<p>I will be graduating from college soon, and I have been job searching like crazy all year. I've had a lot of luck finding jobs to apply for, and I've been offered some interviews. People in my major don't understand my success, and they basically want me to teach them how to job search. </p>
<p>(I'll set aside the fact that I don't understand how you can be a college senior and not know how to job search)</p>
<p>They want to know where I'm finding these jobs and which companies are hiring. Anyway, I'm thinking, why would I help you? You're my competition! If I tell you where I'm finding jobs to apply for you'll start applying for them too. The market is (of course) very competitive, and so lately I've been fairly secretive about job searching. That might sound silly or paranoid, but when there aren't many opportunities out there I feel like it's okay to be worried about who your competition is. Especially if your competition might be your fellow students. </p>
<p>Does anyone else feel this way?</p>
<p>Not so much in my field (psychology). I graduated a year ago, but the possibilities were so diverse in a way that I wasn’t necessarily looking for the same jobs as my peers. Some double-majored in education, some in business, some wanted to go to graduate school for education/counseling/clinical/research/something else, while others had no intention of finding a job related to their studies. </p>
<p>I agree though, that it isn’t your job to teach them how to find employment. That’s what the career center is for. Tell them to stop in there and get some resume-building and job-seeking advice.</p>
<p>haha your funny. </p>
<p>Your graduating class is probably, for most, also your biggest competition. </p>
<p>But don’t count your eggs before they hatch, you don’t have a job offer yet and graduation is getting close. </p>
<p>Its good to be supportive. Ex: practice interviewing eachother so you both get better. But you are not by any means obligated to tell them the jobs your applying for. Id def tell them, “talk to career services.”</p>
<p>It was a grad school classmate who gave us a lead of a city where to find jobs, and I’m glad he did! We sent out almost 300 resumes, and it was his lead that ended up getting jobs for my husband and myself. I sure wouldn’t have thought of Portland, Maine on my own, lol.</p>
<p>Then when we started our own structural engineering firm, it was our colleagues (competitors!) who sent work our way to help us make it. I’m not sure if that’s the nature of structural engineers or Maine.</p>
<p>It’s hard to make it on your own without some help along the way. We try to do the same for others, too.</p>
<p>Our son provided tutoring and test prep for a classmate many years ago and he provided a strong recommendation for our son for a great position at a place where another former student knew about him. Our son applied for a fair number of positions, had about 25 interviews including second interviews but the lead from a classmate got him an offer.</p>
<p>Students often help each other out to find positions as these students then have an inside track to new openings in their organization and can recommend other students from their school. This builds the reputation of the school, within the company and as a school that provides employable graduates.</p>
<p>This is part of building your network - helping your friends out - you might need the favor down the road.</p>
<p>That said, it’s not your job to educate them on how to do the job search. But you can if you want to be helpful. I help lots of people out with their computer and networking problems as favors - I happen to have those skills. Some of my friends have good auto and plumbing skills which may help me out in the future.</p>
<p>I’m not at the level of graduating yet, but in my major (video production), I don’t think there is much competition (although the market is really competitive!)… instead people are just focused on making contacts (and friends of course), because those friends could very well land you a job in the future. </p>
<p>As far as being ahead of everyone in your class, i’m definitely not academically (although it doesn’t matter so much), but i’m pretty shocked that many people are seniors and have never OPENED a copy of Final Cut Pro, despite their desire to be “film editors”. At the same time, I have people wanting me to teach them Adobe After Effects, and while i’m happy to give advice, my abilities in AE have been a huge bonus for me. People are asking me to be involved with their stuff like crazy now. It’s nice, but if everyone knows how to do it, then it isn’t special anymore. </p>
<p>That’s how I see it.</p>
<p>no way! I’m graduating in 2 weeks and I don’t consider my friends/peers in the same major my competition at all. I’ve been applying for jobs in government/international affairs that are seen as super-competitive and every time I see a job that my friends might be interested in (but aren’t as crazy-career-jobs-y as me) I always forward them an email with some of the info/some good websites to check out. I want my friends to achieve the same success that I know I will attain. I have recently accepted a full-time job offer from my internship, but I acted no differently when I was still applying to jobs. 99% likely you aren’t being compared against students in your school/in your classes, but more likely students across your state or across the country. Just by telling them where to look doesn’t mean that you are giving them a leg up in competing with you. The way I see it, you are being selfish if you really think that your peers are direct competitors for everything you apply for. You definitely don’t have to tell them about every job opportunity that you personally have applied to, but there is nothing wrong with pointing them in the right direction.</p>
<p>I guess they technically are; we probably apply for a lot of the same jobs and what not. But I’d never treat them as if they were my competitors. There’s more to life than a cushy 60K+ entry level job. I’d be happy for a classmate if they got a good job, not vindictive.</p>
<p>Most people that I know who happen to be bio majors are pre-med, pre-dent or want to teach. I am neither of those as I want to attend graduate school for a MS or PhD in a biomedical science. I’m not going to hold someone’s hand as they do a resume when there’s a career center here. But if I stumble across something they might find useful in my own internship search, I have no problem letting them know.</p>
<p>yes indeed. Sometimes, I feel like I have to assassinate some of my friends in order to gain an upper edge in the job market.</p>
<p>on a serious note, I just focus on what I can do to make my applications the best it can be. don’t hate the players, hate the game!</p>
<p>“99% likely you aren’t being compared against students in your school/in your classes, but more likely students across your state or across the country.”</p>
<p>I disagree with this, especially if you apply for on-campus interviews through the career center. </p>
<p>You are in direct comparison with your fellow interviewees (classmates) as well as the students at the other schools the company recruits at…Sometimes a company even likes to hire a set number (say 1 or 2) of new students every year from each University they recruit at to maintain University relations and/or a “University presence”. </p>
<p>Still, you should want everyone in your class to succeed; especially your friends - for both moral and selfish reasons. But, like i said before, it’s not your responsibility to point them towards every job ad that you’re applying to; but I’d help them in other ways - such as urging them to talk to the career center.</p>
<p>If they are looking for multiple students or will be looking for students in the future, one of your friends getting in may be able to get you in. I’ve seen this happen at my company many times.</p>
<p>lol spectastic. I seriously laughed out loud and my roommate looked at me funny. Good one.</p>