# No work for college graduate with SA!!



## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

I graduated from college last June with a business degree. I did extremely well in school, being the top student in the business economics department (3.95 overall undergraduate GPA). 

Unfortunately, I've been unemployed since then. Yep, unemployed for nearly a YEAR now despite looking. My only "work" is babysitting my sister's kid for $50/week. My parents don't have any ideas, and they don't seem to care whether I live with them forever. I want to move out and live on my own, independent from them (where I feel like a little kid).

I thought I had a chance in an entry-level job in the Dept. of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics), and I took an employment test in DC (logical/quantitative reasoning skills), and I scored really well, but they never contacted me. :stu 

I was under the impression that a college degree would allow me to find an entry-level job requiring a college degree that would allow me to move up over time. Instead, all I see are jobs related to telemarketing and sales. I've been contacted by numerous employers who turned out to be trying to scam me. I almost feel like any employer who would offer me a job is a predator trying to trick me into doing door-to-door sales for minimum wage. I've been on every employment site out there (craigslist, monster, careerbuilder, online newspapers, hotjobs, etc, etc , etc) and there are NO jobs that I am qualified for since I have no experience.

I feel like my college degree has been worthless in searching for a job because all of the jobs demand years of experience and SPECIFIC knowledge of information used in the industry. How am I supposed to know that when I've never worked in the field!! It's a crushing paradox. :sigh 

I entered a paralegal online certification program in January, and I finished it in April (doing extremely well). Despite having this certification, I'm still not qualified for any legal jobs I've found advertised. A friend of mine works at a law firm, and he tried to get me a job there, but it fell through despite them claiming they were excited to bring me in for an interview (liars). I followed up with them, and they never even responded. How rude.

I'm now trying to contact law firms to VOLUNTEER (no pay at all) for them to get experience working with lawyers, and still nobody wants me. Pretty soon I'm going to have to start paying employers to work for them. :fall 

I'm really starting to think that I'm going to be doomed to working in fast food, despite my natural intelligence and ability. I won't be happy if I can't use my brain in a job, but I can't find a job that takes advantage of my ability (logical thinker, hard-working, dedicated, studious, friendly, etc.).

What should I do to get a job that takes advantage of the fact that I have a college degree??? I feel so desperate and unhappy.


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## barnabas (Apr 24, 2007)

Do you happen to know monster.com? 

Since you have a really high GPA, you would probably be wanted by a lot of companies even if you have no experience at all. Just try to be more alert and a lot more aggressive. Check monster.com for new job openings and call the companies you've applied to EVERY DAY for results (which I realize is the hard pard, but try anyway), and say NO to NO if you must. :b

Good luck.


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

*Re: re: No work for college graduate with SA!!*



pinkeye said:


> Do you happen to know monster.com?
> 
> Since you have a really high GPA, you would probably be wanted by a lot of companies even if you have no experience at all. Just try to be more alert and a lot more aggressive. Check monster.com for new job openings and call the companies you've applied to EVERY DAY for results (which I realize is the hard pard, but try anyway), and say NO to NO if you must. :b
> 
> Good luck.


Yeah, I've been all throughout Monster. I think CareerBuilder is better, but I never find job advertisements on any job sites that refer to GPA at all. I think it's a rather meaningless number unless you're going to grad school.


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## copper (Nov 10, 2003)

In my field I graduated with a BA degree and never could find a job. I ended up taking a job in my field that didn't require a degree. That was a job as direct care staff in a group home. I did this for a couple of years and ended up landing a much better job. Sometimes you have to do this to get your foot in the door. You might have to take a job as a mail person in a company and work there for awhile. Then when a job comes up that you are qualified for you can apply for.


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

Weird. I JUST got a phone call from the law firm my friend works for. I'm getting an interview next Wednesday at 2pm!! WOOHOO!!!

Soon, interview anxiety will set in (and anxiety related to driving 3 hours to get to a big, unfamiliar city), but I'll use that nervous energy in a constructive manner in preparing for various interview questions (typing them all out). It would be such a huge step in the right direction if I could land this job!


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## green and lonely (May 29, 2006)

Ardrum, I really, really hope this interview works out for you. I hate to think of so many people going through this. Your first post might as well have been written by me a couple of years ago--even right down to the part about your parents not caring how long you live with them. I did finally find work, but I am not using my degree, and there is no denying that it contributes to my depression. You said that you'd tried to find work through the Department of Labor, and that is very, very close to what I'm doing now. If this interview doesn't work out for you (though I certainly hope it does) and you just want to find the best job that you can in the short term, my best advice would be to keep trying to get a government job...it seems to me that a person with SA has better odds of being hired by a government agency or some other kind of not-for-profit. I had to go to a few interviews before I finally got hired, but I have the feeling I would have been unemployed for longer had I only looked in the private sector.

In any case, good luck at the interview!


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## millenniumman75 (Feb 4, 2005)

ardrum said:


> Weird. I JUST got a phone call from the law firm my friend works for. I'm getting an interview next Wednesday at 2pm!! WOOHOO!!!
> 
> Soon, interview anxiety will set in (and anxiety related to driving 3 hours to get to a big, unfamiliar city), but I'll use that nervous energy in a constructive manner in preparing for various interview questions (typing them all out). It would be such a huge step in the right direction if I could land this job!


Ardrum,

Companies are VERY shaky right now when it comes to hiring. They are a little more willing than they were when I graduated in '99 (dot-com burst!). I'm a techie and it was 13 months before I landed a job as a contractor. I was laid off 27 months later, and then unemployed for another 23 months. I went back to the same company as an employee and have been there for 33 months now! I have had two raises, two bonuses, and a promotion in that time, so it will happen. You must be patient in these troubled times. Companies are trying to save money all the time.


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## GraceLikeRain (Nov 9, 2003)

ardrum said:


> Weird. I JUST got a phone call from the law firm my friend works for. I'm getting an interview next Wednesday at 2pm!! WOOHOO!!!


I hope it goes well!


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## Zephyr (Nov 8, 2003)

I'm the same. I graduated last June and have done nothing since. Like you, I have to do something that utilizes my brain, else I just get extremely bored. There doesn't really seem to be any such job for me, though. I think I'll be living with my parents till they die, then I'll have to get used to living on the streets or something...


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## Futures (Aug 27, 2005)

I was in that exact situation. I ate [email protected]!% for 3 years before a buddy of mine came to the rescue and got me in where he works.

But before that, I used to sit at my computer for hours on end every single weekday looking for work. I applied for over 700 jobs over those 3 years. It was not fun.

My problem was I slacked off all throughout my college years and didn't work. So when I graduated, I had a huge employment gap that just got wider by the day. Everybody couldn't understand why I didn't have any summer jobs. While all the other students were working during the summers and gaining experience, I was hiding out in my bedroom because of SA.

I only had one proper job on and off for 2 years back in my last year of HS/first year of college.

After I graduated college everything just went to hell. My relationship with my parents deteriorated. They blamed me for all my problems and nagged on me every day about going out and getting some crappy job that I didn't want. I had nothing to live for...no job, no car, no money, no friends, no hope at all. It was bad.

My advice to you, is keep your head up and never stop trying. Baby sitting isn't technically a real job, so that is obviously what is hurting you. You really need to crawl before you can walk. By that I mean you need to just settle for some crap job right now, pay your dues in it for a few months (bare minimum), then start applying again for the real jobs online. You will have much better luck after you can show employers that you're employable. It sucks but it's probably the only way you're going to dig yourself out of the ditch.

After 2 years of being unemployed after college, I got so desperate that I took a temp job going door to door as a census worker! Can you believe that...someone with SA doing that? Yes, it was awful. I hated it. But I forced myself to complete it. I needed to get some fresh experience on my resume. I think it did help a bit in terms of getting more interviews. But I don't think the job was long enough to really impress most employers, which why I remained unemployed for another year after that until my friend came and saved my butt.


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

Wow, that's quite a tale, Futures. I'm hoping my buddy's referal will save my butt. They like him and seem excited about me. I seem to have everything going for me for this job, and the HR Manager even told me on the phone how she "thinks I'm going to love it" there. That's quite positive language for pre-interview times. She also commented twice about loving my resume (especially getting the paralegal certificate). We'll see, but I think the job is mine to lose on Wednesday. 

I'll be sure to report the results, but I am feeling very positive at this point.

If this doesn't work out, I have a feeling I'll have a similar story to Futures's. :afr


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

Whew, only 19 hours to go! The anxiety is definitely rising, but I can handle a lot more. Bring it on, anxiety!!! :kma :lol

EDIT: Results in "Triumphs Over Social Anxiety" section.


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## Mr. Frostman (Nov 9, 2003)

Same story here: graduated from college, but can't find work in my field. I'm actually going back to school for a second degree now.

Welcome to the club, I'm afraid to say.


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

Mr. Frostman said:


> Same story here: graduated from college, but can't find work in my field. I'm actually going back to school for a second degree now.
> 
> Welcome to the club, I'm afraid to say.


What was your first degree, and what are you going for now?

If all this doesn't work out, I think I'll head back to school. I don't know what I'd study, but I've always done extremely well in school. What I worry about though is that I'll just keep educating myself without ever having any results (decent jobs) at the end of the tunnel.

I sent out my "thank you" to my interviewer a few days ago, and I'm just waiting to hear back from them. It shouldn't happen until next week though. Time drags.


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## rooey (May 30, 2007)

I would definitely like to know how you ardrum, all the best 

It's nice to find some other people in the same situation! Although I done a degree in computing, did not enjoy it much (but I have a hard time learning, not feeling like I'm clever enough so it might not have been the course's fault) and have been temping in office jobs on and off for 2 years (I graduated 2 years ago). Not I am doing a distance course in accounting, hoping that it will get my foot in the door for some kind of accounting job (have been rejected from 2 so far). I don't even know if it's what I want to do, or maybe I should relearn software engineering in my own time as the pay is good. But My temp jobs generally lasted a couple of weeks and I have big gaps in my employment, my last 2 week job being end of february. I just don't really know what to do


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## dizzy8796 (May 27, 2007)

good luck ardrum! :yes 

i gained a foundation degree last year and i couldnt find any work either, was unemployed for about 6 mths n now i've ended up doing a job i could have done straight from school. i've started looking at topping up to a degree by distance learning to see if i can end up with a better job. i never did any work experience or ne summer jobs either so didnt have any experience which would of helped.

anyways hope u get it!


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

rooey said:


> I would definitely like to know how you ardrum, all the best
> 
> It's nice to find some other people in the same situation! Although I done a degree in computing, did not enjoy it much (but I have a hard time learning, not feeling like I'm clever enough so it might not have been the course's fault) and have been temping in office jobs on and off for 2 years (I graduated 2 years ago). Not I am doing a distance course in accounting, hoping that it will get my foot in the door for some kind of accounting job (have been rejected from 2 so far). I don't even know if it's what I want to do, or maybe I should relearn software engineering in my own time as the pay is good. But My temp jobs generally lasted a couple of weeks and I have big gaps in my employment, my last 2 week job being end of february. I just don't really know what to do


Thanks. Yeah, I've got gaps all over the place. My last legitimate job was in 2004. I was in school during the summers, and I just never had the need for a job after 2004.

I talked to my friend who works at the firm today, and he said it took 3 weeks before he heard back after his interview. So I have to be ready to potentially not hear anything next week.


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

No news yet. While I've heard this can be common at this company, I can't help but think I'm not going to get the job. :cry

I am just so frustrated that it doesn't matter how hard I worked in school. I was my high school's valedictorian (4.00 GPA), and I graduated with my bachelor's degree with a 3.95 GPA. I obtained this paralegal certificate with flying colors (A average), and yet it doesn't seem like any of this matters at all. 

I just feel like a big ball of frustration, disgust, disappointment, anger, rage, depression, sorrow, and self-pity. 

I'm going to definitely follow up again this week (which I'm absolutely DREADING for SA reasons). This Wednesday (June 13) will be the third week since my interview. My interviewer said it would take at LEAST a couple weeks to get back to me. My friend who works at this law firm said that some people have had to wait a month. Still, I'm getting really worried.

My 24th birthday is June 19, and if it comes with no word yet on this job, I'm going to feel like a complete failure.


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## rooey (May 30, 2007)

I would try and pluck up the courage to contact them. I'm in a similar position to be honest.. I'm waiting to hear from a job and they said they would contact the successful applicants by telephone within a week (by the end of tomorrow that would be a whole week) and email the unsuccessful applicants. They said after two weeks if I haven't heard anything from them I should ring them up. I think I will email on wednesday the person I have been contacting and if no news by the end of that day I will ring up.


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## pjam376 (Jun 11, 2007)

I hope you get the job and it's something you can grow from.

For me, interviews are the worse. I hate them, whether it's a phone or face-to-face. Problem for me is I've been an IT Contractor for most of my career so I have to interview all the time. I've learned about so many different companies because I've interviews so much, but I'm just not that good at interviews.

At least you should know something soon. My most recent quest for a job led me to some company in Boston, Ma. I live on the west coast. A recruiter contacted me about it and it seemed like a great fit. Software company, lots of traveling, cool IT work, and so on.

I went through the HR interview over the phone. That lasted about 20 minutes. Simple questions. A couple days later, I had an interview with one of the managers over the phone. That lasted about an hour. Then I had another interview a day after that with another manager on the phone. That lasted about an hour. All seemed well. They were impressed with my experience and skill set.

Recruiter contacted me and said they needed to give me a tech phone screen. Another phone interview and that lasted for about an hour. Very technical. But I did well and actually got the guy to laugh.

A few days later the recruiter told me they were flying me out to boston. Things looked good. I went through like 4-5 interviews on the phone and they were impressed with me enough to fly me across the country, pay for my hotel, and fly me back. Cool. I felt good and was feeling confident. I prepped and was sort of relaxed. Felt better than I have in a long time. 

Got there and interviewed with the HR person. Asked a few questions. Filled out some things then had to take some tech test. I did ok, not great. Then I interviewed with the one guy I spoke to on the phone. He made me go up to the white board, diagram things, design things. Another hour interview but it went well and he seemed happy.

Then I went into interview with another tech manager. While I knew the answers to the questions, it always takes me a moment to think it over and then answer. And this guy was one of those people who thought he was better than everybody, smarter, and had an attitude. He started asking me how the internet works. Why it works. ANd I explained it to him, but really didn't understand how this related to anything.

He then started explaining something to me, then asked a question and in all honesty, i'm not sure if it was trick or not, but I told him, "you can't deploy this to that system. Unless you have specific plugins and adapters, it's not going to work." He seemed to shake his head and then changed his question. Instead of Product A, he now said use Product B, which would actually work the way he spoke about.

Anyway, after that interview I wasn't so sure. I mean I answered his questions, but I don't think he liked the way I answered them.

Then another interview with the HR Person. Who basically said it's hard to find people for this position, blah blah blah, and I thought it would be a "Sorry at this time." But it wasn't it was a we will get back to you tomorrow.

I imagined after about 10 interviews and around 10 overall hours spent talking to people with this company, they should have known more than, "we'll call you tomorrow."

So on the flight back home i was kind of down. Hoped to have good news to tell my wife.

The next day, a friday, nobody called. I figured they'd know by the time I got up at 9am since I'm on the west coast and they are on the east coast. NO such luck.

Recruiter never called and so on. So i sort of just rested all day, down in the dumps. Finally I called the recruiter, but she didn't answer. I remembered she was off a couple friday's before that, so I called her main office to see if she was in today or not working.

The owner of the recruiting firm answered and told me she was out of the office today but working from home. He asked my name, I told him and then he said, "Sorry you didn't get the job." 

 I was like, "Oh, first I heard." He said she should call me with another opportunity.

So basically, 10 hours worth of interviews that led to nothing. Back to square one except I have no interviews scheduled at all and no money coming in and plenty of bills due.


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

pjam376,

Wow, that's a horrible ending to that tale!! I think I'd be unemployed for the rest of my life if all jobs required all of those hurdles (to only still have the possibility of being turned down). I was at this firm for an hour and a half, and the interview portion was no longer than 15-20 minutes. The rest was spent doing some tests on a computer. It frustrates me that I SHOULD be able to get such a job since it's entry-level (for college grads). My friend has told me he expects I'm one of the top candidates, if not the top candidate for my qualifications.

I'm working up my courage right now, and I'm going to call here in a few minutes. I even wrote out a few of the main things I want to ask in case I get flustered. Safety behavior, yes, but I'd hate to suddenly blank out on the HR Manager's name or something................. I'll report results.....


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## RainPetal (Jun 21, 2005)

Hi,
I hope you hear from them as you've looked forward to it.

Would it be less stressful if you get a job working in fast food (they employ easily and pay quite well) while at the same time you search for the job you want? That way you've landed employment somewhere and even if it might not be the dreamjob you're looking for it's only a temporary position until you get landed in the job you're hoping for. Have you registered at an employment agency or asked an employment centre for advice?


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

OK, so I called them a couple days ago, and I couldn't get ahold of the HR Manager. I could have left a message, but I think it would be better to talk to someone directly. I called the main line and then asked to speak with the woman who interviewed me. She told me that she had to check with HR to see if they had even started the background checks! Wow, what a slow process! She asked me if I was still interested in the job (uh, YES), and added that she would call me back when she finds out what's going on.

She did call me back later in the afternoon. She said that they were actually finalizing the background checks, and she should hear back from them in a day or two. She then gave me the great news........

She told me that they were seriously considering me for the position, and I am the number one candidate!!! I can hardly believe it! I was very anxious at the thought of other people interviewing for the same position, but I think I'm going to get this job!! I haven't heard back yet, but I think the call could come very soon.

Now my stress can get shifted to finding a good place to live. :lol


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## sh0x (Oct 9, 2006)

updates?


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## ardrum (May 13, 2007)

sh0x said:


> updates?


Sure. I wish I could be more organized, because I've followed up on my situation in another thread (or two).

I did get the job offer, which I took! I start July 9. I found an apartment in Cleveland on Friday, and I'm moving in this Sunday (July 1). There are about a million things on my mind at this point, but I can't help but feel extremely satisfied with FINALLY getting a job. I STILL can't believe I have this opportunity.

I'll probably give another update in another thread when I begin working. Even if this isn't a dream job, I'm so thrilled to be employed. If I have some bad days initially, I'll just remember how bad I felt when I was stuck with my parents for a year, unemployed.


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## Futures (Aug 27, 2005)

Congrats! :boogie


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## Mayflower 2000 (Nov 11, 2003)

These personal experiences sound baffling to me. Grads in fields such as business have very high entry level salaries... if the salaries are so high, how could there be no jobs available? Economically it doesn't make sense.



> Among grads both new and old, a university degree seems to be a virtual employment guarantee. As of March, people with a bachelor's degree or higher experienced a 1.8 percent unemployment rate compared with a national average of 4.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.


http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0507/p13s01-wmgn.html

Under two percent...



> Charlie Smith, a film major at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., says most of his friends with economics or business degrees have already lined up jobs for next year, while he and his friends in the liberal arts are still struggling to find something.





> Though many ac­­counting and economics majors land jobs early, only 30 to 40 percent of students have secured a job by commencement, estimates Dr. White at Rutgers. But six months after graduation, at least 75 percent of graduates will have jobs and another 20 percent will have moved on to graduate school.


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## pjam376 (Jun 11, 2007)

Congrats on getting the job and good luck..

Stats are swayed to point there are more jobs than people so they can off shore things.

The problem with people with SA is most of us never make tons of connections. And when you need a job, the best way to find one, is through your connections.

People who have a ton of "friends" even if they aren't close, can call on somebody near to their field or know somebody near to their field and find something.

Say you have 50 friends. Some you knew before, some you sort of know. Many of them really aren't close friends, but acquaintances. You probably aren't close with most of them but if you know them well enough and they know you , you give them a call when your looking for work or let it be known. So those 50 people might know 50 people who might know 50 people.

50 people can turn into thousands of people. And in a network of a thousand people, somebody might know somebody who is hiring. ANd even if you don't know the end person, if they know a friend of a friend, it's still somebody somebody knows.

On the other hand if you have 2 or 3 close friends, maybe even just family friends, you have to hope they have certain connections. The problem with me is that those friends really aren't in any positions to help me. And if it's a family friend, I'm not always willing to say, "Hey I'm out of work, can you help me." Cause then word spreads back to family that hey so and so is out of work again.. blah blah blah.

That is the reason people with SA have a hard time getting jobs, especially when your talking about starting career jobs. Many jobs are never listed or are filled long before they look to the net, newspapers, or random resumes. If you know somebody who has a connection or are on the inside, you are almost guaranteed an interview. And a friend of a friend will judge you a lot differently than somebody who just looks at you as some complete stranger.


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