I graduated in May 2017 with a petroleum engineering degree with a 3.5 GPA. After years of suffering, staying up late to finish assignments, feeling depressed, I finally got out of school. Ever since graduation (even before then while I was in school), I’ve been trying to get an entry level position but have failed to do so. I’ve used job sites such as LinkedIn, Indeed, CareerBuilder, ZipRecruiter, Monster, USAJOBS, EngineerJobs, my college’s career center, and so on and so forth. I’ve went to my career center numerous times to polish up my resume and cover letter. I went to all of my school’s career fairs. I went to networking events and had good conversations with people, only for them to disappear after the event when I try following up with them. Even places like Best-Buy and Home Depot have denied me.
Its almost been a year later, and I have yet to find anything. I have had a few interviews, but other than that, nothing. I’ve been thinking about starting my own online business, only to realize that you need some money to start out to fund for traffic, servers, ads, tools, etc. And then to add salt to the wound, I lost my home due to Hurricane Harvey. Meanwhile, everyone else that I knew seems to have already found something whether its through online or a different method. When I go to family events, I feel guilty because everyone is talking about their careers and how far they have progressed, and then when they turn to me and ask me what do I do, all I can say is that I’m still looking for employment. I am very ashamed of myself for this.
Time is running out on me, and I don’t really know what to do at this point. If someone has suggestions on what to do, please comment below. Nothing is working right now, and I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.
Keep plugging. Eventually you’ll hit something. But be aggressive and personable in your search. In the day of the internet and email, job hutting has become both easy and complicated. So figure out a way to stand out. Make sure you’re researching your opportunities before applying – i.e.; show some interest. And be sure to follow up interviews with a “thank you.” I have had situations where I have interviewed people and said to my self “first one to follow up wins.” Nobody did. Go figure.
I just did a search and only 700 listings came up for petroleum engineering compared to 50,000 for mechanical engineering. So, it is going to be challenging. I’d keep looking but in the meantime, consider temping or substitute teaching or even admin assistant type jobs- anything to pay the bills. Look for jobs with your state or county. Consider graduate school, professional school, or even a community college certificate in something that adds to your skill set. Be willing to relocate. Local employment offices usually offer coaching, classes, and job fairs.
Make sure all your college friends and acquaintances know you are looking. Anyone you met in internships, too. If parents of friends work for companies you are interested in, ask them for advice and help. If you have to, take temp work or contract work to get a foot in the door or just get something to bring in a paycheck.
Does your college have a career center? Some are really good about reaching out to grads… that might be a good place to start.
Also, take a good look at your cover letter. It’s the real world equivalent of a college essay-- the one thing that sets YOU apart from your resume. Make sure it’s professional and personable, that it refers to each reader by name, that it makes them want to get to know you. It’s the one part of the process that can get your resume looked at.
You’ve had a few interviews… time to look at your interview skills.
The problem may be due to having a specialized pre-professional degree in a field with little current hiring activity (since oil prices are not that high, although they have been rising recently, but still nowhere near the ~$100/barrel when you presumably started college). Other employers may see your resume and think that you are looking for a temporary job and will leave as soon as petroleum engineering jobs start hiring. For these employers, you may have to make a different version of your resume and cover letter that tries to avoid giving that impression in order to avoid being screened out on that basis.
Sounds like you are looking for anything. Have you gone to a Temp agency to see if you could find something via that route. I know my company uses a lot of temps and then we will hire the people if we find a good fit and have an opening.
Also, while not the easiest of jobs, call centers can be a great way to get a foot in the door with companies. Again, a lot of entry level jobs at my company are call center jobs and then after getting experience, people will post out to other jobs in the organization.
When I first graduated college finding work in my field of study was very difficult. I started out selling cars for a month then moved to a retail job for about 10 months because they gave me flexibility in job search and interviews. I finally landed a customer service job with a start up company and worked my way up. Eventually that experience allowed me to move on to better jobs with better companies (VP at a Fortune 500). Remember, a career is more like a marathon than a sprint and the hardest part is often times just getting out of the starting blocks. Good luck.
You have a background in Physics. Physics teachers can be impossible to find. Would you consider looking into teaching?
Private and charter schools may not require you to be certified… for that matter, public schools may be in a position where they can’t afford to require it right away. Consider looking— today, right now-- at the schools in your area. Leave no stone unturned: public, private, religious and charter.
Are you good at math/physics? If so, try tutoring high school students in your neighborhood. Register yourself at wyzant.com as tutor (free) and see what tutoring jobs are out there. First full-time job is always the hardest one, and many “lucky” people got their first job via family, relatives, friends.
Try GradReach - this is the name of the company and website. This firm specializes in placing recent grads in the Houston area. They do not charge you a fee for their services and have an “intern” to hire program that might work for you.
And as @Andorvw mentioned a lot of first-time jobs come from connections so let your friends and family know that you are looking as they might know of an opening or can make a connection for you.
Have you had someone look at your resume /cover letters to see if that is turning off anyone?
Have you gotten any feedback on your interviews to see if something is offputting?
Bff is an oil & gas geologist with an MS, not willing to move to the remote states where there are jobs. Are you willing to move? She tells would no longer be employed if it weren’t for contacts (she stays in touch with all) and being in a city where she’s been able to pick up a string of consulting work. Granted, she has experience. But she works those contacts fiercely. From one, she gets names of others, isn’t hesitant to expand her network.
Are you a member of the professional societies, like SPE? Sites like Indeed and Monster are often searching the web for openings, but have no pull, just recycle the wording they found.
@sahmkc I actually registered thru GradReach. I was supposed to work this week through a company they contacted, but they withdrew the offer the day I was supposed to start. @bopper, I’ve tried, but it’s rare, if ever, someone provides feedback as to why I didn’t get hired. The few times I asked, I got no response. @lookingforward, I am. Unfortuantely, nothing right now.
Congratulations on graduating! Saying, “Try not to get discouraged” probably is not helping at this point. I was in a similar situation a few years ago myself. Indeed.com is the best resource for jobs anywhere. I would take out the city/state filter and look for just about anything. Some fields are much harder to get your foot in the door than others. If it’s been this long and you haven’t found something, you can do what I did. I got my master’s. In your situation, you have 2 strategies for grad school. You can get a master’s in the field you want and hoping the extra education will force the door open, but it’s far from guaranteed. Or you can do what I did and get a master’s in a different career path, such as electrical engineering or Computer Science.