2010 Grads & the Job Market

[AnotherKD]

Originally Posted by groovypq

You've gotten a lot of good advice here, and I have just one thing to add: Use your school's alumni office/association. I am from a small school, but I know that it's been a huge source for a lot of people. Go to alumni events in your area (they're usually kinda fun anyway) because you never know who you might meet. See if your school has an online alumni community, because these will often have job boards or other ways to make connections.

Good luck! I know it's a hard time to be looking for a job. My sister and dad are, and it's not pretty no matter how old/experienced you are.

I always hated networking (still do) because I thought it was a way of getting things I may not deserve. I didn't think it was fair that people would get jobs because of who they knew instead of what they knew. My parents told me that's the way the world works, so I should change my outlook. I ended up getting a federal internship that could have turned into a permanent job (I turned it down to go to grad school at the last minute), but I got that internship by speaking to an alum from my school, who hired me to work for him. We still keep in touch. I still don't like networking, but many companies, including mine, stress it. That's another thing my parents were right about- everyone else does it, so why should they all get the advantage over you??

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by AnotherKD

I always hated networking (still do) because I thought it was a way of getting things I may not deserve. I didn't think it was fair that people would get jobs because of who they knew instead of what they knew. My parents told me that's the way the world works, so I should change my outlook. I ended up getting a federal internship that could have turned into a permanent job (I turned it down to go to grad school at the last minute), but I got that internship by speaking to an alum from my school, who hired me to work for him. We still keep in touch. I still don't like networking, but many companies, including mine, stress it. That's another thing my parents were right about- everyone else does it, so why should they all get the advantage over you??

Instead of hating networking, you should hate it when people get opportunities that they are unqualified for. They aren't the same thing. As for your own networking, you should never assume that you don't deserve a desired outcome. That includes lacking some of the initial qualifications and being given a chance with the expectation that you will acquire these necessary skills.

ETA: Networking is especially a problem for particular age groups and for racial and ethnic minorities. There are networking organizations and events for a very good reason. One reason is racial and ethnic minorities are often socialized to believe that taking advantage of who they know is against the individual skill set that America is built on. Of course, that's untrue but socializing particular groups to "go out and get it on your own--anything else is affirmative action or something" has helped to maintain the status quo. Also, some people (think they) don't have access to beneficial networks. Also2, some people don't know how to act in networking situations.