I know a number of students who are still seeking full time employment as they are graduating from college.
Apart from getting a part time job doing random work (retail, fast food, instacart, etc…), are there other productive ways a new graduate could fill a gap and help improve their resumé? There is nothing wrong with earning money in any honest way, but I think there might be better options for a student aiming for a more professional or career oriented job.
I guess a temp agency could be a good starting point. Any other ideas?
Agree with Momofboiler that volunteering- especially if it’s in a function that the kid hopes to work in long term- is a great option.
Kid wants a marketing job? Your local food pantry, hospital, animal shelter, historical society may have needs. Great way to develop your communication, market research skills for an organization that may not have the budget to hire someone.
Kid wants a job in sustainability/environmental protection? Call your mayor’s office. There are likely civil engineers on staff evaluating solid waste options, studying local rivers or reservoirs to determine chemical run-off, etc. How great to have a new grad for a few months to augment the paid staff.
etc. Builds skills, gives a new grad something substantial and recent to talk about.
The retail jobs you mentioned do have a lot of transferable skills - customer service, cash management, Employee supervision, hitting sales goals, etc. it really depends on the career area someone is seeking. You can also work a non-career related job, earn a living, and donate a few hours of time per week with a non-profit doing something related to your major to boost your resume. Employers do like to hire new grads with a proven work ethic, even if not in a related field. For some majors, like engineering, it might be harder to find related volunteer work, but there are certainly some factory or repair positions that would relate well for EE and ME grads.
I know this doesn’t directly answer your question, but the advice I give to freshmen and sophomores is to start building their professional network early via LinkedIn and other means. Keep in touch, congratulate them on their career milestones, offer help if an appropriate opportunity arises, etc.
Essentially, build your network well before you need to start tapping into it. Then if you’re nearing graduation and don’t have a job you’ll have an established network to tap into.
Yes, in some fields LinkedIn can be very effective. Make sure your profile is updated and robust - I think there is a way to indicate that you are open to job offers. You can post occasional news stories that relate to your field of focus to build some engagement and hopefully get people to notice you. It only takes a few minutes a day and can pay off pretty well.
Also, internships! Many are paid these days, and in some cases can lead to job offers, and all cases can lead to skills, experience, and connections that can pay off.
Depending on the field freelancing can be an option. They could use freelance marketplaces like fiverr or upwork to get relevant work experience and build a resume that way. They won’t make much money doing this at first though!
If money is an issue, I would take any job to make money and do the relevant freelance work on the side to put that experience on the resume.
For anyone reading, my eldest had a stop gap job after graduating in 2020. She was originally doing a fully funded educational opportunity in the summer of 2020 before starting her job in September. The pandemic cancelled that.
Through a contact, she got a paid remote research position at a university for May-August. They then offered her a full time job, but she was headed to a new job by then. So short term positions can pay off.
In many areas there are meetup events, those can be great for networking, meeting like-minded people, and interacting with those working in your target job type(s).
Americorps is a good source for volunteer work (some positions do pay a bit), and has some cache among certain groups (especially at government entities).
I also encourage job seekers to have an overall strategy with specific goals each day/week. Those goals could include some of what’s already been mentioned here.
-Apply for a certain # of jobs per week, even ones that might not look perfect (and let go the idea of ‘perfect’)
-Have X# networking meetings per week, whether in person or via zoom
-Attend X# events per week that are at least tangentially related to where you want to work
-Post/repost LinkedIn articles
-PM people in LinkedIn: people who attended your school and work in a job/at company of interest, people whose article/post you read, etc
-Keep working with the career people at your school
-Etc.
I think the college career center should be a good place to start, both for job listings and for advice. If it’s possible, internships and volunteer work (relevant to a field of interest) can be good resume-builders that could lead to paid work and professional networks. The career center should have tips for those kinds of positions, too.
Definitely take advantage of all of the offerings at your college career services office. They offer resume reviews, interview and networking tips, mock interviews, job search tips and listings, alumni networks for informational interviews, HR contacts at firms, quiet places to conduct zoom interviews, interview wardrobe resources, etc. In addition, see if there is an alumni club in the geographic area you want to live and attend their events and network with them as well. Alums love to hire or help fellow alums make connections. If you are back in your hometown, most local community colleges offer career services and job boards that are open to the general public.
Lastly, say yes to every social invite you get - even if it’s your Aunt Hazel’s bridge friends and you don’t play bridge. It’s an opportunity to network. Securing a job is often about what you know AND who you know.
I think it also depends on the field you are entering. My daughter will be getting a graduate degree in a science type field. Following graduation she joined TFA and then worked (is currently working) as a clinical research coordinator before heading back to school this fall. She also spent time shadowing, volunteering, and attending conferences.
Both jobs have transferable skills and became the talking point during grad school interviews. Both jobs also provided a decent salary and benefits, if needed.
I did a teach for Americorps program last year and my co-worker was taking a year in which he applied for law school. For him, turned into two years, the first as a math tutor for 4th and 5th graders, the second as an advisor in an alternative high school. Extra benefit of earning money (a Segal Grant) which can be used for student loans, for tuition, and for some future ‘educational’ needs which might even include travel.
Rotary or other civic organizations can also be good resources. My friend is in Rotary and has all kinds of business contacts. Volunteering on a political campaign. Volunteering for a sports league for a sport they’ve enjoyed might work, as all those parents have jobs, own businesses, etc.