What you need to land a job
By Megan O'Dowd on Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
With the economy the way it is, people are finding it hard to find jobs. Graduating college students are facing problems gaining employment. Last year the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated 1.4 million college graduates were entering a badly receding job market. From March 2009 to March 2010, Virginia’s unemployment rate changed from 6.4 to 7.4 percent. On the brighter side of things, between February and March of this year, Virginia was one of four states with one of the largest statistically substantial job gains in the country.
Besides the economy, graduating college students are facing a lot of jobs requiring prior experience. This is another reason they could have trouble getting a job after graduation. However, there are jobs out there that always need new employees.
“There is always a need for veterinarians like most medical fields, especially in equine, wildlife and zoo medicine,” said sophomore Rachel Cohen.
After going on to graduate school Rachel wants to become a veterinarian in equine medicine or specialize in zoological medicine.
Other fields besides medicine that always need new workers are education, information technology and paralegal fields. Kaitlyn Rast, sophomore at RU, also wants a job in a field that always needs new people: an elementary school teacher. According to Careercast.com the top five jobs are actuary, software engineer, computer systems analyst, biologist and historian.
If experience is something you need for the job you want after college, look for internships. They are a good way to get job experience and will help further a career in the field you choose. Also, volunteer work will give you experience. When looking at resumés a lot of people look for volunteer jobs from a prospective employee. Volunteer hours show employers experience and that the employee is hard working.
Some problems that graduates must face are simpler ones than the economy, like local job listings. Katy McCracken, a recent graduate from RU, has been looking for a job in the book publishing industry but has had no luck because there aren’t many job listings in the field. Her hope for a job after graduation was just to find one. She has given this advice for those looking for a job after graduation.
“Start applying right away and keep applying. Don’t give up or get discouraged even if you’re rejected a million times.” McCracken said. This is good advice for anyone that wants to apply for a job, not just those that are graduating. Some other sound advice is to have a back-up job in mind. In times like these it helps to be optimistic and keep trying until you succeed.
Cover graphic by Rochelle Taguba
Story photo from Creative Commons
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