Get a job…after college

Black Enterprise, Feb, 1998 by Robyn D. Clarke

IMAGINE THAT GRADUATION DAY HAS COME and gone. Your college buddy has been accepted to law school and your best friend is traveling around the world. You, on the other hand, are spending the summer doing laundry for your on-again, off-again roommates--your parents.

You dread the daily chorus, "So, when are you going to get a job?" as they demand proof of your job search progress. And even though you've spent the last few weeks sending out resumes, your favorite Fortune 500 company still hasn't offered you a job.

If you haven't already begun the process of looking for a job, you could end up in this very scenario. "A number of students expect to graduate and immediately be offered a secure, high-paying job with a well-known employer," says Janet Jones, manager of internship services at Rutgers University Career Services in New Brunswick, New Jersey. "They sit and wait, thinking a job is going to come to them," she says.

However, only a few actually receive immediate offers. Perhaps this reality check inspires 20% of nearly 1.2 million graduates of four-year colleges and universities to head straight to graduate and professional schools each year. Still, many students choose not to delay this inevitable adulthood rite-of-passage, and begin their search long before the pomp and circumstance.

Tangala Ash was an early bird. "I wanted to get job hunting out of the way because I didn't want to be stressed later," says Ash, a 1997 graduate of Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas. "I got started In the beginning of my senior year. I took advantage of every service and opportunity provided on campus, from the career center to on-campus job fairs."

Three months before graduation, she landed a job as an analyst with Andersen Consulting in Denver.

Getting a job after college doesn't have to be torture. In fact, it can be virtually painless if you prepare early and exercise time management diligently. By combining that with the following tips, you can increase your chances of finding work soon.

Tip #1: Focus on your studies and career. Most of your college activities should support your postgraduate plans. You should major in your career field, but you can minor in an unrelated area. Get involved with campus organizations connected with your career choice.

"Major-specific clubs are an excellent way to network with people who could be your future colleagues," says Ash, a Zeta Phi Beta soror and member of Phi Beta Lambda, an honors business organization.

She advises students to strike a balance between academics and extracurricular activities. "Don't become so involved with campus activities that your grades suffer," says Ash, who maintained a 3.2 G.P.A. in her information systems major.

Tip #2: Do your homework. Jones recommends that college students begin researching careers of interest in their freshman year. However, if you haven't been to your campus career center yet, don't worry--it's not too late to get started.

Familiarize yourself with the available resources. Inquire about various career-related workshops and find out when recruiting companies will be on campus. Open a file for resumes and letters of recommendation and submit a resume that can be used for online databases. Check out job and internship postings as well as information on career days.

It's also important to get career guidance. Get to know the staff personally and keep them abreast of your interests and goals. "Make it a point to be on a first-name basis with all the advisors," says Jones, whose staff has recommended graduating students to potential employers.

Naeemah Nuriddin, a marketing representative for Campus Dimensions and College Credit Card Corp. in Philadelphia, regularly visited her campus job center to research career options beginning in her sophomore year. After talking to counselors, she ditched her accounting major and chose a future in marketing. "They worked with me to find a flexible career option that could accommodate my interests," says Nuriddin, who graduated from Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1996.

When she was ready to start looking for a job, she went back to the center to do some company research. "In addition to finding interesting facts about businesses, I could decide which companies to apply to," says the 25-year-old Camden, New Jersey, native.

Tip #3: Get an internship. Even if you have a technical major such as engineering or science, hands-on training from an outside source is essential. "Even with a great G.P.A., no job is going to fall in your lap," says Carlos Austin, a 25-year-old community affairs coordinator at WPIX-TV in New York City. "The people who can apply what they have learned to real, everyday situations are the ones who get hired," he says.

Internships provide the skills and experience you need to get the job you want. As a 16-year-old high school senior, Austin applied for an assignment desk internship in the news department at WPIX. Working with professionals twice his age, he quickly learned the basics of the industry. He developed mentor relationships with several of his co-workers and was eventually given responsibilities usually reserved for college interns.