Job hunting sucks

[Zekyl]

As a soon to be college grad, its that time. Time to find the job that will take me beyond the college years...............blah blah blah.

Finding that first job sucks. I had it locked up with the internship I have now, but the entire corporation was put on a hiring freeze by the CEO, so they're unable to make me a full time employee as expected. At best, they can keep me on in my 25 hour a week internship role until I find something else. And the best part is, no one is hiring in the field I want to go into. You either need to have 5-10 years of experience or you're screwed. If I end up back in tech support somewhere to pay the bills, there will be blood.

Just needed to vent really quick.

[Tahoe]

Are you stuck in your own town? If not, your chances of finding a job will go way up.

I haven't been keeping up on it, but places like Nashville, some cities in Florida, some places in CA, were thriving. Atlanta was hot for a while.

If you have a degree and want to build your resume, do it while you are young and don't have kids, get some good work experience and pay under your belt while seeing the country, then settle down where you want to live later.

[WTFchris]

The market for my job sucked in Michigan so I moved to the 3rd largest market for it, Denver (after D.C. and southern California).

I had a decent job at the time, but they were also on a hiring freeze and there was no potential growth option.

[Jethro34]

You must not have two degrees from one of the most prestigious schools in the country, because if you did you could just make a comfortable living chopping wood and reading elitest magazines.

[Hermy]

Sell me drugs (no rasual).

[Glenn]

Damn Herm, that memory of yours is a weapon.

[Zekyl]

Nope, not 2 degrees from the prestige of MSU. Just a BBA in eCommerce from the University of Toledo. I'm not tied down to my town at all. I've been applying for dozens of jobs all over the US. Once I get some experience in SEM/SEO, everything will open right up. Its just getting that first job that's a hassle.

[Zip Goshboots]

Zekyl:

You also may have to take a job that doesn't totally revolve around your degree. Heck, theys a lot of people runnin around with degrees that don't work in that field at first. Or, you git a job in a company that has the work you want, it just might not be there at first, then you "post" for the job you want. Open your eyes and get out of the botx that tells you young dudes you got to get a job based on your degree.

And I agree with Tahoe: Git the fuck out of the rust belt, especially before you (if I recall, you are kind of the I NEED PUSSY kind of guy, very much to your detriment) have any ties to a bimbo and get her knocked up. In other words, your life isn't a living hell just yet, so get out and explore the world before you enslave yourself to a job and a family.

[mercury]

I recall the first job out of college in a shit economy (70's)... what worked for me was becomming friends with a mentor (contract IT guy at the school)... he told me getting the right experience is 10X more important than your first salary... he hooked me up with a job making 10K per in the shittiest part of Detroit... within 6 months I had the experience needed to quickly move to good paying jobs.
In otherwords you're better off working part time in a position that will align your career path (I dissagree with Zip on this)... even if you have to flip burgs on the side to make the bills.
Don't fall in love with your company... you can get much larger raises by shopping for better careers than waiting for chump change annual increases... this will also diversify your resume.

My brother in-law is an IT headhunter... his advise has always served me well... "don't try to overimpress them with your limited skills... instead make a friend".. likability will serve you better... will this guy work well in a team environment?

[Uncle Mxy]

Nope, not 2 degrees from the prestige of MSU. Just a BBA in eCommerce from the University of Toledo. I'm not tied down to my town at all. I've been applying for dozens of jobs all over the US. Once I get some experience in SEM/SEO, everything will open right up. Its just getting that first job that's a hassle.

Many of the SEO jobs I've seen come across as a bit of a joke... folks looking for what amounts to 7-10 years experience in a field that hasn't really existed that long. To my way of thinking, what businesses want are folks that add real value to their online presence, and that often involves a mesh of general principles, business-specific insights, and exuberant ambivalence (or maybe it's ambivalent exuberance?) amongst key decision makers. At one point, I mused that folks in the SEO field would get more traction if they simply billed themselves as professional con artists. (Don't take that in a denigrating way -- not my intent. I like con artists when they're working for me. )