Working with the recession

I've decided to stop fighting the recession. It will end. It will. And when it does, I want to be fully prepared in order to get THE job.

I could have taken some entry-level sales jobs, but that's not what I want. Now, with a clearer idea of where I want to go with my career, I don't want to veer off track. I've discovered in the copywriting industry, entry-level jobs simply don't exist. A portfolio of completed work is a necessity, even for lower-paying copywriting jobs. For a new college graduate, this seems impossible. I found myself frustrated, wondering how to get experience without any experience. It seemed a vicious market with its entrance gates bolted shut.

But nothing is impossible. Everyone has to start somewhere. I've talked with other copywriters to get advice and determined that rather than trying to slay the recession, I'm going to work with it: freelancing. 

With the economy straining business budgets, freelance copywriting is in high demand for its  short-term, no-benefits-required allure. Freelancing will build my portfolio, provide me with a wide range of copywriting experience and help me to determine what my specialty areas will be. Really, it seems so logical, I feel like I should have thought of the idea sooner.

They say if you can't beat them, join them. So, I'm done going against the grain of the economy. The recession has provided some opportunities, I've just been neglecting them. 

We'll see how this works out. I'll keep you updated on my freelancing (hopefully BOOMING) success.

Untangling the job market knot

My job search has made some leeway. But there is still uncertainty about my future. Finding a job in this economy is like untangling an unruly knot. I've progressed a little, but despite all my efforts, the stubborn knot sustains, its twists and loops seemingly impossible to smooth.

I have one job interview under my belt, but the job wasn't really what the company had let on. It was cold sales in a pyramid scheme. I didn't work hard for four years to go door to door selling office supplies. No.

Friday I tallied up two more interviews and I'm hoping that my resume is doing more than gather dust in obsolete filing cabinets in the human resource departments I mailed them to.

It is this beginning point I am now comfortable with. I can now whip up a cover letter in less than five minutes. There are at least four varieties of my resume saved among these cover letters in the "Job Search" folder on my flash drive.

I know some of my linen paper resumes (which cost a whopping $20-something per package) are a waste of ink and paper as they will never transpire anything. But some have amounted to something. An e-mail. An interview. And though few, these responses create good odds, because really I only need one job.

One job. That's all it takes. One mutual "yes" that will jump start my career, releasing all tension in the job search knot I've been toiling over.

All I can say of the job opportunities before me now is that they are definitely indefinite. But it's a step up from positively impossible.

With aspiration and determination, I will untangle the job market knot the recession has put in my lap.

Oh yeah, graduating is kind of a big deal

It finally sank in a little. As I walked in the doors to Collins Center and saw stacks of blurred faces in the stands I thought, "Oh... graduating is a BIG deal." 

I have gone to school for about 18 consecutive years. Eighteen years in the classroom all looking toward this final moment.

Before we were seated in front of the administrator-filled stage, we took one final lap around campus. With bagpipes leading the way, we took the same route we did four years ago as freshmen. I was fortunate enough to walk behind my good friend, Shawnee, and as we graced the sidewalks this last time we thought of how long we've come in four short years. 

Four years ago, I didn't know Shawnee. I didn't know any of who are now my best friends. I didn't know what I wanted to major in, let alone DO for the rest of my life. I hadn't met THE one. I hadn't played beer pong or had a legal drink. I hadn't experienced a college course and had no idea what I was getting into. It was only four years of my life, but I changed more in that four years than I thought could be possible.

I'm still caught in the blank space between studenthood and adulthood. I don't know where to go from here. But that's OK. For now I am soaking in the magnitude of my accomplishment, my biggest academic accomplishment: I earned my college degree. 

Yes, I did it. I may not know what to do with it, but I did it. And it feels good.

Its an employer's market

Tomorrow is the big day. The day I will walk across that stage and shake hands with school administrators I never met. Exiting that stage signals the end of my college career and the beginning of... what? 

Until now my life has been somewhat prescribed. College was ultimately my choice but it was always expected. The next step. Now, there are no maps to guide me.

Some graduates get married, have babies. I am not ready for that quite yet. 

Most graduates get a job, buy that new car, their first off-campus apartment. But graduating during a recession makes securing a job difficult, to say the least. 

I have attended career fairs, resume workshops and spent hours navigating online help sites and job postings. I have submitted my resume and sent cover letters to numerous organizations I'm interested in. Through this frustrating process I have determined that today's employers are looking for 1.) unpaid interns and 2.) experienced applicants. 

Just like it is a home buyer's market, it is an employer's market in terms of jobs. The job market is increasingly competitive as layoffs become more and more prevalent. Jobs that were once filled by entry-level new college graduates are now being filled by unpaid college interns. 

My class, not just at my college but the entire nationwide college graduating class of 2009, did not choose this fate. But we have no choice. Those of us who aren't going to grad school must tackle the challenge of starting a career during a recession.

Yes, I believe we can start careers during a recession. It will take time, dedication and determination, but it can be done.