#JobSearch #Friday – You Graduated from College – Finding a Job – Sourcing Job Opportunities

By RecruiterGuy | May 29, 2020

Congratulations on your completion of your education! Some of you will choose to simply continue your education on to an advanced degree. Given our current economy with Covid-19, this may be a good time to earn your advanced degree.

Other new graduates will be like me. I could not wait to complete my undergraduate degree, apply what I learned, and Get. To. Work!

How Do You Source New Job Opportunities?

There are job openings nearly everywhere! It is a matter of first deciding what you want to do. Then determining if your education gave you the skills to conquer this job and head to the next one.

This is the moment of your career when you have the opportunity to try out different positions to find the one you love.

My Story After Graduation

When I graduated from Assumption College (soon to become Assumption University), I had a job offer from a life insurance company (They must have seen Bill E. and me selling kazoos in our dining hall!). I accepted the position. The insurance company put me through a two-week sales class (still use what I learned!). I sold Life Insurance for 5 months. After selling some policies, I still owed the company $400 in draw in 5 months. My view of the future was not what I initially expected. The manager was nicely disappointed that I did not see the same future that He saw for me.

Now I am out of work with an English degree but no teaching certifications. Since I paid my way through DeMatha Catholic with earnings from my The Washington Post paper route; and paid my way through Assumption College with multiple jobs, I was supremely confident that I would succeed.

Did I sit back and whine there are no jobs except Burger King? No, I went to the nearest industrial park. I walked door to door asking if they were aware of any jobs that I may apply for. After 3 hours on my tour, I walked in Troiano Tile and Marble. My “Here I AM!” speech was simple – “I just paid my way through college. Now I am looking for a job.”

Mr. Troiano was nice enough to call the VP of Construction for a General Contractor in Silver Spring, MD, and set up an appointment. I interviewed at Construction General and received a job offer.

The job was fun and much of what I learned, I still use today when needed (notice a trend?). After 8 years in construction that I loved, I did not love how cyclical the business was. I grew from a job clerk on a construction site to a construction superintendent on a 126 unit garden apartment/townhome project in NE Washington, DC.

Over the next 3 years, I sold cars in Frederick, MD, and then sold fertilizer to dairy farmers. One day, a friend asked if I considered becoming a professional recruiter. I asked, “Why?” He said you would earn a lot more money. Sold!

That was in 1981 when I became a recruiter. Some people still claim I sell fertilizer. The point is it took me 10 years to find the right career for me. The journey was fun! After 39 years, I love helping companies find the right people – and helping the right people find jobs.

Why Tell This Story?

Rarely does a career end where you expect it. I am coaching an individual currently who is searching for a new job because he was laid off from the company that hired him straight after High School graduation in 1997. He was promoted every few years and never had to look for a new job. Until now…I will help him find his next job. He has a second interview with a new company next week.

What Steps Do I Take Now?

My first suggestion is to speak with both Career Services at your college. Ask them who they suggest which alumni you should network with to meet someone who can influence your hire. Since you graduated, also speak with the Alumni Office. There may be several alumni who graduated with your major who would welcome the opportunity to mentor you. Who did you know in the classes above you who knew you and are currently working in their career? These people will try to help you. Remember, it is your responsibility to followup.

Take a look at the openings on Indeed, Monster, CareerBuilder, and corporate websites. Then try to network your way to an interview.

You may want to consider a military career. They have many types of available positions. Explore. If it does not suit you, find something else.

Your responsibility is to find a job to start, even if it is a lowly Job Clerk, like me. Look where it led me.

Take Charge of Your Career today – even if it means going door to door in an industrial center. You are on an adventure!

If you want or need to accelerate your #Jobsearch, please immediately click on this link to my recent book, Employee 5.0: Secrets Of A Successful Job Search In The New World Order – http://amzn.to/2D9w39f My book contains the 12 Steps to find a new position in a nice, orderly fashion. It also has the stories of people who did well – and some who did not. You may learn from both sides.

See you on Fridays!

Bill Humbert is available for Speaking, Talent Attraction Consulting, Career Transition Consulting, and Training contracts.

RecruiterGuy@msn.com 435-714-4425

https://www.espeakers.com/marketplace/speaker/profile/23767/Bill-Humbert

USA 01-435-714-4425 RecruiterGuy@msn.com Content is licensed CC-BY-ND (Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0) The right to reprint is hereby granted if the copyright notice and contact information remain with the article.