What sitch said. Change the scope of your search, to look for ANY job. If you are physically healthy, look for jobs in logistics, even if essentially manual labor to start. Manufacturing and warehouses are ALWAYS in need of dependable employees. Far easier to look for a job when you have a paycheck coming in, and many such employers have plenty of opportunities for promotion.
Good luck.
How many attempts to get an interview (applications, calls, whatever it is that you’re doing to find interviews) does it take to get an interview?
Have you talked to career services at your college and asked for help? They vary in effectiveness, but most of them really want recent grads to get good jobs and will try to help you. It looks pretty bad if a high percentage of recent grads don’t have jobs.
Hang in there! Keep striving. It will get better.
Most of the wall o’ text is very good advice. I’ve interviewed lots and lots of people - though I’ve never, never asked the bullshit standard interview questions.
An interview is like a performance, something a communications major should understand. You need to figure out how you want to appear to your interviewers, and you need very high energy and interest. The person who seems eager and excited to be there is going to do much better than someone who acts as if they would rather be home playing video games.
Lack of response after an interview is a very bad sign. I assume you’ve followed up? You’ll never get an answer to a resume, unless it leads to an interview, but usually those who have spend the time to interview merit some response, and checking (perhaps disguised as a thank you) is not out of line.
Have you researched the company you are interviewing with, and the people if possible? At least a contact? That will help in asking good questions.
Nick the Headhunter recommends doing the job - that is trying to figure out what kind of thing you would be doing and then running through how you’d accomplish it. Maybe that would help.
Good luck.
So I see that some of you guys want a bit more clarity.
The types of positions that I am applying for are the typically the ones that are associated with my degree (e.g., copywriter, social media specialist, internal communications specialist, radio promotions), though I have had at least two interviews for positions in sectors that had nothing to do with my degree. In that case, the first employer (banking industry) never contacted me back after the interview, while the second employer (security industry) only contacted me back (just a few days ago!) after I sent an inquiry about the status of my application. I likely would have never heard back from such employer otherwise.
Am I willing to relocate? Absolutely, but only if I have a job lined up in the area that I would be moving to.
I am basically approaching the job search such that my future position has to satisfy three criteria: (1) it has to be full-time, given that I have been a part-time peasant for the entirety of my working life and I am sick of that; (2) it has to pay more than I presently earn at my current job; and (3) it has to include medical benefits, meaning that I want nothing to do with this ‘gig economy’ nonsense that keeps popping up in my email feed. Perhaps those are unrealistic criteria, but I went to college so that I could earn a respectable career, and that’s just how I view these things.
The last rejection (at the security company) really hit me hard, just in terms of my self-esteem in this area. The difficult thing about all of this is that so many of these positions require prior experience, which I just. can’t. get. unless I get hired somewhere. I would much, much, MUCH prefer to get out there and work rather than go back to school for a graduate degree. Seriously, there’s a whole series of threads in my post history that outlines why I’m loathe to go back to school, unless it’s for something more practical like an MBA. I desperately don’t want to be pigeonholed into something like that when my heart just wouldn’t be in it. Furthermore, I personally know somebody who acquired a master’s degree from my school in the exact same program as my undergrad degree (Communication), and such individual seems to be facing just as much difficulties as I am in terms of securing gainful employment.
That doesn’t exactly fill me with hopes for the type of opportunities that would open up if only I had a graduate degree.
I don’t have a lot of experience with this but my dad was a bank manager most of his life and hired many people. He always told me one thing he looked for, he wanted the applicant to flat-out say “I want this job” at some point in the interview. I assume when it was appropriate, not just blurted out randomly at an awkward moment. 
I’ve interviewed for jobs I realized I didn’t really want and just couldn’t look them in the eye and say “I want this job” when I wasn’t feeling it.
Join the military as an officer. After you get out, you should have something good on your resume. I think that you can get in as a officer with a BA. Just don’t let some military recruiter try to talk you into joining as enlisted. It’s a lot less money.
I don’t think they are unrealistic criteria, but they don’t sound like the criteria of someone who is serious about getting a job in a specific field.
Like, what if a company had a 1-year contract position (no benefits) for someone with a communications background? Because that sounds like a job where you’d get much needed experience.
I took a position right after getting my Ph.D that initially provided no health benefits. I had to wait a year until my boss believed I was worthy enough for them. A shitload of people with alphabets after their names are without employer-provided health insurance. So it is a little naive to think a Bachelor’s degree entitles you to this, though it is totally understandable why you’d want it.
You are competing for spots against people who are willing to do anything to get experience. Including working for free. You may think this gig economy stuff is nonsense, but the people who are snatching up all the jobs don’t agree with you.
100% recommend this - there’s no way to prepare for an interview quite like having people ask you question you’re not expecting. I’ve recently been going through a job search, and I brought the job description over to three friends, had them ask me questions (it helped that they’ve all been on hiring committees before) - I very much recommend it. It was really helpful for me, and I hope it could be for you too.
It didn’t occur to me until I read this post, but I think monstro is absolutely right. At least, when I think of my own experience fresh out of college, this advice holds true for me. I graduated with an English degree right as the economy was tanking, and the only experience I had that was related to English was some part-time work in college (like tutoring and teaching assistant stuff). First “full-time” job I was able to get in the field was actually a 3-month contract gig with no benefits. But after that I was able to get a full-time job (let me reiterate, as the economy was AWFUL) because my 3-month gig and part-time work made me stand out just a tiny bit from the other entry-level candidates.
Thirding this. My career started to take off once I completed the internship (which I got in grad school), but I really hit my stride once I started working contract. I worked as a copywriter and was able to make secure money and have a good schedule (weekends off holy shit!) while I was still able to job search full time. Trust me, companies who deal with contractors know that you’re looking elsewhere and will probably encourage you to do it and help you when you need it.
As for your list, you need to remove the “must have medical benefits”. No contract company is going to have that and you’ll even be hard-pressed to find many entry-level jobs who will offer it. Brush your teeth, take your vitamins and try your damndest not to break your leg and just realize that benefits are something you will have to live without for a while. I went without any kind of medical insurance for about 8 years while I was job hunting/early working. Sometimes you just have to take what you can get.
Find a headhunter or a staffing agency. There are plenty of creative ones (Creative Circle is a big one) who can help you immensely. I got my first contracting job in Charlotte because of it (employed me for a year because they renewed my contract) and I got my current job (full time, permanent) because of these agencies. They didn’t cost me anything to join and they constantly sent me jobs and I had a dedicated person who helped me the entire time.
Yes you can!
You just can’t get paid for it.
Every non-profit organization out there needs help in the Communication area. Pick something you’re interested in, and volunteer your communication skills. Like cats & dogs? See your local animal shelter or rescue organization. Like cars? Contact a local classic cars club. Have an issue like homelessness or foster children or whatever – there’s a group working on that, and they need communication help. Or contact your favored political party, or even your local candidate.
Look up their website, and see how it could/should be redesigned, if that’s a skill of yours. Or look at their recent newsletters/press releases etc. and consider how they can be improved. Take those suggestions with you (but be careful not to come off as critical – quite possibly the interviewer wrote them).
All this is unpaid work, but it can go on your resume as experience. (You can probably get them to give you an impressive title at a non-profit org.) And you just might make contacts there that can help you find a paying job.
Have you checked with your school? Don’t most have some jobs placement assistance? If your classes were small enough that the professors got to know you by name, cane you go back and talk to them? Ask their advice and help. See if they know of any internships.
At my company, even warehouse workers start as full time with benefits. That may not be what you want to do, but a foot in the door and a paycheck are good things. We get a steady stream of office workers funneled from the warehouse. In fact, I teach Excel classes to the interested warehouse staff who are looking for skills that will help them move up. Go to local large companies - browse their websites for the open jobs. Ask your friends if they know of any openings. Ask for friends’ parents and your parents friends. The truism that it’s easier to get a job when you have a job is a reality.And if you’re interviewing for your “real” job while you’re working at Target or at a warehouse and the interviewer asks why you’re working there, tell the interviewer that you had to do something with your time - you can’t just sit around. That speaks well for you as a future employee.
Where are you located? Around here (Middle Tennessee) people are hiring everywhere. It might not make enough money at first for you to pay for an apartment on your own, you might have to share, but it would get you headed in the right direction.
Good luck!
StG
I just wanted to pop back in here and say that I have another interview lined up for Monday. It isn’t related to what I studied in college at all (the position is in the logistics sector), but the job itself is one that tends to be filled by persons who hold a bachelor’s degree in any subject. That means, of course, that those positions I have heard about for years that require a nebulous bachelor’s degree as an entryway actually do exist!
So if anybody on the Dope has further advice for me, I would be grateful to read it.
A buddy of mine works in logistics - is currently a regional manager of a large ground shipping company and is soon to become national COO. He ALWAYS has multiple posted openings, and generally has to pay a staffing company to fill them as he lacks applicants. He generally hires people at an hourly wage ($15/hr I think), but w/in 6 mos an average employee who simply shows up regularly and pays attention will become decently salaried w/ benefits.
I also frequently work with vocational experts who say that logistics is one of the fastest growing sources of jobs currently.
Present yourself as willing to work hard, able to pay attention to detail, and start at the bottom and it should be a viable entry into the working world. Good luck.
Just a further update.
Since my last post I have had two additional interviews at two distinct companies. One in the logistics sector and the other in the business to business sales space. I did not get either position.
Are my problems in this area normal for a recent college grad? Like, I haven’t actually tallied the number of interviews I’ve had since graduating, but with these last two I have had at least 15-18 interviews. You’d think that something would stick after so many, right?
Network. Add many people to your LinkedIn profile. Get people to give you recs.
When a job comes up, link to the recruiter.
Check your connections, link to their connections if they are in your field or are a recruiter.
Get your resume professionally done.
Try Federal Jobs. The iRS hires for Tax auditor and Revenue Officer with just a 4 year degree. They dont expect experience.
Look for County or city jobs.
Do you mean 15-18 in-person interviews? Because if you’re also counting phone interviews and email follow-ups then yes, that number is reasonable. But if you’ve had that many in-person interviews and nothing led to a job, that doesn’t sound normal to me.
If you are getting 18 in person interviews without an offer, something is wrong. My personal rate is about 1 in 3, if I interview for 3 positions, I expect to be offered at least job*. I am pretty good at interviewing.
My suggestion, find a recruiter in your area and call them. They get paid when you get a job. Many will assist with resumes and interviewing techniques.
Slee
Find someone who is or has been a manager and who has conducted interviews, and have a mock interview with him or her. Then get feedback.
Interviews are like acting. You have to act excited (but not too excited) about the job and show a high level of energy. And you have to be company, not self-focused. I hate resumes whose objective is for the candidate to build his skills. The objective should always be to help the company you want a job with make more money. You see the difference?
I’m counting all of the above, though each company I interview at counts as one. That said, there have only been two phone interviews that did not result in an in-person interview. So that means at a minimum I’ve had 10-12 in-person interviews without any offers.
I do not seem to have any issue with the phone interviews at all, but something seems to go wrong whenever I get to an in-person setting. Maybe I’m just not likeable? Maybe I’m not fawning enough over the given position? I have no idea at all.