Graduating from college and then finding a job in your career field is scary and hard. I should know because I have now done it twice.
I recently graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University for the second time. The first time around was when I was young and had no clue what I wanted to be when I grew up. Now I have a degree in Communications and have an Education Certification in English for secondary grades.
The Job Market
Today's job market can be a scary place for a person looking for employment. It seems like there are always new statistics about unemployment rates going up and the number of available jobs going down. Many places seem to be looking for experienced professionals, and that can be a problem for recent graduates that might not have experience in the particular field they graduated in. I also feel like people need to accept that they aren't going to land a dream job just out of college. You have to work your way up the ladder sometimes, and that is just a fact of life. If a job requirement is taking out the trash, you do it. Sure, you didn't go to college to take trash out, but I am sure there is another college graduate out there that is willing to take out the trash if it means having a job.
My Personal Job Hunt
My degree is in Education, so I knew exactly where I needed to look for a job. I was able to go to a couple of job fairs that the different school systems held, but those seemed like a waste of time. The different schools did not really do interviews. They handed out their employment packet and that was about it. I could have printed that off of their website and done the same thing. The job fairs really shattered my hopes of finding a job.
With teaching positions, it seems like it comes down to whom you know in the system and who can get you a face to face meeting with the right person. I have friends that graduated with me that went on multiple interviews and just could not seem to land a position. But, perseverance pays off and everyone I know currently has a position lined up for the fall! I was able to meet with a principal in March and then offered a position in May. I had lost hope in this position, but other teachers often don't decide to leave their current position until the end of school.
Overall, I think the jobs are available, you just have to keep looking for them and networking to find the one that fits your need. Accept that you might not find your dream job right away, and find a job that can help lead you to your dream job.
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