<p>As a brand new grad who sort of missed peak recruiting season due to an August degree, the best bet is the Penn career center and counselors. I think he needs to get his a$$ back to Philadelphia immediately. I know a Wharton grad (2007 I think) who just quit his investment banking job in Nashville and moved back to Phila. He has some kind of job-perhaps contract work- there. He might be a network possibility.
He didn’t turn down the Chicago job. It possibly disappeared- at least for now.<br>
Austin is NOT the place to be for the OP. I know a 2009 Pomona grad who is FROM Austin who did not get a job out of Pomona (top of the class) and came home to Austin. Very well connected. Did everything right. No jobs. Wound up waitressing. Moved to Dallas where she has a job- very low level, but it IS at a company and has some potential.</p>
<p>I realize that the peace corps is not going to be a short term solution, but about 50 better solutions or at least approaches have been mentioned already and have been dismissed.</p>
<p>Face to face contact is necessary to get a job- he needs to do what it takes to make that happen- which is why going into a temp agency that can give him an opportunity to get some experience ( and possibly even meet others he can share a room with, in a more central location), sounds like his best bet. ( crossposted with MOWC- I agree getting back to where he started soundslike a good idea)</p>
<p>I may be harsh in my comments, but I don’t think so, because I perceive him to come across as " I am so smart- give me a job". The sooner he realizes that there are many smart people with more experience and less attitude who are looking for work, the sooner he can adjust his, and get himself back on track.</p>
<p>mapesy gives excellent advice. scrape together the money for bus fare (doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there on the bus, since you have nothing but time), and go somewhere that has the transportation to get you to your work. Doesn’t necessarily need to be Philly, could be anywhere you have friends living who would let you couch surf, or if you can scrape together the funding, anywhere that has a hostel (couch surfing is better, a lot of jobs will want you to have a real address). Work out an arrangement with your friend where you pay for groceries and do cleaning in exchange for the couch. If you went to Wharton, some of your friends must be comfortably employed with places large enough for you to have a corner for a few weeks. </p>
<p>Because where you are now, you can’t temp, serve tables, you can’t even babysit because that woudl require a car. And until you do those things, you can’t do other things.</p>
<p>It is really important to stay positive and keep moving forward. Churches are a good idea. Make up a flier advertising tutoring, yard work, odd jobs and go put it in every mailbox you can find. If you head in a different direction each day, you should be able to cover a lot of ground walking. Also advertise your services on Craigslist. You need to get some quick cash to cover immediate needs so you can be in a position to take measures necessary to secure something more appropriate. I agree with MOWC, long term, I think Philly is your best bet, but as SandP said, any city where you can crash with a friend will work. Continue to hound and use every service available at Penn, you paid for it. You’ve made it this far under difficult circumstances, take a deep breath and keep going. </p>
<p>Does anyone know if Max would be eligible for some sort of public assistance since he has no money and no visible means of support? Food stamps? Which state is he considered a resident?</p>
<p>I have no idea where he would be considered a resident.
He should be eligible for a food bank, whereever he lives. ( often housed in churches)
[Office</a> of Income Maintenance](<a href=“http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/About/OIM/]Office”>http://www.dpw.state.pa.us/About/OIM/)Penn
[Get</a> Help](<a href=“http://www.austinfoodbank.org/get-help/]Get”>Get Help | Central Texas Food Bank) TX</p>
<p>I’m not saying Philly is his best bet for his career, but it offers him the Wharton/Penn interview system and he can get in on on-campus interviews. I can steer him to a $14 an hour paralegal job in Phila, too.</p>
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<p>Exactly!!!</p>
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<p>Good point, Smithie.</p>
<p>One of my kids found out the hard way that employment agencies won’t even talk with you unless you have a local address. If legendofmax finds a place to couch-surf, he can use his friend’s address as his local address.</p>
<p>Last summer, I read about two kids who employed an unusual tactic to find full-time financial services jobs in the Philly area. They were successful because they stood out from the crowd:</p>
<p>[Ben</a> Franklin is their bridge to employment | Philadelphia Inquirer | 08/14/2009](<a href=“http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/53205977.html]Ben”>http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/53205977.html)</p>
<p>The entry-level job market is dismal. Desperate times call for creative measures.</p>
<p>The thing is- it’s not that dismal if you are at a school like Penn and you do the OCR. Most of the kids are getting plenty of interviews and the offers are coming. Once you are off your campus, it is dismal, though. Companies do graduate hiring for jobs that are not even listed on their websites. You HAVE to learn of them through a university recruiting board.</p>
<p>I think being on campus for interviews is a great idea- plus he is ready now- not in JUne.</p>
<p>I agree, if this area doesn’t have good public transportation and jobs you should get out. Earn some money on Mechanical Turk and save up for a Greyhound ticket.</p>
<p>Also, advertise on CraigsList. Advertise as a proofreader, a tutor, a lawnmower, anything you can think of. </p>
<p>Another possibility: seasonal field work. No, I’m not talking about picking fruit (although if there’s a possibility of that nearby, hey, it’s better than starving.) I’m talking about wildlife and vegetation technicians. Sometimes they will only require a high school degree, and for those ones they will probably accept someone with a bachelors degree in a totally non-wildlife-related area. Others require a bachelors degree in a wildlife field and those are out of your range. But still, it is worth looking. </p>
<p>Check [here</a> on TX A&M’s website.](<a href=“Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences departments restructured - AgriLife Today”>Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences departments restructured - AgriLife Today) They have jobs from all over the US, not just in Texas. Unfortunately, they are probably going to be sparse now that winter is coming (spring through summer is the “regular” field season), but you never know . . . One thing about these field jobs that might make them ideal for you as a stop-gap is that HOUSING IS OFTEN PROVIDED. Workers often live in shared group housing on-site and have “work trucks” provided by whoever’s hiring them, so you won’t need a car. Also–MANY EMPLOYERS OF FIELD WORKERS ARE WILLING TO DO PHONE INTERVIEWS. </p>
<p>The wages will probably be lousy and the hours may be long and there will likely be a lot of physical work–you will be out in a field or forest somewhere, not in an office–but what the heck, you will be making money and can save up for a car AND you will have an interesting bit on your resume that separates you from the 500 other business major resumes.</p>
<p>I also found field work very fulfilling, even though I wouldn’t want to do it forever. So I encourage you to look into that. Just remember, you are not negotiating from a position of strength. They are not going to care that you have a bachelors in business. They are not going to care that you graduated from Wharton. You must convince them that you are aren’t afraid of hard work, get along with others, can work long hours without complaint, and can tolerate anything the environment throws at you (heat, cold, stinging insects, etc.) If you’re familiar with Excel and quick to learn other computer software, then that will be an advantage.</p>
<p>Look, here are two positions that are even in Texas:</p>
<p>[Untitled</a> Document](<a href=“Home - Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management”>Home - Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management)
[Untitled</a> Document](<a href=“Home - Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management”>Home - Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management)</p>
<p>I hear the advice to get out and get ANYTHING just to bring in some $$. My fear is that if he gets out of his “push” for a “real” job it will be hard to get back into the network (Penn, OCR etc) that he needs to be in.
I’m more worried about this than others because I have a friend/peer who has a JD and had a terrible career path ALL THE WAY due to missing out on OCR due to a ROTC commitment and some falls in the market. He just never caught up, and is currently unemployed after doing, basically, contract administration for much of his career. (long story and lots of other facts, but this is my concern for legendofmax).
This is NOT a kid who enjoys networking and putting himself out there, so, to me, the ONLY success is going to be to go sleep in the Penn career center or move in with a Penn staff member until they can help him get a job. He’ll have to pull his share of the load, of course.</p>
<p>Since you want to be in SF, is it possible to just get there somehow and work menial jobs to survive until you find an analyst job? It will make for a nice story to tell your underlings when you’re making mid six figures in a few years. ;)</p>
<p>MOWC, I agree that the OP should give OCR at Penn a shot. However, I’m wondering if you’ve seen the 2008-09 data for employers doing OCR at Penn? The reason I ask is because Penn and MIT attract many of the same employers. Over the past year, MIT experienced a 29% decrease in OCR. </p>
<p>I think the OP’s best bet is to get back to Philly; make a pest of himself at the Penn career center; and find interim temp or contract jobs in the financial services industry so he will at least have some finance-related job experience on his resume. If all else fails, a temp or contract job might get his foot in the door in the financial services industry and lead to a FT position. I know someone who did just that.</p>
<p>MOWC, I agree that picking your path carefully is important for a career, but the OP says he is “literally living on one meal every 1-2 days or so in order to stretch out what I’ve got left.” He DOES need any old job he can get if he can’t afford to eat.</p>
<p>Getting out of Austin and back to his network would certainly be good if he can swing it, though.</p>
<p>Monster is useless IMO. I have used DICE. com, it might be for professionals though.
It is impossible to find a job now, period, at least in our area.</p>
<p>Monster is not useless. My husband found a job 3 years ago and my sister found her permanent job very recently(Sept) after she had a talk with my husband.</p>
<p>They are lucky! Their occupations must be in great demand.</p>
<p>For some reason Penn continues to have very strong OCR AND strong employment rates for the grads. It is down some, obviously, but still higher than most of the peer schools. (This pleases me and eases some of the pain of the tremendous financial burden of being full-pay for WildChild there!) The Wharton kids are freaking out, for sure, with fewer jobs and intense competition, but the interviews are happening. My kid says the 3.8 kids are getting offers, the 3.2s are scrambling. Many of the kids will do better in the spring. The fall is a lot of the real high-profile NYC companies. My non-Wharton kid has had a number of interviews, a few second-rounds, one outstanding paid recruiting weekend in a fun city and one excellent (in my opinion) offer. I should note that the trip and the offer came about from a posting on the recruiting board of another top university in a different part of the country.
If the OP can get access to boards from other schools, he can possibly stand out (contact the recruiters directly if the contact info is provided) and get a jump on the process. Also, ask the Penn office about government opps and govt recruiters that are coming.</p>
<p>[Survey</a> says job market for 2010 graduates still gloomy - Nov. 17, 2009](<a href=“Survey says job market for 2010 graduates still gloomy - Nov. 17, 2009”>Survey says job market for 2010 graduates still gloomy - Nov. 17, 2009)</p>
<p>At least it’s not your imagination.</p>