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How hard was it to find a job while in college?

#resource fairs #first-job #collegeadvisors #career-choice

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Ken’s Answer

It really depends on how well you do at networking. When you decide upon your career area, you can use networking to talk to the Director of Alumni Relations to arrange to talk to alumni in your career area. This is the most effective of finding jobs. Professional Association to which people in your career area are also very good sources for networking. Below are some suggestions that will help.

Ken recommends the following next steps:

The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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Michelle’s Answer

It wasn't difficult at all for me to find a job during college because I was on financial aid. A big portion of the aid was in the form of the Work Study Program so all I had to do was choose a job on an employment board, interview and I was hired. I had two Work Study jobs which I loved and was able to stay on campus all day long which helped a lot. These are part time jobs. You may want to see if you qualify for this assistance at https://studentaid.ed.gov/sa/types/work-study . I made long-lasting friendships from these jobs and learned a great deal which was great experience for the eventual career I was able to obtain. Best wishes with your future plans !
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Kim’s Answer

Jakayla,


It depends on what type of job you want. The "typical" entry-level jobs are customer service, restaurants, call centers, retail, fast-food, etc. Those are all pretty easy to get. The key is to be self-confident but not cocky, follow instructions (which means taking the time to actually read all the instructions!), be punctual, be neat, dress appropriately, smile occasionally, etc. My college assisted students in finding jobs, even if not on financial aid, so you want to check that option. Find out when there are job fairs at the workforce center or other places, as this gives you the opportunity to have face to face contact rather than simply filling out yet another on-line application! This job is not going to be your career, but, you want to do your best because you CAN use them as a reference!


Best of luck!


Kim
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Rachael’s Answer

Hi Jakayla,

Everyone's experience will be different, I would suggest using all of the resources available to you to assist in this process. Does your school have some sort of career for professional development center? This can assist in polishing your resume, interviewing, and delivery of your personal pitch. Otherwise, perhaps there is an office of alumni relations? This could connect to openings at alumni companies. Do you have a strong network? Utilizing your connections can have an impact on recommendations for positions. Perhaps it's not someone in your immediate network, they may have people in their network they could connect you with.

Best of luck.
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