Job Search Please Help!I'm a recent graduate from Assumption College with a BA in Business. I majored in Organizational Communication which covers a broad spectrum of business disciplines including Marketing, Management and Strategic Communication. I also have five years of experience working in the financial industry with two prominent banks in Massachusetts. So you would think with my education and experience, I'd have no trouble finding a great first job, right? WRONG! I've posted my resume on every conceivable jobposting website (Monster, Job Centreal, Career Builder, Craig's List, etc.). I've applied to jobs that match my interests, education and experience at every company I can think of and some I've never heard of; 99% of these companies do not respond. The 1% that do inform me that I am not qualified for the position I applied to when, in fact, I clearly am. And I'm not talking about high-level executive positions here, I mean entry level, no experience needed jobs that anyone with half a brain could do. I have had two face-to-face interviews with companies who sought me out after finding my resume on a job posting website. The first company, Aflac, dangled the prospect of a $60k first year comission in front of me for a sales position. I wasn't fooled. I want to stay away from totally commission-based positions. I need a job that guarantees a salary. The second inerview was with Citibank for a Personal Banker position. Evidently I wasn't qualified despite my prior experience and Bachelor's degree. I was told I'd be a perfect fit for a Service Officer position (a euphemism for "Greeter") that pays barely over $30k a year and requires 60 hour work weeks. I turned the position down. Now don't get me wrong. I don't think that I'm ENTITLED to any job at all. However, based on my experience and education, I believe I'm qualified for many entry level positions. I only apply to jobs that I think match my qualifications (BA in Business, excellent communication, project management and computer skills, etc.) but I still end up searching again. PLEASE! If anyone has any help or suggestions or even wants to tell me to stop whining, I 'd appreciate the advice. I've already been to my college's career center but that was no help at all (they wanted to stick me in in interview with a company I've never heard of for a totally comission based sales position). They didn't even try to help me figure out what career path I should look into....I've been searching for almost six months and am starting to give up hope. PLEASE HELP! SIX MONTHS????? Stop your whining!!!!! No, seriously, there are people on this board who have been job searching for a year or more. My rule on commison-only or commision-based sales positions are that this is a euphamism for "work your touche off 95% less than what you would get paid ordinarily." Just keep applying to what you feel qualified for. If you feel good about a particular company but you are lacking a requirement that you feel you are more than capable of learning quickly, apply for it. It may be something the company wants but is not neccesarily essential to know before going in to the company. If you see something in an advertisement that you have knowledge of but no practical experience, again...apply for it. A lot of people I have interviewed do not know the reasons they are doing whatever, they just do it. Please note for your own benefit and sanity that the majority of people who actively seek you are going to be recruiters, own your own business scammers or commision-based sales jobs. Unfortunately, even though you have the degrees but not the experience, you will have to take a job you feel you are underqualified for simply to be able to put on your resume that you have the neccesary work experience. Ok, I' ve got a friend that recently got her PhD in Organizational Development, so I' m pretty sure I' ve got the gist of what your degree is. Why are you applying for sales jobs? What is the career you see yourself in after spending all this time learning Organizational Communication? I would assume that would be Marketing, PR or something along those lines. NOT a sales job. Now with that said, Marketing, PR, and similar positions are hard to get into. Unless your 5 years of experience is actually in those fields, it isn' t going to help you much (always better than nothing but experience in the field is the key here). You may need to look for something very entry-level to get your foot in the door, which might be something like Admin Assistant in the Marketing department. In the meantime, volunteer somewhere. Every non-profit needs help with Marketing and PR, so you could build great experience there. Plus, you should look at non-profits for paying jobs too. They may not pay as well, but they' re more willing to take a chance on a new grad. Find a cause you can get behind and get behind (especially in a large non-profit where paying jobs may come up). Also, go back to your school, but this time make an appointment with the department head. Ask him about career paths and suggestions for this major. It is a little obscure and vague so the career center isn' t going to be as familiar with it as they should be. In response to your question, I didn' t necessarily apply for any sales positions. The Aflac interview turned out to be a cold-calling sales job after I was misled by the recruiter that it was more of a marketing position. Honestly, I have no interest in sales at all. You are exactly right about my major; it involved marketing and public relations, etc. I have a difficult time explaining to people exactly what my major is, so I' m glad you recognized it! Specifically, I' ve been searching for a marketing or business communications position in a bank or financial company since I have experience in that industry. So far, no luck unfortunately...Thanks again! | |
|
Career Tips
|