consider moving there. </p>
<p>My S found a great job through his senior year internship at a top company. He is in a creative field and while in college started his own small business/creative project. This is what got him in the door. If the job is not coming to your D, she might start her own project, as if it were her job. Maybe she could work with high schoolers who don’t have the resources or support to do the whole college admissions thing? She could start a “club” through a local school, church, community center, etc. She could even write a blog about the project (another way to stir up interest). There’s a built in audience for the subject and you’ve got the whole dynamic arc of anticipation and suspense (she should ask permission of participants and change names), and it would be a way for her to share her excitement. Not to mention publicize what she is doing.</p>
<p>Scout:
I feel for your D! It’s a tough situation. I am not very sanguine about jobs in college admissions offices. As colleges try to deal with the financial crisis, administration is where they try to make cuts or they freeze hiring. Until states and municipalities make use of stimulus money, a lot of education-related jobs are not going to be available.
So what to do? Instead of focusing on “what career do I want to pursue?” your D should ask herself “what kind of skills do I have” and try to match the skills to possible jobs. With her skills in communications, she could work in a variety of companies. It might mean being a receptionist for a while, or working in documentation. Or it might mean making use of skills that she did not develop through university.
I agree that she should take whatever job she can for the time being. It will help her self-image if she can contribute financially; it will also give her some experience and help structure her day. If she cannot line up a paying job, do encourage her to volunteer. The skills needed in that line of work are very valuable. Good luck, tell her not to lose faith.</p>
<p>With the cutbacks in administrative staff at colleges and other schools it doesn’t seem like the best time to be applying to those jobs or limiting oneself to just those jobs. The communications degree is a fairly general one so maybe she should expand the job types she’s looking for beyond the very specific ones of school admissions and PR and look at other ‘professional’ types of positions. </p>
<p>Even if she ultimately wants to end up in admissions she might have an easier time of it if she has other ‘professional’ experience and the economy improves such that there’s more hiring going on at the colleges. She might consider marketing, sales, human resources, lower level professional positions, etc.</p>
<p>Has she considered looking for professional positions in the federal government, hospitals, the defense industry, high tech businesses, and perhaps some other ‘outside-the-box’ industries that might still be hiring?</p>
<p>I know it might sound counter intuitive, but what sort of job experience did she have before /during college?
She may have more luck with related fields that overlap with what she is ultimately interested in pursuing.
Many skills are transferable across the job market and considering jobs that don’t require a degree will show her willingness to work and learn- definite requirements in any job market</p>
<p>my dh’s new secretary is a young woman who earned a communications degree 2 yrs. ago and landed a good job with a regional magazine publisher. Unfortunately for her, she was downsized in the most recent round of layoffs. Dh is delighted to have such a capable and motivated secretary, even though he knows that she will likely be gone within a couple of years. He hopes that she will remain with the company, moving into a professional position in Investor Relations, PR, or Employee Communications. As a SrVP and long time employee, he can certainly provide a strong reference for her. In the meantime, she’s making almost as much as she did in her previous job, with more perks and better hours.</p>
<p>When I was your dd’s age, I would have bristled at the suggestion to apply for secretarial jobs. In fact, I was pretty ticked off when some relatives encouraged me to work as a bank teller instead of holding out for a management trainee slot. My guess is that most recent grads are a bit smarter than I was back then.</p>
<p>Actually, a few of the jobs she has looked into were secretarial type jobs in admissions at independent schools. She figured she would be near what she is looking to do and maybe would be able to move up the ladder. My daughter is willing to widen her net as far as what type of job she would apply for. She wanted to give herself until the first of August before she cast the net, and it looks like her deadline is here.</p>
<p>As far as past jobs, she has worked sales, non profit internship (did a bit of everything), PR internship, daycare assistant, TA in college, and I am sure I am forgetting something!</p>
<p>My husband reads each patients chart to see where they work and picks brains when he can! Many patients have seen our kids grow up through their pictures in my husbands office, so many will ask what they are up to; this gives my husband the perfect opportunity to see what the patient can do for our daughter.</p>
<p>grapejuice- interesting idea about the address, but my daughter finds that dishonest; her moral compass is set higher than mine! We actual have relatives and she has friends in each of the cities she is interested, so it isn’t like she doesn’t have someone that would be more than willing to let her use their address.</p>
<p>I appreciate everyone’s suggestions and I will past them on a little bit at a time. She isn’t interested in what mom has to say, so I have to be careful how I approach her. Now, if a friend made the suggestion, she would jump right on it!! I hope the above suggestion are helpful to others, not just my daughter. Surely others here have a graduate without a job.</p>
<p>Seconding Brink: S took a admin. ass’t job he found on Craigslist, working for a small PR firm. He started out filing and copying, but because he can write well and is quick, his boss rapidly realized he was valuable. He has been doing solid PR work for a year now (and has a business card that says he’s a “New Media Associate”–that means he deals with the blogosphere, social networking sites, etc.). He’s still paid (badly) as an AA, and knows he’s being somewhat exploited, but he covers his expenses, and is gaining great experience and building a resume. It’s a start.</p>
<p>"Surely others here have a graduate without a job. "</p>
<p>Actually, we do. Dd & ds graduated together, except that he was hospitalized and could not participate so the univ. mailed his degree. Dd has been happily employed since the month after graduation, while ds spent the next six months recuperating. He went back to school for a while then moved out of state w/ his new GF (but no job.) Fortunately, he finally decided to listen to his dad and take advantage of dh’s contacts in his field, and as a result landed a summer internship. The internship will end soon, and so far he hasn’t found a FT job. The GF didn’t have a job and planned to somehow go to school (with no money? what was she thinking?) He’s run through much of his savings already. Dh talked w/ him about another lead this week, and we’re hoping something comes of it.</p>
<p>Barrons- thanks for the links; while I am sure Lynchburg is a lovely town, she isn’t willing to bail on her projected cities just yet. Of course, the 2-3 years of admissions experience that is required doesn’t help her at all. It is the old story-how does one gain experience if every place wants someone with experience?</p>
<p>I just walked upstairs and I see my daughter has applied for the 3 jobs at the independent schools she at first said she wouldn’t apply for. She doesn’t want to admit that I might have found something of interest! I could sit for hours and research websites that might lead her to an area she had not previously have thought of. I am anal about research, so I am happy to do this for her; not to hover or to be a helicopter mom, just to help her get where she wants to be.</p>
<p>I would like my daughter to save her saving and not spend it on housing in another city, at least until she actually has a paying job. Here at home she has free rent and food; I have to pay the rent whether she is living here or not! Soon she will begin to look for local temp jobs, preferably one that will give her the experience she needs for the real job. Babysitting is a profitable job for her, and both moms she works for have been very helpful with contacts; unfortunately, none have let to a job. While not a full time job, she has been able to put a good bit of money away. I would think she can still babysit in the evenings and weekends while holding down another job. Keeping her busy is the best thing for her and she knows it.</p>
I recommend ignoring the “2-3 years experience” statements. Lots of places do this but can sometimes be flexible under particular circumstances of the individual. Besides, a lot of places ‘want’ someone with lots of experience but are willing and happy to bring someone on with less experience who’s willing to work for fewer dollars. Also, your D actually does have experience - experience she gained in her classes, internships, and other work experience, so she should apply to these places as well and not let the statement deter her.</p>
<p>Informational interviews are good ideas. Another idea is to try to arrange an unpaid internship at an admissions office, and continue with babysitting in the evenings/weekends. (I did that years ago when I was changing fields, and that unpaid internship turned into a paying job six weeks later.) </p>
<p>PR jobs are hard to find. At my Fortune 250 company with over 20,000 employees, we have a PR staff of 5. All are former journalists. The VP likes hiring journalists because they are assertive, have excellent writing skills and ability to work under an unreasonably tight deadline. </p>
<p>My sympathies to your D. The transition from college student to employee is tough; in this economy it’s downright brutal.</p>
<p>Good question…you usually have to work at a school or a location what has trouble attracting people–think Bakersfield, for example (just my sister’s experience from decades past, no reflection on current Bakersfield). Once you get the experience, then you can move on.</p>
<p>Many moons ago I interviewed for a job that I had no experience for. My interviewer asked me why he should hire me when he had other candidates with relevant experience. I said, “You should hire me because I am a fast learner, in six months I would know more than those other candidates. But what’s even more important is you could get me really cheap now.” The guy laughed about the really cheap part. I got the job.</p>
<p>I also interviewed for a job that required knowledge of a certain esoteric programming language. They asked if I knew how to use it. I really wanted that job, so I told them yes. They hired me based on that. I learned that programming language over the weekend before I started the job. It wasn’t until months later I told them that I had never used it before. By then they couldn’t do without me. I was really young and stupid back then.</p>
<p>No, I am too old for that now, most of my brain cells are gone. I couldn’t do it now. Back then they all wanted someone with experience, but it’s hard to get experience when someone won’t give you a chance.</p>
<p>I will hire someone with no experience now if I see there is potential and a real can do attitude.</p>
<p>Personally, I think customer service, sales clerking, direct sales. are the best jobs for communication people. They can actually use their communication skills to see what works and what fails. </p>