Facing the Collegiate Blindside

This is a guest post by Julia Rose Flaherty.

Graduating college can be exciting. For some, this means the coming of a career and awaited independence into the ‘real world’, but for others this will mean focusing on Plan B, until Plan A is executable.

Plan A is an almost dreamy or ideal entry level position for the new college graduate, but with the competition in the job market, one has to be reasonable. In order to accept working jobs, one has to work with oneself.

Research conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers tells that employers are projecting a 7.8 percent hiring increase for recent college graduates in Spring 2014. Although this is encouraging, it is still important for college graduates to seek out alternative employment as well as alternative employment resources.

It is equally important for new college graduates to not be too stubborn when facing the job market for the first time. One has to be reasonable in order to be successful. Starting out with a working level job should not be discouraging.

Remaining unemployed or absentminded about one’s future in the workforce, however, is a different wronging.

Mooching off of one’s parents for financial cushioning or waiting hopelessly for that ‘dream job’ to appear is time wasted. Seeking out alternative solutions to a job slump, like engaging in creative activities, trying new hobbies or learning new skills is far more productive for the new college graduate, rather than becoming a sour couch potato.

With the incredible amount of information online, one can seek out Pinterest to learn new recipes for a freshly independent residential lifestyle, or Youtube to find videos about how to use emerging software in one’s chosen field.

Another important factor to consider is setting up online job profiles as to maintain constant connections with desirable companies and potential employers. This includes sites like InternMatch, LinkedIn, Career Builder or Monster, for example.

The best thing a new college graduate can do is to sustain peripheral vision and try to see shortcomings from new angles. Timing is a huge factor for positive job outcomes.

According to data from a College Graduate Employment Survey done by Accenture in 2013, 57 percent of college graduates that graduated in 2011/2012 reported that it was difficult to find a job.

Difficulty can be defined by many terms. What is important when considering how difficult one’s situation actually is, is when it is appropriate to rise up and seek attainment, instead of resume loathing. Success will be achieved, if it is believed. Sometimes, there’s just layaway.

About the Author:

Julia Rose Flaherty is a Media Communication and French Student at the University of the Wisconsin- Stevens Point. She is a reporter for her campus newspaper, The Pointer and practices a wide range of media skills, participating in her campus television station, SPTV, and writing on her own personal blog, misstrendshe.blogspot.com. Flaherty is a writer, fashion blogger, movie lover, social media enthusiast, aspiring traveler and go-getter who is constantly striving to put spark into storytelling, one piece at a time.

Find her on Twitter, on Pinterest or on Facebook.

Credits:

Accenture 2013 College Graduate Employment Survey Key Findings. (n.d.).Accenture.com. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/Accenture-2013-College-Graduate-Employment-Survey.pdf

The Job Outlook for the Class of 2014. (n.d.). Naceweb.org. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from http://www.naceweb.org/uploadedFiles/Pages/MyNACE/grab_and_go/students/job-outlook-2014-student-version.pdf