I have to admit I was pretty naive about job hunting coming out of college.  I’ve been meh-successful with part-time positions, summer jobs, unpaid-but-good-for-resume positions, etc etc that I thought finding a full-time position would be just a tad more difficult.  Did anyone else thing that as long as you graduated from a solid school that everything would sort of all work out?  I mean why did I pay so much for this school?!

Anyways I find myself again starting an intensely hardcore job search phase…so I thought I’d share some of my tactics.

Tip 1: Do not give up.  

I’m not exactly sure why small firm employers can’t contact us within three days of when we submit out application, but somehow the entire world has agreed on this minimum of one week waiting period.  So if you are not getting immediate calls, don’t panic.  And in the meanwhile keep applying.

Tip 2: Do apply at a massive massive rate.

If you are someone who can be choosy, this does not apply to you.  But if you are sort of looking for your first or second legit job and just need a job to get your foot into the industry or prove that you are at least part of the general work force, apply apply apply!  I mean, apply on those job search engines, apply via craigslist, apply via randomly finding websites, apply to anything you see that you can claim you are qualified for.

Tip 3: I Repeat, apply to anything that you can remotely claim you are qualified for.

Listen, nobody has a long list of experiences that perfectly matches what employers are looking for coming straight out of college.  (Well, some do, but nevermind them…)  And for entry level positions, your well functioning brain and some background knowledge of the field is probably enough to perform on the job.  Given that fact don’t just apply to jobs that you can check off every single bullet point employers list.  I mean, ideal candidates are called ideal because it’s not real.  And if they were that perfect they probably don’t want this entry level position…they should be vying for the next up position.  If they’re not, how intelligent can they be?  And seriously, you can learn on the job.

Tip 4: Apply to jobs you don’t actually want as well.

Some jobs are clearly less than your abilities/qualifications.  But hey, if you get calls from those, at least your morale will get a boost.  And maybe it can be something to do while you continue to job search…

Tip 5: Consider working at a lame side job while you do an awesome nonpaid gig.

I almost did this, and was actually really excited about it.  There was an unpaid clinical research opportunity that would’ve allowed me to screen patients who were at risk for drug use as part of a larger research.  And from the little background research I did on the lab/research, they were pretty legit.  So given that medical school is my ultimate goal I did consider working there for free in exchange for a recommendation letter that carried some weight.

So those are my tactics.  I’ve been applying like a madwoman…  Will keep you posted on if they actually work!  =P

1. The Kitchen God’s Wife by Amy Tan
2. 365 Ways to Live Happy: Simple Ways to Find Joy Every Day by Meera Lester

I can’t say I really read this book, I just went through the list and read the blurbs that followed the “ways” that I found interesting.  I’d say it’s not a premier self-improvement book, however…  I could’ve written this book!

Hmm…maybe I should do my own self-improvement blog book =)