Senior year of college is suppose to be the least stressful and most fun. Not only are students finally graduating, but they’re also entering the real world. There was once a time when students went to college, majored in their subject of interest and had no worries about obtaining a job in that particular field. In this day and age, though, students would be lucky to find a part-time job the day after they walk across the stage. The economy is bad and only seems to be getting worse. How can students remain calm when the fears of not having a job by graduation and starving in a big city overtake them?
LaParis Hawkins is an English major who hopes to enter the New York City magazine industry after she graduates. She hasn’t started applying for jobs just yet because she feels the magazine industry is quiet right now, but she has applied for a summer internship with Essence magazine. She interned there last summer as well. Even though she feels her prior experience with the Time Inc. publication could land her an interview, she believes it is her personality that would ultimately land her a job. Still, she fears the risk of not receiving one once she’s out of school.
“[The job market] is always unsure due to the economy, and it’s hard to apply for positions in a different city because you’re not there to attend interviews,” Hawkins says. “You never want to be that person with a degree working at McDonalds.”
Journalism majors receive an email at least once a week from Barbara Willis, the assistant director of the Career Services Center, with a list of about 10 different job opportunities. She uses indeed.com, which is a search engine that searches other search engines, such as journalismjobs.com, to find the numerous open positions. Willis only uses the site for journalism career opportunities, but the site is also valuable to students in other majors.
“I like that because it does lead back to the businesses that are hiring, so students can research companies before they apply for positions,” Willis says.
Willis recommends students take advice from the Career Center but also have a wish list of companies he or she wants to work for. She says to reach out to those companies because one might be able to receive a position without waiting for an opening. “I believe in snail mail,” Willis says. “It allows you to be creative, and you can send a CD of your portfolio and résumé.”
Willis also advises using social media to find open positions. Following companies you want to work for on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn allows you to see positions open up before they are posted on job search engines and gives you a chance to apply for the position before others do.
Despite the numerous resources available to students applying for jobs, the stress of the issue still remains. Some students are running around pulling their hair out, and others are pushing off the job hunt as much as possible. Hawkins prays that she receives a position because she believes there’s nothing else she could have done. She says you’ll only stress yourself to death if you continue to worry.
Keonna England is a human development and family studies major with a concentration in child development and education. Instead of applying for jobs or graduate school as many other seniors on campus are doing, she is taking a course that will allow her to teach English in South Korea for a year or two. She has decided to participate in the program because she wants to travel. She hasn’t had the chance to study abroad, and she’s unsure of what she wants to receive her master’s degree in. She plans to attend grad school as soon she returns and hopes she will have her master’s plan figured out by then.
Stress can get the best of people if it’s not settled or controlled. Everyone handles stress differently, but there are numerous ways to make sure it does not consume or affect your life. Willis believes students who are stressed about applying for jobs will remain stressed even if they do receive a position.
“Stress never ends because even if you start a position, you’ll have stress from that,” Willis says. “Applying for jobs is a job within itself. Students really need to work at it. Students who apply for three or four jobs are usually more unsuccessful than those who send out six applications a week.”
If stress starts overpowering every other feeling in your body, Willis recommends reaching out to other people, such as professors, fellow students, family members and friends, to talk about it. She also says visiting the Counseling Center, Student Health Center and Career Center could help.