Anyone want to chime in about their young adult’s job search? How long did it take and how did your young adult eventually get their jobs?
D’s immediate post-college job was a snap. She found it on craigslist and was immediately hired, a year ago. It’s a retail-ish job, in an industry she believes in, 30 hrs a week, no benefits, so not exactly a career job, but fun and relaxed. She wasn’t really looking for a career job a year ago, just something to get some money coming in. She lives with her boyfriend, who does have a full-time career job.
She’s gotten bored with it, so she’s now searching for more of a real job in her field of study. Since her field of study is fairly specific, she just goes directly to the websites of the companies she’s interested in, and looks at their help wanted page. She’s sent out probably a dozen resumes/applications over the last couple of months, but no nibbles so far. But she’s discovered that job-hunting when you’re employed is a whole different experience than job-hunting when you’re not, so she’s content to wait for the right opportunity.
My S targeted specific jobs that met his criteria. He used the online job search websites. It took a couple of months to get to the interview and offer stages. The hardest part was the waiting since many companies have a drawn out selection process. He had several offers and none were from contacts or networking- all were from online searches. The timing was good - we had some time together in the summer before he moved to his new city.
Mine got the first job after interviewing 3 places, which I though she should have looked more comprehensively, but no one asked me, lol. One was with a company she had interned at, another was a startup with people from undergrad. That 3rd interview where she accepted the position was a referral from another place that she has interned at and I guess it was a good referral because she received the offer in the interview. For the next job there was a lot of networking with people at professional conferences, and just contacting people online and flying out for an interview if phone screens progressed She got an offer from a big company using Hired, not the original contact but was referred on internally, and she got another offer from a well funded slightly larger startup, not sure what that was from, but she decided to go back with with the startup from her first job hunt because they were still mutually interested and so far she is thrilled to be with some people she has this connection with.
Older daughter looked online (Craiglist etc) and had a few interviews for jobs she didn’t really want (fortunately none made an offer). While at a short-term paid internship she got through a contact her aunt suggested, she received an email sent by a professor to recent grads in her major. Someone had contacted the department with a job listing. She followed up and got the job, a great entry-level job in her field. She was fully employed by October after graduating in May.
Younger daughter plans to go into academia. She wanted to spend a year or two working in a lab, prior to applying to grad school. One of her professors put her in contact with the research institution where she is working now. She just graduated in May and started in July.
21 YO son just finished a summer job. He goes back to school for his senior year as an economics major on Aug 19. He missed a deadline to get online housing so he will have all new roommates but, thank goodness, they found him a room on campus. His old roommates are mad at him for not paying attention and I told him you need to have at least one email you actually read or else this is going to happen over and over.
He found his summer job on campus (FSU - Tallahassee). The company he worked for recruited up there knowing kids would scatter across the state to go home for the summer. It was basically a sales job. He took it a lot more seriously than I expected he would. I advised him not to take it, I told him to go back to the job he had out of high school and during his community college years of working for T-Mobile selling cell phones where he was making $8.50 an hour plus commission to start, which isn’t bad for a first job. I told him his car would die driving around town in all the heat.
But the driving wasn’t bad, he was home for lunch most days, he ended up being a “team leader” so he had to organize a few other kids his age and report to higher ups and all that and I think he was the top sales leader for this region or real close. He got a chance to manage other people for the first time, sort of, and see other people’s work habits. All in all, it was a good second job.
My 20-year-old son, the middle child who made me pull out my hair a few years back, is on his second gap year. I’m pretty sure he will go back to college, but he’s the type of kid who wants to make sure he NEEDS the degree. I think he will become a pastor or missionary, eventually - I think God has a sense of humor!
Anyway, he just got a job as a bank teller at our local bank. They interviewed several people for the job, but really liked him - they kept calling him! He found the job listing online. After losing almost 100 pounds and working out regularly, he’s a tall, good-looking young man with good people skills, so I think this may be a good match for him. He’s living at home and paying rent, which I deposit directly into his college fund. I’m still in shock that he’s doing so well! As he and I have both observed, it was his older brother, the one who fell ill, that was the “golden child” and now it’s like their roles have reversed. Life is a strange journey!
Eldest was a college athlete in a year round sport, so wasn’t able to do a summer internship or co-op away from campus. Fall of senior year, went to last half hour of school’s career fair and ended up talking to the manager of a large multinational with division headquarters in an off the beaten path location. Was offered a co-op starting in Jan but couldn’t take it due to sport. Was offered a plant tour after season, and received an offer letter while at the facility to co-op after graduation. Ended up taking the co-op. While there, she created a project based on observations of plant level problems discussed at daily stand up meetings. Had to get buy in from department managers and co-op coordinator. Project ended up changing production processes, vendors, and quality procedures, and will save the facility millions annually. At co-op presentations, she was offered any job she wanted by the division head. Ended up being relocated to an attractive, vibrant city and promoted into a position that she would normally need 5 years of experience for - all because her project proved she could do the job. They are now encouraging her to go back for her MS on their nickel and are giving her projects that indicate they have a plan for her future.
All because she stopped into the school’s career fair. For 30 minutes.
S lucked out. Didn’t look while finishing his senior year (long story and a six year gap in the middle of it) but after graduation, looked at website for non-profit jobs, saw one that seemed to fit his skills, applied, got interview almost immediately, second one after that, and was working within a month. It’s work he likes with people with similar values, and very good benefits and room to move. Will never be rich, but will be–is–happy.
^^MereMom: Good story!
My S1 just graduated from college in May. He was very picky and in a very competitive field. He started interviewing in November of his senior year. Lots of interviews came to him from 3 major cities. A few skype interviews. One offer from a company in DC. But it wasn’t in the right area of what he ultimately wanted to do. Kept interviewing like crazy. Barely a week or so after graduating, landed his dream job in the dream city where he wanted to be. Very happy he stuck it out and kept interviewing for what he wanted. He will make a lot of $$, so maybe he can support his parents in their old age!
I like to hear these stories! DD graduated at the end of May and has a very specific skill set, most of which would come into play overseas. For the next several years, though, she needs to stay in the states with her spouse, while spouse gains citizenship… She has several first-round interviews scheduled or just completed and is hoping one or more will end up as a job offer, though pay is very entry-level for all of them. I remember in the old days, employers would look down on people if they had a 6month or longer gap in employment, but nowdays, it seems to take 6 months or more to FIND a job in one’s field.
And then there is the question of whether it is better to get a job, any job, while applying for the job you want, or to put all your energies and attention into hunting for an appropriate beginning job. I am just watching from the side-lines, but she and her spouse are living with us, so I am definitely an interested party!
Ds1 has never known what he wanted to do. We were sure that he’d become a teacher and coach (and that still might happen). He knows that he likes mentoring kids, working in schools, higher education and coaching. His senior year, he had three AmeriCorps job offers and took the one here. It got him back home, which made him happy, and he was able to work on both HS and college campuses,which was the age group he preferred.
He learned a lot of great skills, and the wonderful thing about his AmeriCorps job is they know this is a one-year commitment and so you don’t have to feel weird about leaving, and they do a lot of professional development around preparing them for the next step. Or at least his employer did. His job ended last month, and he had a new job in less than two weeks. He starts tomorrow!!!
Oldest…started college and a week later he was offered his dream job on a permanent basis. We talked it over and we worked out a plan, including the what ifs…He is a partner now. And yes, you can be very successful without a degree.
Oldest daughter: Looked for a job for 1 day. Got it…It has been a bit challenging but she is very much on her way.
Youngest: Graduated and got a job in a company that does public relations Dream job for many, nightmare for her. She quit…and has a pr job that is FAR better than the first.
I really can’t say where any of them work. I suspect someone could find them in 3 minutes.
Oldest continued to work at her college in a similar position to her work study job. Then she branched out and was doing a little tech writing here, a little writing web sites there, along with some other stuff tangentially connected to her degree. She did those things for a few years until she was ready to go to grad school.
Youngest found herself and her boyfriend, work & housing in an area where she can take photos like my avatar every week, in her field no less.
DS has not had experiences yet. But I heard from one of my previous coworkers that he thinks the job market is better this summer than last summer in general. However, we have an intern (just for the summer job only) who told me that he sent out 60+ resumes and was interviewed twice only. But he was in the intern summer job market only (not graduated from college yet.)
Daughter number one returned to the Midwest after graduating (we moved east when she was in middle school) and survived for two years as a substitute teacher. The third year she was hired by a new charter school that stopped paying her in February but she continued to teach in hopes of being paid and to have a year of documented classroom experience to help in the job search. She had many interviews but had no luck being hired so she finally applied to teach in a remote native village in Alaska. She loves it and starts her 4th year next week.
Daughter number two had a much easier experience. During her third year of her PA program I finally managed to get her up to an Adirondacks village that I had visited every year as a child (as did my mother in her childhood). Kid fell in love with the area and announced that the family practice clinic in the nearby town had to hire a PA when she graduated so she could move there. Flash forward two years and a week before a planned camping trip to the area two months before graduation she called to say that the clinic was advertising for a PA (never had one before). While we were there she had an interview (on her birthday no less). They hired her on the spot because they were looking for someone who wanted a mountain village lifestyle and since she had a history with the area.
So much serendipity in the job market!
DD has an interview and they will pay to fly her out, etc. Yeah!! I know that often times it will take many interviews and processes to end up with a job, but it is heartening for her to start to get results with her applications.
BTW, I just read an fascinating article in TIME magazine about the move towards human analytics in HR departments… those personality type tests, and long multiple question tests that try to ascertain if you will be a good fit for the company. Scary that some creative folks may be shut out of jobs because they don’t answer the questions in a way that fits in the box!
You mean they will be able to get rid of HR with these tests, that would be scary.
High volume places, like retail and food industry have been using those tests for a while.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/44120975/ns/business-careers/t/employers-turn-tests-weed-out-job-seekers/