Graduating During the Down Economy

It might be the worst time ever for college graduates. With the recent economic downturn, employers everywhere are cutting down on jobs and entry-level positions are becoming harder to find. The result is many young people are forced to move back home with their parents and take part-time jobs at their local chain restaurant, while continuing to answer "no" to that undying question – have you found a job yet? At this point, some are left wondering if college was really worth it.

If you’re a new graduate, you may have heard this cliché several times: persistence pays off. By now, it may not hold much meaning to you, but more often than not it’s true. If you’re number one goal is to find a full-time job, apply to every employer that needs workers who possess your skill set. You might end up doing something you hadn’t previously envisioned, but you’ll be gaining valuable work experience simply because you expanded your options. Also, consider applying for jobs in cities that aren’t quite as affected by the bad economy. According to CareerBuilder.com , the top five cities for job seekers based opportunity and cost of living are Indianapolis, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati and Cleveland. Recent grads have also found employment in booming cities in Texas like Houston, Dallas and Austin.

If you can’t find a full-time job, another option is to just wait it out until the economy improves. In the meantime, take a part-time job or internship so that you can earn a little bit of money while keeping your skills sharp. A sports management major who is unable to find full-time work with a college athletic department or professional sports franchise can instead offer their services to an indoor soccer facility. An English major can tutor kids from their local grade schools. A web developer can find freelance work and build his or her portfolio. Perhaps the easiest way outlast the bad economy is to enroll in graduate school. Gaining advanced knowledge in your discipline will make you more marketable to employers in the future. Plus, you get to extend your time as a college student by a couple of years. Not a bad consolation prize after losing your first battle against the "real world."

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This entry was posted on Friday, July 4th, 2008 at 9:57 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.