Graduating College without a Job LinedUp

We are approaching graduation season, mid-way through February your midterms are most likely wrapping up by now and graduation quickly approaches graduation for would be graduates.  Hopefully your university or college has a dedicated career office to help with your job search and post graduate career planning. Some university career offices may offer resources such as job listings, resume-writing help, career assessment to identify potential career paths and events for networking or professional development. 

One can also, tap into their academic network, your professors are not only a resource in the classroom but also in the job market. They can provide letters of recommendations, references and introductions. Some professors are consultants to companies off-campus and have great connections in their field of study. Associate and part-time lecturers will likely be working for other companies full time and teach as a way to give back to their communities.  Your classmates come from various backgrounds and could have connections to the job market as well. Even classmates that are currently looking for opportunities can help as an accountability partner and can share information and leads to opportunities you might have missed. 

Exploring temporary work is an option if faced with the reality of graduating without a job already lined up. This helps you to still make money while you search for your first degree/career related position or while you prepare for graduate school. Sign up with agencies that specialize in temp job placements. Also, departments at your university might be losing students hires once the academic year comes to an end and they move on. Keep in mind that temporary jobs can lead to permanent positions within the company if you show up with a positive attitude and excel at your task. It also provides you with a way to connect with other departments and hiring managers within the organizations. Temporary positions obviously have their benefits but they also can be dangerous to your career, one recent study found that recent graduates who take positions that don’t require a diploma or degree are 5 times more likely to be in that position 5 years later. This can be a scary thought considering that as much as 40% of recent graduates are underemployed. So it is important to remember your temporary position is supposed to be only that (even though it can be tough to shake that first position/industry once type-casted).

Now for our specialization, Internships. Internships offer some of the similar upside as temporary jobs without a specified salary depending on your arrangement.  Internships afford you the opportunity to shadow mentors, leaders in industries. These relationships can provide instrumental to your career over the next 10 years. The connections to other leaders, business strategy and insight into navigating your career to end up in a similar position as your mentor. Internship can be in companies that you are keen on getting into, for example the FAANGs (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google) or those traditional hard to getting to positions like investment banking at Goldman Sachs.

Chances are you are reading this article because you or someone you know is in the predicament of not having a job already lined up. While this can be concerning especially for those of you that are highly focused and tenacious planners, it is important to note that you are not in such a uncommon place for a soon to be graduate. Studies vary but it has been found that between 57% and 80% of students graduate without a job lined up and it generally takes 3-6 months to find that first “real” full time job which will serve as the building block for your career. So, don’t worry or panic but utilize the suggestions mentioned in this article to help speed up your post grad job search!