New graduates prepare to hunt for jobs
| • | Part-time work can lead to full-time post |
By Dana Knight
Indianapolis Star
It's possible that Ryan Bates, who graduated last weekend with a 3.8 grade-point average and carries an impressive résumé, will settle for a job as a lifeguard this summer.
So much for graduating with honors. So much for starting the career right after graduation.
"Sometimes you can get so disappointed," said Bates, 21, a double major in business management and human resources at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He has been on the job hunt since September. "I worked my butt off. I have an awesome GPA. Why isn't this happening?" he asked.
Why might he take a job where he will wear shorts, no shirt and twirl a whistle instead of sporting a suit and tie and swinging a briefcase?
For the answer to that, here's some insight from Tim Bennett, director of the career placement office at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis.
May is college graduation month, and college graduate employment is down 3.6 percent from 2002.
Employment for the 20- to 24-year-old age group is at a 10-year low. Tough economy. Jitters caused by the Iraq war. The people who normally would be retiring aren't.
The service sector is the place to be. This year it's recording the greatest gains in hiring, about 5 percent more college graduates than 2002.
Graduates also could do OK looking for a job in the fields of dental hygiene, government, consulting services, construction or nursing.
Being open to other options is great advice, according to Bennett, who suggests these other tips for new graduates:
- Make it a full-time job to find a full-time job. Don't squeeze it into your schedule between yoga class and the dinner date.
- Remember, not all jobs are found in the classified ads. Many employers find employees through word-of-mouth or someone they know — who, one would hope, knows you.
- Network. Volunteer, go to church, schmooze with the college professor (who hasn't always been a college professor and may just know some CEOs), join the gym. Jobs can be found in obscure places.
- Send targeted cover letters and résumés. No blind calls. Find out the boss' name (and the right way to spell it). Make it look like you cared enough to spruce up that generic résumé.
- Don't be afraid to take an internship instead of a full-time job. You can prove yourself and get the real thing.
- Temporary jobs aren't always temporary. Sometimes, the job the employer thought would be short-term turns into a full-time position — and you're right there to take it.
- Don't use the lousy job market as an excuse to be lazy. There are jobs to be had.
It's called work, right?
