A lot of graduates paint a picture of their post-grad lifestyle, which includes a great job in a nearby, fast pace city, living out their dreams of being successful. However, not many of these graduates actually plan out how to achieve these goals.
Something I found that out through doing interviews was that there was some contradiction between long term employed people and newly graduated and employed people: long term employed/older interviewees believe that unpaid internships are beneficial and that you should take them whenever possible, and newly graduated interviewees said that they refuse to be unpaid. This is where some of the problem lies, partially because applying for jobs is a lot different today.
One of the main reasons I chose to use the job search for recent graduates as my topic is because I will be going through this adjustment period shortly. As a senior, you have worries about this particular transition period and all the expectations you should live up to. Completing this assignment has eased my mind and helped me realize that it’s about being patient during this tense period of time. It also sparked an interest in doing more research on how to prepare yourself for graduating and looking for employment, as well as the new and improved ways to find jobs. Applying for jobs through the internet is the new and best way: you can apply in bulk and hear back instantly, but there is protocol to how to get hired in a digital world.
Some useful pieces of insight that I will also use when my time come to look for a job, is that you should never be “too proud” to settle for something less than what I think I deserve. When starting off in your career field, you may be too qualified for some jobs but it its in a good company where there is a lot of room to learn and grow, don’t throw that opportunity out the door.
Other opportunities I would like to take advantage of, while I still have the time, are the resources around me. Professors, advisors and career fairs are just a few of the multitude of opportunities we have available on campus. From my experience in doing this article, it seems a lot easier to use the resources at school while you have them compared to once you graduate.
UMass Amherst student on his way to a Career Fair
I have learned a lot through completing this article; I have learned not only about the process and the positive and negative aspects to the job search today, but I also learned a lot about myself and the choices I would be willing to take in order to succeed career wise. I have also come to realize through interviews that the transition does not end once you’ve found your first job after graduating, it continues down the road.
The Job Search 