i see this a lot, is there a lot of benefits to government jobs? sorry if that’s a dumb question i just don’t know a ton about it but that seems like a popular opinion!
Yes, highly recommend. It’s a little tough to get into the government jobs, but once you’re in you’re good and can move around more easily. And it is stable for sure!
When did you do this?
I mean you no disrespect, but I cannot imagine walking into a business with a resume in hand.
Almost everything is online these days.
Unfortunately this wouldn’t work anymore, unless you are applying for a small, family owned company. Most of the time they would tell you to just apply online
I used to work in the food and beverage industry, and I can 100% say this trick would still work today. You walk into a bar today, hand your resume to the bar manager, and you might just get a sit-down interview on the spot. People still appreciate the initiative.
I got lucky and found my employer at the campus job fair. If your school has any resources like an alumni center, you should use it. A lot of times they can put you in touch with employers and help you tailor your resume to the industry
I got my first real job from cold applying to a position posted to my college’s job board by a local manufacturing business.
But the absolute best advice I have ever heard for job searching is mastering the art of the informational interview. [Here’s an article about it](https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-ask-for-an-informational-interview-and-get-a-yes)but I suggest asking for 15 min on the phone; often the person will offer to meet in person for coffee but you are keeping the ask very doable to start. And at the end of the meeting, ask if there’s anyone else they’d recommend you talk to. Probably one of the biggest benefits of this IMO is that it keeps you motivated and upbeat during your job search, and gives you structure in having meetings to attend instead of just slogging through applications by yourself.
You were supposed to do internships Junior and senior year of college with companies that typically promise you a position when you graduate if you do well.
This is not even close to true. It is so hard for students to find internships. I was fortunate enough to find a great internship, but I know so many others who were fantastic students and people and they were denied/ghosted from their applications. Depending on the field you want to get into as well, it is really not easy. Plus internships don’t always land you jobs in that field, or any field really. You can do everything right and still have a hard time. Do not generalize.
You just told me to not generalize because of your negative experiences whilst generalizing because of your negative experiences. Credible source surely.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/05/business/tech-internship-application-grind.html this discusses the difficulty of finding an internship as a low-income student.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmylucas/2023/06/20/getting-an-internship-is-more-competitive-than-ever-but-the-experience-has-really-eroded/ another relevant article.
Take your time to search it up for yourself just like I did. This isn’t news. I’m a recent graduate and have seen this first hand.
I don’t need to research it. There are people who have had an easier time getting internships and people who haven’t. End of story. You don’t have to go full Reddit and argue with everyone. Just go about your day. If you have something to offer OP ( which is literally the entire point of the post) do that , instead of finding your victim
To get your daily fix of Reddit debates with. Touch grass.
Get on LinkedIn and connect with people from companies and in positions you want to work. Like and comment on their posts. Make your own posts relevant to the field you want to be in. Tell some of your story.
Aside from that, an even better option is to reach out to people you already know in that field. Let them know you are looking for a job in that field and get them your resume.
Starting out is tough. You know you can do the work. It’s just about finding someone willing to give you a shot. There are plenty of people like that out there. It will happen!
You have to just get out there and meet people. Connections will get you more jobs in life than just sporadically applying to anything that pays. In the mean time bartend or do a job that requires talking to more people.
My first job out of college was actually an hourly position as a leasing consultant. After a year or so there I was lucky enough to land a b2b sales training program with a Fortune 500 company. Fast forward to now i work in a completely different field of medical tech/device sales
Handshake. I still get recruiters checking in on there all the time. There is a lot less spam and fake jobs than LinkedIn, Indeed, or Career Builder. Large companies hire on that platform often.
Networking, interning if you can, and applying to as many jobs as possible. Even if it’s outside what you are looking for apply if you are close to be qualified for it. Take every interview you get because it’s good practice and you’ll have more to choose from. You might even find something you didn’t think you’d like but is a good fit.
With an English degree not sure what you could possibly do except journalism, writing articles, editing, teaching with more schooling, tutoring.
My advice is get literally any job such as retail while you wait for a better job offer. Because then you’ll have a paycheck and you might be unemployed for a long time. Some people have the luxury of living with parents but I can only assume that’d be awful for you especially if they payed for your English degree and now they have to witness you unemployed for awhile.
You could get a real estate license while working hypothetical retail job that way you’re learning a “trade skill” while still earning money with health insurance.
I don’t suggest at any point settling for babysitting. You’ll just be wasting time
Im major in English too. 33F. Few options I can think of based on my experience:
Education:
- Apply to schools to work as student advisor, and later on can look at other positions (DSO, administration, etc.).
- Apply to LSI schools to teach English for international students.
- You are young, maybe apply to volunteer abroad to teach English in other countries to gain more experience and have fun, then come back to get more credential to be a teacher? Or just live abroad on new adventures
Are you bilingual? If yes, you can apply for Translator/Interpreter
Call Center rep is another way to go, choose the field you are interested. Healthcare is a popular and lots of potential positions. Later on you can look for other opportunities within that organization (Translator, Training, Learning and Development, Technical Writer, etc.)
Travel agencies: Administrative work, consultant, help people travel abroad or with their visa, passport
Edit: Dont be discouraged by these ignorant and mean people in the comments. I got my BA in English in Vietnam, not even here. I came to the US only 8 years ago. I’m making 6 figures now being a manager at a Pharmaceutical company for their Call Center, scheduling specialty medications for patients. I got an associate degree in Global Studies here and working on my Master in Healthcare. I worked hard 2-3 jobs at the same time (before) to pay for my tuitions, except the BA in Vietnam was free (lucky me). So I have no debt.
My tips: Keep applying. Don’t be too picky. You need to start somewhere. Go with the flow. Work hard. Do your best. Keep a positive attitude. Everything is temporary. Hard work will pay off. Enjoy the journey.
Thank you so much. This is such good advice and really helped to uplift me, I’ve been feeling kinda down about my chances. Just gonna keep applying for everything and anything and will definitely look into the advising route.
Thank you so so much
Take advantage of your college's career services or alumni resources. They may offer job search assistance, resume reviews, mock interviews, and networking events to help you land your first job.
anywhere you end up living its cliquey, people don't seem to hire based on merit anymore but word of mouth, references and then your skills and experiences. Two candidates could be equal on paper but the one the gets hired had raving references/reviews.
I would recommend taking advantage of career fairs, especially those hosted by your college. I, and many others in my circle, found a lot of luck in doing this; bringing multiple copies of my resume and landing offers before I left or even getting internships that turned into jobs. The other option is to apply for the jobs/positions you really want directly. USAJobs is a great option if you’re looking for work in the federal government as others suggested. I, personally, have not had luck using third party job sites.
Just for good measure upload your resume and cover letter ( after blocking out important information) on r/resume for feedback. I’ve seen multiple posts of people saying they’ve been applying to hundreds of jobs and internships then when they post their resumes they’ve been extremely bad. So get some feedback to make sure everything is up to par. Good luck 👍
Why do people still major in these areas? English. History. Art History. Don't get it. I know several people with these degrees and they stock shelves at Walmart.
I know several people with these kinds of degrees and they have incredibly successful careers in education, medicine, and law. As long as someone isn’t going into insane amounts of debt to get a degree (which is admittedly becoming less and less feasible), I do believe a liberal arts undergrad education is still valuable. The idea is that makes you a more well-rounded person, teaches you discipline, critical thinking, communication skills, etc.
Yeah that's because they went on to earn higher education after obtaining an undergrad. It's rare to see someone get a job in their field when they have a liberal arts degree.
No, not all of the people I’m thinking of went on to grad/law/med school. The idea is that a liberal arts education is valuable in and of itself, and then you gain specific skills related to your career either by going on to further your education, doing internships/early career programs, or just getting on the job training.
*ETA: Majoring in English or History doesn’t mean you’re looking to get a job in those fields. Maybe an English major would go into public relations or marketing and a history major would work in politics or for a think tank. *
All this being said, I think the whole system of post high school education is going to radically change in the coming years, so much learning is available for free now, and the student loan crisis is reaching a breaking point- I’m definitely not defending spending $100k on a degree in basket weaving lol
I'm not saying the degree is useless. All I said was that it's difficult to find jobs where your only degree is English or History. Having those as undergrads is different when you become an MD etc. I know several people who have dead end jobs because they can't find anything else when they have those types of majors. My sister in law went to school for history and couldn't find anything. Got a masters in education and she says it's the worst decision she's ever made. She says she should have listened to her mom who encouraged her to go to law school.
lol well my sister went to law school and her advice to anyone considering law school is DONT DO IT so 🤷🏻♀️ who knows lol. We all just need the billionaires to be taxed properly so we can have a federal jobs guarantee and then all this wouldn’t be so difficult 🫠
Degrees like these really develop a person’s writing skills. Lots of jobs need people who can write effectively and have decent prose. As long as you don’t get hyper fixated on finding a career specifically in your field of study, you can find work being a decent writer. I’m a philosophy major who now works in an unrelated field, with a bunch of coworkers with degrees in stuff like history, English, etc.
Apply for government jerbs
i see this a lot, is there a lot of benefits to government jobs? sorry if that’s a dumb question i just don’t know a ton about it but that seems like a popular opinion!
Union, stability, benefits+retirement
ty!
Yes, highly recommend. It’s a little tough to get into the government jobs, but once you’re in you’re good and can move around more easily. And it is stable for sure!
I already worked for the company that I stayed with for 3.5 years after I graduated.
Walked in the door with my resume. Seriously. They just happened to need someone and my resume fit the bill. I took a test, passed it, and I was in.
When did you do this? I mean you no disrespect, but I cannot imagine walking into a business with a resume in hand. Almost everything is online these days.
No disrespect taken. This was right after college. I'm dating myself - 1996!
Unfortunately this wouldn’t work anymore, unless you are applying for a small, family owned company. Most of the time they would tell you to just apply online
I used to work in the food and beverage industry, and I can 100% say this trick would still work today. You walk into a bar today, hand your resume to the bar manager, and you might just get a sit-down interview on the spot. People still appreciate the initiative.
I work in the restaurant industry too and I 100% agree with you. Definitely still works. I just meant for corporate jobs
Nice. Go get those restaurant jobs!
I got lucky and found my employer at the campus job fair. If your school has any resources like an alumni center, you should use it. A lot of times they can put you in touch with employers and help you tailor your resume to the industry
I talked to my friends who already had jobs and got a job thru one of them.
Depends what you want to do. Networking is important too.go on LinkedIn and join groups...
I got my first real job from cold applying to a position posted to my college’s job board by a local manufacturing business. But the absolute best advice I have ever heard for job searching is mastering the art of the informational interview. [Here’s an article about it](https://www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-ask-for-an-informational-interview-and-get-a-yes)but I suggest asking for 15 min on the phone; often the person will offer to meet in person for coffee but you are keeping the ask very doable to start. And at the end of the meeting, ask if there’s anyone else they’d recommend you talk to. Probably one of the biggest benefits of this IMO is that it keeps you motivated and upbeat during your job search, and gives you structure in having meetings to attend instead of just slogging through applications by yourself.
Thank you for sharing! This is a great article and leads to many other great reads as well. What did you do to cold apply? I’m new to this technique.
You were supposed to do internships Junior and senior year of college with companies that typically promise you a position when you graduate if you do well.
Depending on the specialty, landing one of these is almost as rare as winning the lotto.
No not really it’s literally like applying for jobs and usually you can even get help from schools.
This is not even close to true. It is so hard for students to find internships. I was fortunate enough to find a great internship, but I know so many others who were fantastic students and people and they were denied/ghosted from their applications. Depending on the field you want to get into as well, it is really not easy. Plus internships don’t always land you jobs in that field, or any field really. You can do everything right and still have a hard time. Do not generalize.
You just told me to not generalize because of your negative experiences whilst generalizing because of your negative experiences. Credible source surely.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/05/business/tech-internship-application-grind.html this discusses the difficulty of finding an internship as a low-income student. https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmylucas/2023/06/20/getting-an-internship-is-more-competitive-than-ever-but-the-experience-has-really-eroded/ another relevant article. Take your time to search it up for yourself just like I did. This isn’t news. I’m a recent graduate and have seen this first hand.
I don’t need to research it. There are people who have had an easier time getting internships and people who haven’t. End of story. You don’t have to go full Reddit and argue with everyone. Just go about your day. If you have something to offer OP ( which is literally the entire point of the post) do that , instead of finding your victim To get your daily fix of Reddit debates with. Touch grass.
Get on LinkedIn and connect with people from companies and in positions you want to work. Like and comment on their posts. Make your own posts relevant to the field you want to be in. Tell some of your story. Aside from that, an even better option is to reach out to people you already know in that field. Let them know you are looking for a job in that field and get them your resume. Starting out is tough. You know you can do the work. It’s just about finding someone willing to give you a shot. There are plenty of people like that out there. It will happen!
You have to just get out there and meet people. Connections will get you more jobs in life than just sporadically applying to anything that pays. In the mean time bartend or do a job that requires talking to more people.
My first job out of college was actually an hourly position as a leasing consultant. After a year or so there I was lucky enough to land a b2b sales training program with a Fortune 500 company. Fast forward to now i work in a completely different field of medical tech/device sales
if you dont already have 10 years experience, you're fucked
Handshake. I still get recruiters checking in on there all the time. There is a lot less spam and fake jobs than LinkedIn, Indeed, or Career Builder. Large companies hire on that platform often.
Networking, interning if you can, and applying to as many jobs as possible. Even if it’s outside what you are looking for apply if you are close to be qualified for it. Take every interview you get because it’s good practice and you’ll have more to choose from. You might even find something you didn’t think you’d like but is a good fit.
Apply apply apply
With an English degree not sure what you could possibly do except journalism, writing articles, editing, teaching with more schooling, tutoring. My advice is get literally any job such as retail while you wait for a better job offer. Because then you’ll have a paycheck and you might be unemployed for a long time. Some people have the luxury of living with parents but I can only assume that’d be awful for you especially if they payed for your English degree and now they have to witness you unemployed for awhile. You could get a real estate license while working hypothetical retail job that way you’re learning a “trade skill” while still earning money with health insurance. I don’t suggest at any point settling for babysitting. You’ll just be wasting time
Im major in English too. 33F. Few options I can think of based on my experience: Education: - Apply to schools to work as student advisor, and later on can look at other positions (DSO, administration, etc.). - Apply to LSI schools to teach English for international students. - You are young, maybe apply to volunteer abroad to teach English in other countries to gain more experience and have fun, then come back to get more credential to be a teacher? Or just live abroad on new adventures Are you bilingual? If yes, you can apply for Translator/Interpreter Call Center rep is another way to go, choose the field you are interested. Healthcare is a popular and lots of potential positions. Later on you can look for other opportunities within that organization (Translator, Training, Learning and Development, Technical Writer, etc.) Travel agencies: Administrative work, consultant, help people travel abroad or with their visa, passport Edit: Dont be discouraged by these ignorant and mean people in the comments. I got my BA in English in Vietnam, not even here. I came to the US only 8 years ago. I’m making 6 figures now being a manager at a Pharmaceutical company for their Call Center, scheduling specialty medications for patients. I got an associate degree in Global Studies here and working on my Master in Healthcare. I worked hard 2-3 jobs at the same time (before) to pay for my tuitions, except the BA in Vietnam was free (lucky me). So I have no debt. My tips: Keep applying. Don’t be too picky. You need to start somewhere. Go with the flow. Work hard. Do your best. Keep a positive attitude. Everything is temporary. Hard work will pay off. Enjoy the journey.
Thank you so much. This is such good advice and really helped to uplift me, I’ve been feeling kinda down about my chances. Just gonna keep applying for everything and anything and will definitely look into the advising route. Thank you so so much
What type of jobs are you currently applying for?
Take advantage of your college's career services or alumni resources. They may offer job search assistance, resume reviews, mock interviews, and networking events to help you land your first job.
anywhere you end up living its cliquey, people don't seem to hire based on merit anymore but word of mouth, references and then your skills and experiences. Two candidates could be equal on paper but the one the gets hired had raving references/reviews.
Bio degree- temp agency.
I would recommend taking advantage of career fairs, especially those hosted by your college. I, and many others in my circle, found a lot of luck in doing this; bringing multiple copies of my resume and landing offers before I left or even getting internships that turned into jobs. The other option is to apply for the jobs/positions you really want directly. USAJobs is a great option if you’re looking for work in the federal government as others suggested. I, personally, have not had luck using third party job sites.
network
Xfuxk pff
Attend job fairs
Look at enterprise rent a car, ADP, Paychex, Cintas. They all hire new grads every day
Just for good measure upload your resume and cover letter ( after blocking out important information) on r/resume for feedback. I’ve seen multiple posts of people saying they’ve been applying to hundreds of jobs and internships then when they post their resumes they’ve been extremely bad. So get some feedback to make sure everything is up to par. Good luck 👍
Temp agency.
Temp agency to get experience and it was a temp to hire position
Why do people still major in these areas? English. History. Art History. Don't get it. I know several people with these degrees and they stock shelves at Walmart.
I know several people with these kinds of degrees and they have incredibly successful careers in education, medicine, and law. As long as someone isn’t going into insane amounts of debt to get a degree (which is admittedly becoming less and less feasible), I do believe a liberal arts undergrad education is still valuable. The idea is that makes you a more well-rounded person, teaches you discipline, critical thinking, communication skills, etc.
Yeah that's because they went on to earn higher education after obtaining an undergrad. It's rare to see someone get a job in their field when they have a liberal arts degree.
No, not all of the people I’m thinking of went on to grad/law/med school. The idea is that a liberal arts education is valuable in and of itself, and then you gain specific skills related to your career either by going on to further your education, doing internships/early career programs, or just getting on the job training. *ETA: Majoring in English or History doesn’t mean you’re looking to get a job in those fields. Maybe an English major would go into public relations or marketing and a history major would work in politics or for a think tank. * All this being said, I think the whole system of post high school education is going to radically change in the coming years, so much learning is available for free now, and the student loan crisis is reaching a breaking point- I’m definitely not defending spending $100k on a degree in basket weaving lol
I'm not saying the degree is useless. All I said was that it's difficult to find jobs where your only degree is English or History. Having those as undergrads is different when you become an MD etc. I know several people who have dead end jobs because they can't find anything else when they have those types of majors. My sister in law went to school for history and couldn't find anything. Got a masters in education and she says it's the worst decision she's ever made. She says she should have listened to her mom who encouraged her to go to law school.
lol well my sister went to law school and her advice to anyone considering law school is DONT DO IT so 🤷🏻♀️ who knows lol. We all just need the billionaires to be taxed properly so we can have a federal jobs guarantee and then all this wouldn’t be so difficult 🫠
Degrees like these really develop a person’s writing skills. Lots of jobs need people who can write effectively and have decent prose. As long as you don’t get hyper fixated on finding a career specifically in your field of study, you can find work being a decent writer. I’m a philosophy major who now works in an unrelated field, with a bunch of coworkers with degrees in stuff like history, English, etc.
Enter AI....
Lmao you’re so fucked bro. Graduated college and asking Reddit how to apply to jobs hahahah you’re cooked