How to start a jobsearch?
January 6, 2011 5:52 PM Subscribe
How should I start a "real" job search without being overwhelmed?
I'm graduating in the spring with a BA in sociology/anthropology and a focus in environmental studies.
I've been working in nonprofits part or full time for the last 6 or so years and am interested in continuing that, but my experience is pretty mixed with kids/arts nonprofits/environmental nonprofits, so it doesn't exactly point to a specific job. I don't have a "dream" job, there's a lot of different things I think I could be happy doing. To add to that, I don't have any strong preferences of where I want to live. I'd be open to moving almost anywhere, at least for a little while. And I'm not picky about how much I get paid; I know I can live on very little and I have relatively light student loan debt.
So I'm pretty flexible, but in a way my flexibility is my downfall; I have no idea where to start and am completely overwhelmed.
If I don't find a job it's not the end of the world if I end up working in a gas station or whatever for a while. But... the thought of packing up my car on May 10th with everything I own and not having any place to go as I pull onto the interstate makes me nervous.
So... How do I get this started? Should I even be looking for a job 4 or 5 months before I actually graduate or should I relax? How did you find your first "real" job?
I'm graduating in the spring with a BA in sociology/anthropology and a focus in environmental studies.
I've been working in nonprofits part or full time for the last 6 or so years and am interested in continuing that, but my experience is pretty mixed with kids/arts nonprofits/environmental nonprofits, so it doesn't exactly point to a specific job. I don't have a "dream" job, there's a lot of different things I think I could be happy doing. To add to that, I don't have any strong preferences of where I want to live. I'd be open to moving almost anywhere, at least for a little while. And I'm not picky about how much I get paid; I know I can live on very little and I have relatively light student loan debt.
So I'm pretty flexible, but in a way my flexibility is my downfall; I have no idea where to start and am completely overwhelmed.
If I don't find a job it's not the end of the world if I end up working in a gas station or whatever for a while. But... the thought of packing up my car on May 10th with everything I own and not having any place to go as I pull onto the interstate makes me nervous.
So... How do I get this started? Should I even be looking for a job 4 or 5 months before I actually graduate or should I relax? How did you find your first "real" job?
I'd be open to moving almost anywhere, at least for a little while.
Pick a place you are connected to or pick a place and develop a connection to it. If you tell employers "I'm willing to move anywhere!" they will hear "... and I will probably move on a while later" - sounds like you lack commitment.
UNLESS, you can say you are very committed to a particular job/industry, then you can put it more like "I am willing to relocate for the right position in [company / industry] X."
posted by rkent at 6:18 PM on January 6, 2011
Pick a place you are connected to or pick a place and develop a connection to it. If you tell employers "I'm willing to move anywhere!" they will hear "... and I will probably move on a while later" - sounds like you lack commitment.
UNLESS, you can say you are very committed to a particular job/industry, then you can put it more like "I am willing to relocate for the right position in [company / industry] X."
posted by rkent at 6:18 PM on January 6, 2011
I graduated a little over a year ago. I moved back home and relaxed and was lazy for a few months, but I promised myself I'd apply to at least one job every day, as long as it interested me. Sometimes it was at companies that I found posting positions on sites like Indeed.com, sometimes it was cold-applying to companies that just looked cool.
If I could take just 15 minutes per day to apply to just one place, I'd consider it a productive day. If I applied to two places, it would be an ultra-productive day. This made it easier to think of it all as a "one day at a time" sort of deal instead of a giant clusterfuck.
I also tailored each cover letter and resume specifically to the organization/ob description I was applying for, and then saved each version in a folder called "Job Apps" so when I found a similar company to apply for I could refer to that version of a cover letter/resume. I probably had about 30 versions of my resume and cover letter.
I probably applied to about 50 places in 3 months before finding a job. Not bad, I think, for having a useless BA in this kind of economy.
posted by windbox at 6:32 PM on January 6, 2011
If I could take just 15 minutes per day to apply to just one place, I'd consider it a productive day. If I applied to two places, it would be an ultra-productive day. This made it easier to think of it all as a "one day at a time" sort of deal instead of a giant clusterfuck.
I also tailored each cover letter and resume specifically to the organization/ob description I was applying for, and then saved each version in a folder called "Job Apps" so when I found a similar company to apply for I could refer to that version of a cover letter/resume. I probably had about 30 versions of my resume and cover letter.
I probably applied to about 50 places in 3 months before finding a job. Not bad, I think, for having a useless BA in this kind of economy.
posted by windbox at 6:32 PM on January 6, 2011
I would start looking now for sure. Would you be happy working in a corporate type environment? If so, a lot of big companies and government have programs tailored for recent graduates where they train you for 1-2 years to become a leader in the company. It's a good way to get your foot in the door, if you're interested in that kind of work. If you have an arts degree, I would look at programs which are more business/marketing oriented (e.g. consulting companies like Accenture). I graduated with a psych degree and wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so I worked in government. The careers center at your school should have all kinds of information about graduate opportunities. These kinds of graduate program jobs do tend to be competitive, though, and have earlier deadlines to apply, which is why I would start looking as soon as you can.
It also sounds to me like you could use maybe a little bit more self-discovery in terms of career goals (couldn't we all :). Do you have an idea of what you'd like to do longer term or in what industry you'd like to work? You sound pretty open, which is great, but there's got to be a few things you're leaning towards. That could help answer the questions about the immediate term.
It does seem to me like you're onto a good thing with the non-profit work. Perhaps you could just stay where you are now and keep working in that area? Or do something crazy yet cool like volunteering - like the Peace Corps or Americorps (had a friend who did that). I don't think you could go wrong there.
Well, whatever you decide to do, good luck!
posted by strekker at 2:47 AM on January 7, 2011
It also sounds to me like you could use maybe a little bit more self-discovery in terms of career goals (couldn't we all :). Do you have an idea of what you'd like to do longer term or in what industry you'd like to work? You sound pretty open, which is great, but there's got to be a few things you're leaning towards. That could help answer the questions about the immediate term.
It does seem to me like you're onto a good thing with the non-profit work. Perhaps you could just stay where you are now and keep working in that area? Or do something crazy yet cool like volunteering - like the Peace Corps or Americorps (had a friend who did that). I don't think you could go wrong there.
Well, whatever you decide to do, good luck!
posted by strekker at 2:47 AM on January 7, 2011
Should I even be looking for a job 4 or 5 months before I actually graduate or should I relax ?
As someone in the same situation as you [except anthro/soc. was my minor] 18 months ago, definitely start looking now.
With regards to the feeling of being overwhelmed and which field to focus most of your job-searching attention on....I'm still trying to figure out that too, and I'm now working in a field [that I didn't major in] part-time that I never had much interest in [and still don't], to pay my student loans.
An alternate path that some of my friends [who had minimal student loan debt] have taken was delaying that decision [and hoping that they would be able to find an area that they were most passionate about it while doing this] was to participate in Americorps, Peace Corps, or teach English abroad.
posted by fizzix at 2:13 PM on January 7, 2011
As someone in the same situation as you [except anthro/soc. was my minor] 18 months ago, definitely start looking now.
With regards to the feeling of being overwhelmed and which field to focus most of your job-searching attention on....I'm still trying to figure out that too, and I'm now working in a field [that I didn't major in] part-time that I never had much interest in [and still don't], to pay my student loans.
An alternate path that some of my friends [who had minimal student loan debt] have taken was delaying that decision [and hoping that they would be able to find an area that they were most passionate about it while doing this] was to participate in Americorps, Peace Corps, or teach English abroad.
posted by fizzix at 2:13 PM on January 7, 2011
Utilize the alumni network via your career center, call up alumni in various industries and ask them about their jobs. Browse indeed.com -- there are lots of jobs out there you never knew existed. In other words, do some intel before sending out applications. The last thing you want to appear to be is vague and general.
posted by blargerz at 8:58 PM on January 8, 2011
posted by blargerz at 8:58 PM on January 8, 2011
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posted by decathecting at 5:57 PM on January 6, 2011 [1 favorite]