Spring Break
Advice for this year's grads from a failed job-seeker
Sanjai Tripathi
Issue date: 6/2/09 Section: Forum
To all those graduating in two weeks: Congratulations.
Unless you already have one lined up, you are about to go search for a job in the worst economy in two generations.
Again, I congratulate you for that.
Obviously, since I'm back in grad school now, my own previous experience with graduation and job-hunting didn't go well, and I've felt what you may be feeling.
The old saying goes, "Those who can - do. Those who can't - teach."
It's often meant to be sarcasm, but there is logic to it.
People who are quickly successful at a task don't bother to think out how they did it. They just enjoy it and move on.
On the other hand, people who fail at something are left to contemplate.
When I found myself floundering in my job hunt - with rare callbacks and a few failed interviews - I wondered what I was doing wrong.
I asked around for advice from people who knew things and scoured the Internet for information … and I found out I had been doing just about everything wrong.
So I learned, and now I'm ready to teach. Here are my job-hunting tips for all of you about to graduate who have yet to find a job.
First, make sure you know the basics. Make sure you have a resume that is ready to send out.
Actually, if you are looking for a job and don't have that step finished already, you might just want to give up. Your best bet is to marry rich or try to inherit money from a long-lost uncle.
If you still want to give the working world a try though, make that resume and make sure it is good. This can be a surprisingly difficult task, as each resume is a custom job, and there are many theories out there on how they should look.
So if you are having trouble, look online for tips or go to career services in the basement of the Kerr Administration building, where they will help you create your resume along with offering other tips and career counseling.
Then, if you get an interview, go in there and carry yourself well. Maintain eye contact and an energetic and positive attitude. And don't dress like a homeless person.
Unless you already have one lined up, you are about to go search for a job in the worst economy in two generations.
Again, I congratulate you for that.
Obviously, since I'm back in grad school now, my own previous experience with graduation and job-hunting didn't go well, and I've felt what you may be feeling.
The old saying goes, "Those who can - do. Those who can't - teach."
It's often meant to be sarcasm, but there is logic to it.
People who are quickly successful at a task don't bother to think out how they did it. They just enjoy it and move on.
On the other hand, people who fail at something are left to contemplate.
When I found myself floundering in my job hunt - with rare callbacks and a few failed interviews - I wondered what I was doing wrong.
I asked around for advice from people who knew things and scoured the Internet for information … and I found out I had been doing just about everything wrong.
So I learned, and now I'm ready to teach. Here are my job-hunting tips for all of you about to graduate who have yet to find a job.
First, make sure you know the basics. Make sure you have a resume that is ready to send out.
Actually, if you are looking for a job and don't have that step finished already, you might just want to give up. Your best bet is to marry rich or try to inherit money from a long-lost uncle.
If you still want to give the working world a try though, make that resume and make sure it is good. This can be a surprisingly difficult task, as each resume is a custom job, and there are many theories out there on how they should look.
So if you are having trouble, look online for tips or go to career services in the basement of the Kerr Administration building, where they will help you create your resume along with offering other tips and career counseling.
Then, if you get an interview, go in there and carry yourself well. Maintain eye contact and an energetic and positive attitude. And don't dress like a homeless person.
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