My D2 took a very low-ball offer in Boston several years ago. She lived in a “dump”( her words), but got by. That job only lasted about 6 months. Her next job paid over twice as much. She moved to a new apartment in Somerville near Davis Square. She gets along very well with her roommates and the location is great.
She has changed jobs once again and is making even more salary. So I guess accepting that low ball offer worked out. Although we, as parents, thought she should turn it down.
In retrospect, it was a terrible job. Non-profit that demanded a lot of their new starry eyed, recent college grads hires who believed in the cause. But they worked them hard, 60 + hours a week, 6 days a week. They called them assistant directors or directors, so they did not need to pay overtime. D2 worked on Memorial Day and the 4 th of July as well as every Saturday. She hated it . But it did lead to a higher paying job with better benefits.
One has to start somewhere. It seems pretty common for some first jobs to be less than what is hoped for.Then one can look around with more experienced eyes and ears for better options. The saying goes, beggars can’t be choosers.
Exactly. In many cases you have to get the experience before some other companies will see you as desirable. At the company where my sons work, the large percentage of entry job positions are offered to prior interns. It’s hard to get ones foot in the door if one did not come in through an internship or has not had years of experience. Intro level hires are not typically looked at outside of this track.
H just talked to DD2 about interviewing on campus during her senior year to see what is out there and gain experience/confidence in the interview process. I will talk more one-on-one with her face to face this week; she has a very solid resume with great experiences in her civil eng field. Getting letters of recommendation from the project managers on a large visible building project she was intern on summer 2016.
I am shocked about the parents who have not encouraged their students to gain work experiences and tend to hand stuff to these kids. They are not truly helping their college grad.
Do those parents actually exist? I don’t know a single kid who hadn’t done internships or worked during the summer, or at least tried to do so. From the poorest to the wealthiest, they are all out there trying to get job experience, albeit not always successfully.
I know a family that discouraged internships because it would interfere with visits to family etc. One kid works retail the other has worked and volunteered with children’s short term projects. Not my kid, not my business but… I think the harm is lack of knowledge of different careers and finding a path.
^^At least they have worked, and that is something. Not everyone can land internships in their desired field anyways, it’s not a given. One can encourage their kids all day, but in the end, it is the kid who makes it happen, if they can.
Yes, I do know a few. Didn’t work a retail job until some as college sophomore and junior, instead of getting into something more by getting into some work earlier and more career focus. Now taking LSAT (not a great score).
Two college grads who are probably going on to graduate school (starting soon) because no job offers since May college graduation. I don’t think they have ever had a paid job - they had non-paid internships. They have pile of student loans.
IDK if a parent had their jobs/career come easily and believe it will be the same for their s/d, or if they believe their special snowflake is just so brilliant…
And believe me, there are HS graduates that cannot count money. Friend owns a retail business and asks employees to leave $150 in the till and put the rest in the cash bag…can’t count out $150.
Hello all! Did any May 2017 grads “take the summer off” and now start looking for full-time / real jobs? I’d be curious to see if that may be a good approach vs. looking in May with all the fresh grad competition?
A lot of people look well before May. I don’t think there is a perfect time, especially if you aren’t seeking a job offered through some on campus recruiting cycle like consulting, etc. Job openings happen all the time. The only time that can be slowish is around the year end holidays, IMO.
My had an internship last summer and today is his first day at work. He requested a later start date to take care of some issues, which they accommodated. My son is a one thing at a time type. But he’s also in comp sci which is way more in demand than other majors. I’d be looking from January senior year on for a job. I wouldn’t wait.
My nephew and 2nd nephew (is that a thing? Wife’s cousin’s son) both graduated in May without jobs, one in CA and one in NJ, and chose to take the summer off without looking. Both bright kids, decent grades, finance majors, and nada. They each have kind of odd work histories in different ways which will hurt short run but, hopefully, benefit in the long run.
My daughter who hired some college kids in her last job would toss resumes when kids didn’t have a part time job during school. Taking the summer off would be a turn off for some employers too so not sure I would chance doing that.
Our S was happy to have his job lined up by Feb of SR year. He didn’t get to actually start for over a year after graduation due to employer’s processing glitches but we and he enjoyed the time he had to spend with us and do a bit of traveling. My relative recently graduated with a degree in math and biology in May from a great small LAC on the east coast and has no job and isn’t looking very hard for one.
Best to secure the job and negotiate the start date. This is the plan for DD2 -is in demand major, and companies are a bit use to students taking time off between graduating and their first day of working in the company.
DD1 was pursuing the gov’t job which delayed her hiring in until all the hoops were jumped - and finances were tight for her as a result, with cobbling together temp work for keeping bills paid.
@riverbirch - some of these “loser” kids (collegiate athletes, unpaid non-profit/research interns, unpaid TAs, etc.) could be tossing her resume in the trash in the future. Not all who did not have a paid job while college classes were in session are privileged, silver spoon-fed losers.
These things would show up on their resume and obviously they are looked at as working during college. But so many kids are unwilling to do anything other than go to school and then wonder why with such weak resumes they may appear as possibly lazy to hiring personnel.
My D2 only worked during the summers while in college. She was at a university which had 10 week quarters and also had a minor so that left little time for a job.
