Winifred
How long after graduating college did it take to land your dream job?
#collegestudent
5 answers
Rebecca Walker
Rebecca’s Answer
I'm still looking... and that is not meant to sound negative! My advice to job searching is to be open minded and take each job offer as an opportunity to gain experience that will lead you to your next stop in your long career. I graduated college 8 years ago and have had 3 professional jobs. Each one was an experience that gave me skills, knowledge and the ability to maneuver within my chosen career field. Landing your "dream" job right out of college doesn't happen but you can land a great job.
Job searching when you are unemployed can be really draining- stay positive!! This is huge. be open-minded to doing all kids of work. Use you enthusiasm as a recent grad to your advantage and be willing to take on tasks you never thought you would do because you really don't know where it can lead you! In terms of getting a job after graduation, I started my first job at the end of August after graduating in May and I still know plenty of people who took a bit longer to find something that fit. The biggest thing while job searching is stay positive and don't compare your journey to anyone else!
Taja Butler
Taja’s Answer
It took me two months. However, I had a high needs degree, education. It will depend on your degree and the demand in the job market. If you’re searching, be patient and continue to apply to positions that fit your career desires. Be sure to tune up your resume and cover letters. Make sure they are tailored to job openings. Also, volunteer to get more experience, if needed.
Terence Cheung
Terence’s Answer
I think in most people's cases though, you get to that job and discover - "hey, there's a lot more (or less) here than I thought, actually THAT over there is even more interesting!". Once you become that Doctor or Teacher in the example above, you learn that there are more specializations or roles that fit your current and future interests more.
So how do you navigate towards that "ideal career"? I highly encourage taking the time to really understanding what interests and motivates you, what things you like to do, and don't like to do. You may have a field of interest (medicine or teaching, in our example above), but what other factors about yourself do you need to think about? Do you like working with people 1-1, working with teams, or working in isolation? Do you thrive in "new challenges", or do you like having routine and structure? What really inspires you when you're doing something?
These are highly personal and specific preferences, tied to your core personality. If you're able to marry these with your professional field of interest, you'll be able to narrow down a major field (medicine or teaching), down to more specific areas (say "working in medicine, patient facing" or "teaching STEM materials"), which then can lead you to even more ideal disciplines or roles that align with your ideal career ("pediatric medicine", or "college biology professor"). As I mentioned above, these factors all grow an evolve as you gain more experience, so I tend to think of things as a continued journey.
Good luck!
Gloria Ortiz
Gloria’s Answer
Good luck on your job search.
Wendi Hoskinson
Wendi’s Answer
Greetings Winifred,
This is a brilliant but tough question to answer. It really depends upon how you define "dream job" and if you have aligned your passion, energy, motivation and studies in pursuit of that dream job. Personally, in college I did not have a "dream job" in mind but more of an interest in a certain field (accounting yay!). However, as I studied and learned more, I realized that it wasn't exactly the direction that ignited my passion and fueled my desire. So, I tried Psychology only to be met with the same results. Finally, some 15 years after my first foray college, I found my passion in Instructional Design and was able to devote my energies into the pursuit of excellence. It wasn't long after, perhaps a year that I landed my "dream job."
In truth, landing that "dream job" is less important than discovering those areas which inspire you and motivate you towards excellence. If you have figured that out, congratulations! You are ahead of most people, in my experience. If not, that's okay. College is about discovery. Try difference fields of interest, speak with your advisors, talk with students of various majors, chat with professors. You will uncover that which feeds both your soul and bank account in time.
Good luck and continuing asking brilliant questions!
--Wendi