Job hunting advice would be *really* great right about now...

In My Humble Opinion
1

So I’m going to be graduated on May 15th. I’ll have a Dual Degree (Bachelor of Science) in Computer Science and Humanities (basically an English degree).

Unfortunately, I live in Michigan, and the job market is so horrid that even excellent engineers are finding it tough to get jobs. :frowning:

Obviously, I don’t have a job yet. This is a major bummer, because it feels like I’m leaving one part of my life without having the next part to move on to yet; I’m stuck in limbo. My brother was graduated in 2000 (or around there) and had a job lined up for him (this was before the job market tanked). So even though the situations are completely different, I still feel like a loser for not having a job lined up already. :frowning:

I don’t want to do programming. I hate it. I’d love to get into technical writing, or something in the publishing industry, or just some sort of writing job in general that’ll pay the bills. I can’t leave the state right now, which is making this doubly hard. I’ve checked careerbuilder.com, hotjobs.com, dice.com and while I have some jobs to reply to, I feel overwhelmed and discouraged.

This, along with leaving a school I loved, is really making my depression come back. I don’t really know what to do and my self-confidence is pretty low*.

So if anyone can give me advice, of any kind, for job hunting, I’d really appreciate it.
*Although I can apparently project a lot of self-confidence even when I have none. Thank God for that!

2

Well some good news is there is a demand for tech writers right now. It’s kind of like the Y2k crunch, and probably won’t last forever, but with the SOX requirments pushing so hard right now every body is documenting out their ass. I’d check out with with every recruiter and contract agency you can find, because many of the them are just 6-12 month gigs, so they’re looking to contract rather than hire. And right now in the computer job market any experience is a huge benifit.

3

Are you committed to staying in Michigan or are you flexible in where you can move after graduation?

(I’ve got a friend who just abandoned her search for a teaching job in Michigan because the job market there was so bad.) :frowning:

4

Oh, crap. I didn’t pay enough attention to the part of the OP that said “can’t leave the state.” Sorry about that! :smack:

Have you thought of going into business for yourself?

5

Yeah, I have to stay in Michigan.

What’s the difference between:

  • temp agency
  • staffing firm
  • contractor

? It seems to me that a staffing firm is a bit more “white collar” or “upscale” (whatever) than a temp agency, but I’m not sure. And where do contractors fit in?

6

While I’m not discouraging you from pursuing such things, recents studies have shown that a teeny tiny percentage of people actually get jobs from the online markets like monster/hotjobs/etc. The tried-and-true method of networking is still the best place to find a job. Tell everyone you know that you’re looking for something, especially your professors. Your school should have a career department- they should be able to provide you with contacts in any area, as well as current job openings. My school also offers a service where they’ll send you email updates with current jobs so you don’t have to go to their office… see if yours has something similar.

The Department of Labor is sometimes an overlooked resource. I spent a lot of time there when I was job hunting, and even though you may feel sort of outside their target market, they’ll still be able to help you. Plus they can tell you when and where job fairs are.

Learn how to sell yourself in 30 seconds or less. If you run into an old acquaintance in line at the bank, you should be able to summarize exactly what you can offer/what you’re looking for. “I’m about to graduate with blah, with experience in blah, and I’m looking for a position doing blah.”

Consider getting a job that pays the bills, and interning somewhere on your off hours. Some companies troll their volunteer ranks for potential employees, and it’s always good to have a foot in the door.

Temp agencies/staffing services can be good, but can also be very frustrating, especially for someone who likes stability. I personally hate the thought of never knowing if I’m going to work the next day or not. You’re right that staffing services typically are more “professional.” Contractors, or headhunters, actively look for a job for you, but it costs money and I don’t think their results are any better.

It’s good that you can project confidence. I was in the throes of rather crippling depression when I got my current job; I’d been out of work for nearly a year, I was being actively sabotaged in my job search, and I was ready to just give up. Went to a job fair, saw a company that I knew had a program I was very interested in, walked up to the recruiter and said “If you still have X program, I’m going to come work for you.” Got the job two weeks later. :slight_smile:

Good luck!

7

Are there any relevant professional associations you could join? They’re a great way to network.

Does your school placement service have any recommendations? If nothing else, they may be able to put you in touch with alumni already working in the field of your interest.

You can also set up informational interviews with people doing the job you want. Ask them how they went about breaking into the field. You shouldn’t be outright asking for a job during an informational interview, but there’s nothing wrong with discussing how to get started.

8

While you are looking you can keep your skills sharp by writing documentation for open source projects. Many of these need tech writers more than they need coders. It’s also a good way to show off your work to companies and get yourself networked with people who can get you job(s).

9

That’s an interesting combination. (If you allow me to be petty for a minute though, when I read, “I’m going to be graduated”, my first thought was, “Obviously not an English major.” I’m probably wrong, but “I’m going to graduate,” sounds better to me. Gaudere check. OK, looks like I’m clear.)

I would definitely agree that tech writing seems a perfect fit for you. My experience has been that it’s best to have a contact inside the company. HR’s primary function seems to be blocking qualified resumes from ever reaching hiring managers. I’ve even had managers from companies call me to ask me if I was interested in jobs for which I had submitted resumes that they never received. The reason they even called me was that I had friends in the companies. You must have friends that graduated last year that you could ping. You could also ask your professors for contacts (plus recommendations).

Good luck! (And give programing a fair chance. It’s pretty fun once you get the hang of it.)

10

I don’t have much to add beyond what BobKitty and Greg Charles said. If you know the area where you want to live, start making a list of all the places you could work in the area. This isn’t a list of places where there are openings, just places where you could see yourself working, and you can see yourself fulfilling a need.

Temping can be a great way to get exposure to a lot of different companies, and if a company likes your performance they may offer you a longer or a permanent position.

Since you enjoyed school, and you have to leave it because you’re graduating, you’re basically in the position of someone who has been laid off. You had something you enjoyed doing, and now you won’t be able to do it thanks to external factors. It’s natural to feel bad about it.

11

First of all, congratulations on graduating, especially with such an interesting combination of skills.

Second, I would not be too hard on yourself right now. Graduating from college can be a very disorienting experience (it certainly was for me) and it is especially hard if you loved the place, felt like you had a role there that you liked, etc.

Third, on to the advice about finding a new job.

What is going to make you feel less overwhelmed is to take control and starting making small steps towards findind a job.

First step is to do what you’ve already done: decide what geography you are interested in. For you, that’s Michigan. I would not get too focused on how crappy or great the job market is in Michigan right now. That’s not under your control. What is under your control is how you react to it.

You need to get out and talk to as many people as you can. I don’t mean sending out resumes asking for jobs, and I don’t mean “networking” in the vague sense of trying to meet people.

What I mean is “informational interviewing”. Here’s how an informational interview works. First, you contact people who are in the following categories
(a) has your dream job,
(b) has an ok job in your dream field
© has a crappy job in your dream field
(d) has a job in a field that is closely related to the field you are interested in
(e) has a job in a field that is only loosely related to your field but they are willing to talk with you

The message here is: don’t be too picky about finding the perfect person. Just start talking with folks, because they can then connect you with other people.

When you are talking to them, you are NOT asking them for a job. You are asking them for advice. As someone else said, you have a brief description of yourself that works on either email or the phone.

Mr/Ms., my name is _______________ and ____________ suggested that I contact you because I’m looking for some advice.

I just graduated from _______________ with a dual degree in computer science and humanities (with a focus on twentieth century english literature) and I want to find a position in technical writing where I can combine my background in technology with my interest in writing.

If you have a few minutes to talk later this week or early next week, I would be very grateful if you could give me some advice about how to get into the field.

If people think you are not pestering them for a job, then they are very likely to be willing to talk with you. When you talk with them, you want to start out by letting them do most of the talking. Most people are extremely flattered to be asked for advice, and they will be happy to give it to you. If they aren’t very forthcoming, you can ask them: what would you do if you were in my position.

Some VERY IMPORTANT points

  1. don’t overstay your welcome. It’s best if you are the one to say “well, I really appreciate your talking with me but I don’t want to take too much of your time. Thanks again.”

  2. As the conversation is wrapping up (and thus after they’ve gotten to know you a little bit and realize you are not a loon) ask them if there are one or two other people who they would recommend that you talk with.

  3. Before you wrap up, thank them again and ask them whether you can check in with them in a few weeks.

I can understand that going through this informational interviewing sounds like a big pain, but really it is a GREAT way to find out about an industry and to find a job. It may seem intimidating at first but pretty soon you will start to see the patterns as you talk with more and more people.

Some people may be hard to reach. If it’s important to you to talk with them (i.e. they have a dream job in your field, etc.) then you should be persistent and call them a few times,

BUT call them no more than once a week, and no more than three times. First voicemail message: “I’d like your advice, etc. etc.” Second voicemail message “Mr/Ms X, this is ________, as I mentioned in my voicemail to you last week, I’d be very grateful if I could have 10 minutes of your time to get some advice, etc. etc.” Third voicemail message “Mr/Ms X, this is ___________. I’d still be intersted in talking if you the time. If you could call me at ______ I’d be very grateful. Thanks.”

This is how I found my job a few years ago. Not by going on Monster or anything, but by talking to EVERYONE I could find.

I would look in three places to start

  1. Ask people you know if they know ANYONE in fields related to what you want to do
  2. As someone else said, look for local trade associations, etc., and seek out folks who are officers of those organizations
  3. Your school’s alumni network. This can be EXTREMELY HELPFUL.

Good luck. I think this is going to work out great for you.

12

Sorry it took a bit to reply; commencement ceremonies were yesterday so I was a bit busy.

Oh, I’m an English major, just an old-fashioned one. :slight_smile:
I’m trying to network with people, but if you’re not in Michigan, I really think it’s hard to understand how few jobs there are (although I am trying to not focus on that and instead just focus on the jobs that are out there) (and yes, I know that many many people here have dealt with high unemployment. But c’mon, allow me some angst here ;)). Every single person I’ve mentioned job-hunting to has said that they’ll keep their eyes open but there hasn’t been any real openings for awhile in their company.

And other than networking, I don’t know how I would look for jobs other than the want ads (through newspapers or online). So many jobs are needed but never really announced, so how on earth do I find out about those?

I’ve been to my Career Services office and will be going again, but my uni is mainly an engineering and architecture school so the vast majority of their contacts are all for engineering co-ops or architecture interns. They don’t really have things for the comp sci, humanities, physics etc majors. That doesn’t mean I’ll give up on them, though.

That’s a neat way of looking at it, and it does make sense.

I like the idea of informational interviewing; now I gotta just find people who are doing that. I emailed the head of the Tech Comm dept at my uni about talking to him re: this stuff but he never got back to me. I’ll try emailing him again, though.