If anything has to be daunting nowadays it’s exiting the wonderful world of college and being crapped into the real world. A world where there are fewer jobs, a shrunken market, more competition and where we don’t know what will happen tomorrow.
At this some of the most typical recommendations include working for free at an agency… this is something you should have done BEFORE graduating, where you still had the safety blanket of your dorm. Now that you’re in the shit, working for free is only an option if it’ll lead to a job and you are able to mooch off a relative or friend for 1-2 months.
At the stage we at WAS find ourselves, we luckily have options. True, they may not be the most luxurious, but crappy options are a hell of a lot better than no options at all, although I don’t think anyone is ever truly devoid of options. If any of us happens to lose our job, we have places and people to touch base with and frankly, we’re sick enough of our jobs to be willing to start in another industry if worse comes to worst.
For someone just getting into the job market, this situation is harrowing at best. So here are some recommendations I can share with you that you might want to consider to have options:
1. Be creative with your résumé. There are a million ways to do this and you need to cut through the clutter. I'm sure you've heard it a zillion times, but it still holds water.
2. Get business cards. Vista print offers super cost effective options for you to get your name on a card and in someone’s hand. Low inversion, high possible ROI (if you don’t know what this means, look it up, most companies are using it as standard slang).
3. If you wanna get into advertising, go social, and by social I don’t mean let everyone know you masturbated a bull at a farm. Generate content, get people talking, show the colors you want to show someone whom you want to be hired by.
4. Work freelance. Your parents know lawyers, doctors, architects or basically any frigging human who may require your skills. Look, observe, identify their needs, kindly offer services, establish a fee, try to charge cash, do the job right. If all goes well, you’ll get cash, referrals and start building a reputation.
5. Look for sidejobs. Inertia is a bitch and when you are physically stuck, you’ll be mentally and emotionally stuck. Even a shitty job will help motivate you to look for something better while allowing you to bum food off the waste line.
6. Network, Link IN, keep in touch, be nice, call, write and communicate. Your social network is as active and engaging as you allow it to be. If you invest 50 hours on Call of Duty and 1 hour on your résumé and networking while you’re jobless, your priorities are fucked and you need to unify your shit (ie. get it together)
7. When interviewing, research the company. This sounds obvious, yet people don’t do it. They also don’t adapt their résumé for every job they apply for. If you sound generic and they’re looking for the right fit, what do you think the outcome will be?
8. Look for extended education and try to sit into a class. If you’re caught trying to bum a free class off a university, talk with a professor. Gumption, determination, drive and willpower gets job referrals and scholarships or at least builds character. Who knows, maybe you can even get advice.
9. Check Creative Circle, Monster, and any place that offers legitimate jobs. Are they guaranteed to work? Of course not, but at least you're doing something with your time rather than wondering what to do next.
10. Look for work elsewhere. By elsewhere, I mean other places geographically, other industries, or whatever. Start thinking out of the box by placing yourself out of the box. Free yourself professionally and geographically, thus expanding your options.
These are just ten recommendations. Anyone else who wants to add to this, we’d appreciate to give a helping hand to anyone who may stumble upon this blog.
Cheers
Image seen and borrowed from: http://salinapost.com/2011/11/06/most-of-the-unemployed-no-longer-receive-benefits/
2 comments:
Here's a couple more:
Be Persistent, Be Proactive: Sending your resume and waiting doesn't cut it. Find your way in.
Have fun: This sounds odd especially if you're stressed out while looking for a job, BUT, remember, advertising is FULL of stress and if you can't handle this, you might want to reconsider. Have fun while looking for a job, be creative, do something different, this is not finance... being fun will is one more reason agencies will hire you.
Definitely agree on those points and you bring a very valid point we might use for a future post. If you can't handle stress you might want to check another industry.
Super thanks for the comment.
Cheers
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