College graduates need jobs too

Some would say that the graduation class of 2009 is extremely unlucky. Graduating into a recessed economy with unemployment rates at the highest they've ever been is definitely not a cake walk. It doesn't help that I live in the state of Illinois where the unemployment rate exceeds the national average (National unemployment: 9.5%, Illinois unemployment: 10.2%). Through my job hunting attempts, it appears that entry-level jobs are few, and the number of applicants are many. Experienced workers are being laid off, and businesses aren't in a hurry to fill these voids. So I beg the question: in times of economic turmoil, how does a recent college graduate find a job?

I think one of the problems of my generation and of the generations before me, is that we expect to fall into our "dream" career right away. We think that all we need is to hear a little Pomp and Circumstance, to walk across the stage, and receive a piece of paper that reads "Bachelors of the Arts", and our lives are suddenly suppose to start. We've been lead to believe that having a college degree is suppose to magically open doors and help us get to the front of the line. Truth is, degree or no degree, we all have to start somewhere, and in many cases that means starting straight at the bottom.

For the time being, I've given up looking for marketing-related positions that I am qualified to do. I guess I'm just sick of the rejection emails reading "while you meet our qualifications, we're searching for someone with more experience". While I've always been a good student and a hard-worker, I realize that none of that has any meaning unless I can back it up with experience. I think the question that is frustrating college graduates around the country has to be "How do I get experience, if no one will give me a job?" It's a catch 22.

I guess this brings me to the original point for writing this article. I realized that now is not the time to be picky. If it means working retail or food service again, I guess that's what I have to do. Today I had two interviews for retail management positions. While the interviews seemed to go alright, both of the managers seemed a little puzzled as to why I wanted to work at their respective stores. "You are a college graduate. Why do you WANT to work in retail?" Great question. Truthfully, I don't. Maybe I should have been expecting this question, but I had trouble making up a great give-me-the-job answer. If my internal-monologue could have done the talking, I would have responded by saying something like "Well actually, I don't want to work retail, not in the slightest (except for maybe the bonus of the employee discount). I just need a job. Any job. Something to help pay for my student loans, and so I can eventually move out of my mom and dad's house." Call me crazy, but I don't think that's exactly music to a potential employer's ear.

So as it turns out, I find that despite my education, I'm either under-qualified or over-qualified for most jobs. Maybe I watch too many re-runs of Friends, but for some reason, the pilot episode of Friends keeps re-playing through my head. "Welcome to the real world. It sucks. You're gonna love it." I couldn't have said it better myself.

Deal breaker

It's not easy being a single girl living at home with mom and dad. Its even harder with loan payments piling up and no job to pay for them. It might be a nice distraction to have a guy take me out, call me pretty, and buy me a free meal every once in awhile. However, I seem to lack all luck in this department.

I recently met a guy and things seemed promising... until I googled him. Yes, I googled him and I googled him good. I guess I just wanted to see if I could find any more information on him to further decide whether or not to accept his "let-me-take-you-out-sometime" proposal. I discovered he had a myspace account, and proceeded to do my research there. This is what I found:

1. He smokes. Or at least he is smoking in his profile picture.
2. Under heroes, he shows two pictures of heavy metal guitarists, and a third picture of a bottle of whiskey.
3. His account nick-name is a profanity.
4. He STILL has a myspace. Deal breaker.

Am I being too picky? Should I NOT judge a man by his myspace account? Or should I go out with the myspace-using smoker and give him an equal chance?

More to come.