Advice On Graduating Into A Garbage Job Market
Don’t build a résumé — build a track record instead
When I graduated college in 2008, job prospects were bleak even before the recession hit. My degree was in classical music performance; I could run circles around you if the job required playing the French Horn all day, and that‘s about it all I got in exchange for $50,000 in loans. Then the economy crashed, all the audition opportunities dried up, and I had to end my music career before it ever really began.
Underemployment — a work status in which your employment is not related to what you studied and defines 43% of college graduates according to research from Strada Education — turned out to be the career jumpstart I didn’t know I needed. I diversified my skill set, crossed paths with important decision-makers who later became mentors, and eventually went into business for myself.
For those who’ve recently graduated, well, none of us saw this screeching halt coming. I’m sorry you’re going through this. Your salaried job market prospects are probably multiple times worse than ours were during the recession, and statistically speaking your loans are higher too.
And for students who are heading back to campus, they’ll be living in a world where parties are banned and regular testing is the norm. Not…
