It is the moment you never thought would come: post-spring break as a second semester senior. Although it may be the beginning of sundress and Sperry topsider season back on campus, there is something that is most likely preoccupying your mind: getting a full-time job after graduation. Unlike getting a relaxed summer job after every spring semester concludes, the post-grad job hunt is overwhelming, to say the least. Where will I live? Who will I live with? Will I even get a job that will be enough to pay the rent? These questions and several others have been swirling in my head since the minute I returned to campus. After several hours of denial in the form of watching Friends on Netflix, I found myself envisioning what the cast would say about the various stages of job hunting. If Rachel Green can go from being jobless to climbing her way to the top at Ralph Lauren, then I can definitely succeed in finding a job, right?
Stage 1: The Excitement of Ample Job Opportunities
You log online and Google something like “journalism jobs in New York City” and come up with several hits. It makes you feel great and as if you’ve started off on the right foot.
Stage 2: Actually Reading the Required Qualifications of Each Job
When you actually get around to looking at all the jobs you have bookmarked, you notice that they have several required qualifications. You may yell at your computer “what do you mean that I need to have seven years of prior experience?!” and then dejectedly cross that dream job off your list.
Stage 3: Being Pestered by Others about Your Job Search Progress
You may have put your job hunting on pause to get some work done for the semester. But lo and behold, when you come into contact with other human beings, they begin interrogating you about what your plans are career-wise. Hiding sounds like the best solution at this point so you can avoid the family members or friends that are badgering you with questions.
Stage 4: Willingly Giving Random Job Posting Sites Your Resume
Once you realize that you need to kick your job searching into high gear, you begin to post your resume to various websites. Within a few hours, you will find that random companies have reached out to you asking to set up an interview, some of these you may not even know existed prior.
Stage 5: Getting Rejection Emails From Companies
After sending roughly fifty job applications, you may receive emails from companies saying you are not qualified for the position you applied for. But why?
Stage 6: Scoring and Preparing for an Interview
At this point, you really can’t say no to any company that wants to schedule a personal interview with you. A few days before the interview with the company, you attempt to change the way you speak to others. You try to use “professional jargon” so that when the hiring manager speaks to you, you speak with sophistication and intelligence.
But this only makes you want to be out at the bar with your friends engaging in regular conversation…
Stage 7: Having Visions About Your Future
After your interview with a company, you may envision what it would be like to find an apartment and commute to your job. For the most part, you avoid dreaming about rent or groceries and focus on the freedom and fun you hope to have outside of your career.
Graduating college and preparing for your future can be overwhelming because it all happens within just a couple of months. You may not find the job that you will stick with for the rest of your life the second you begin looking, but you will certainly find a great starting point.