Tips From an Irvine College Consultant: What to do with the Summer if you didn’t Land a Job

Tips From an Irvine College Consultant – New Grad 101: What to do with the Summer if you didn’t Land a Job

Many excited seniors are about to become college grads. They have accomplished a huge goal after spending four or five years studying general education and their major field of study. Shortly after the excitement of graduation, new grads are welcomed to the workforce, if they’re lucky. However, as has been the case with the last decade, many new grads find that they simply don’t have a job waiting for them. This is a tough reality to face and forces many young adults to move back home and ponder their future. Although most new grads would love to start working immediately, there are better and worse ways to spend a summer if unemployed. It’s important, after all, to have something to talk about when that dream job interview finally comes along – considering grad school? Enlist the help an Irvine college consultant from TutorNerds.

What to do with the Summer if you didn’t Land a Job

1. Get a job, any job

It’s important that a college grad lines up a job doing something even if it’s not in their field. The willingness and ability to show up on time and work for eight hours will let future employers know that they are willing to work hard to earn money and demonstrate a positive work ethic while they are searching for their dream job. It’s also a good idea to collect letters of recommendation and references from a supervisor and colleagues at this summer job. Such letters will let future employers know that the applicant is a good worker and is ready for a job in their field.

2. Volunteer within your field

Volunteer work is still work even if a person is not paid for it. If a new grad can demonstrate that they have part or full-time experience in their field, even as a volunteer, they can use this as “work experience” to discuss at future job interviews. It also lets companies know that the applicant is truly dedicated to their field and that they are working hard to get that first entry-level position even if it doesn’t come easily. In addition to impressing potential employers, volunteering within one’s field will help a person understand what a regular workday will be like and give them some on-the-job training and experience in the field they’ve been studying for the last four years (READ: “5 Reasons to Have a Job on Campus”).

3. Volunteer in any field

In some cases, it’s harder to find a volunteer position than one might think. In many situations, volunteer applicants are interviewed heavily, and many are turned away, especially in highly specific fields that would require the organization to train the potential volunteer. In such a case, new grads are encouraged to volunteer in any field. Even if the situation won’t provide “work experience” it will still teach the new grad such skills as a good work ethic, how to work as part of a team, and how to follow directions. These are all things that someone will need for an entry-level position when they do successfully interview within their field (READ: “5 Steps to Acing a Job Interview”).

4. Participate in educational travel experiences

Although it would be fun to travel around Europe after college, this could play like a positive or negative when interviewing later on unless there are some highly educational things to share at a job interview. Educational travel would include experiences such as a Natural History Museum tour (for grads who would like to work in history), or an in-depth study of international transportation systems, (for a future engineer). Although it’s still fun to do some tourist activities while traveling, these are not the things that the applicant should discuss later in an interview. Rather they should focus on educational experiences and situations where they learned something about their field.

In Short

Although a good deal of new grads will not go straight to work in July, there are several things they can do to keep their resume full and active, so they have positive and productive things to share when they receive the opportunity to interview for a job within their field later this fall or winter. Many companies understand that new grads have trouble finding work in 2015, however, they will want to know that any potential job applicants have spent these extra months doing something productive or something that adds to their community rather than simply relaxing or going on vacation.

With summer just around the corner, it’s important to sign up for your San Diego private tutor today! Remember, Summer is the perfect time to catch up and get ahead. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are