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Post Undergrad Sob Story, any advice? - Page 4

post #46 of 93
10/12/12 at 8:23am
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Edited by mcbrown - 10/17/12 at 2:54pm
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post #47 of 93
10/12/12 at 8:58am
i can sympathize with him. was sorta in the same boat, but with a law(l) degree in cali. ended up moving back home in dc.

i too was essentially just scared to call up people out of the blue. for a while, i never even made it to the "what should i ask/talk about" stage.

got a job now, but its not what i want. however, i am paying my bills on time and am somewhat optimistic about moving towards the career i desire. once hes desperate enough, he will get over that hump. i did. only if i had done it sooner, id prob still be in norcal, which i loved. frown.gif
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post #48 of 93
10/12/12 at 9:08am
Some people are inherently awful at networking. ANyway, this is an excellent thread on what NOT to do while in college.
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post #49 of 93
10/12/12 at 9:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teger View Post

This thread is pissing me off. I'm tempted to pick up the phone and get you a fucking internship for you.

Teger, I've not seen EMartNJ thank you (maybe he did it in a PM). But even if it was half motivated by frustration (I know the "just let me fucking do it because my forehead is going to start bleeding if I keep hitting it against this wall" feeling), you seemed to have put a lot of effort into this thread. Pretty cool of you.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by EMartNJ View Post

If I don't seem in a huge hurry it's because I have a decent amount of money left over from my deployment and no debt.

In the short time I've been registered, this is the single dumbest thing I've read on this forum. I'm not trolling you. I'm not trying to be a dick. But that's a "paycheck-to-paycheck" attitude that's going to get you less than nowhere. You went to a decent school, you have a decent GPA, and you served our country. Now get some fucking motivation. You need a sense of urgency. Regardless of whether you have something to be urgent about (you do), it will benefit you, especially at our age and in this economy.

 

On a practical note, what states have you looked for jobs in?

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post #50 of 93
10/12/12 at 9:11am
Quote:
Originally Posted by EMartNJ View Post

You have no idea what advice I have taken and what I haven't.

Here's a list
-rewrote my cover letter and bounced it off my brother a few times.
-rewrote my resume
-started looking into short master's programs for publishing etc
-expanded my job search to administrative assistant/temp type jobs

If I don't seem in a huge hurry it's because I have a decent amount of money left over from my deployment and no debt.

When do you intend to reach out to your alumni and academic networks? Job search takes months/years so you need to get creative with how and where you look.
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post #51 of 93
10/12/12 at 9:51am
Joff: I know he didn't go to Princeton, but since he lives there it's the closet academic press. He could easily pick up the phone and set up an appointment to talk with these people - either to try to set up an internship or at least hear how they got their jobs and ask for advice. I sincerely bet though that if he called several of the editors up, explained his story, and said "I think I'm interested in getting into publishing, and I was wondering if I could intern for you guys for 10 hours a week for free to help out and get a feel for the business" they would say yes.
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post #52 of 93
10/12/12 at 10:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by EMartNJ View Post


Here's a list
-rewrote my cover letter and bounced it off my brother a few times.
-rewrote my resume

I get nervous when people say that they "rewrote their resume/cover letter." Hopefully you understand that you shouldn't have "a" cover letter and resume, but a general framework (or several) that you can adapt for every individual job. I have four or five basic templates that I tailor for every application. If you're trying to create the "perfect" resume or cover letter, you're really barking up the wrong tree. They'll be different for every job.
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post #53 of 93
10/12/12 at 2:18pm
Thread Starter 

Forgive me for not changing my life in a week. I'm sorry I forced you to give me advice.

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post #54 of 93
10/12/12 at 2:35pm
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Edited by mcbrown - 10/17/12 at 2:54pm
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post #55 of 93
10/12/12 at 2:44pm
Thread Starter 

Now I need therapy? Clinically depressed? Doesn't that require one to be unhappy? Or maybe you are saying that I'm a sociopath because I should be depressed?

 

This has taken an unexpected turn.

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post #56 of 93
10/12/12 at 2:46pm
Name one practical step you've taken in finding a job. What specific graduate/certificate programs have you identified?
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post #57 of 93
10/12/12 at 2:57pm
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Edited by mcbrown - 10/17/12 at 2:54pm
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post #58 of 93
10/12/12 at 3:10pm
Come on guys, it's one thing to get annoyed because a poster doesn't seem to follow your advice but diagnosing mental disorder is over the line. Step back. You can give advice and OP can consider it but that's really the extent of the unwritten contract here. No one own anyone else anything more. For his sake I hope the OP takes heed of some good insights and, when ready, gets going. smile.gif
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post #59 of 93
10/12/12 at 3:17pm
Thread Starter 

I can assure you I am not depressed. I don't feel hopeless because I'm not dumb and I am not struggling to survive. There is opportunity for me. I prefer skeptical to pessimism but that is how I have always been. I don't know what activities you are aware of that I don't enjoy anymore but that's not true either. I don't feel worthless, I feel like my degree and experience are lower in worth than I would like though. Now helplessness and difficulty making decisions are symptoms of not knowing what I'm doing. Kinda like a power boater on a sailboat. He can turn the engine on and make it go but if you take that away he's three sheets to the wind and needs a tug... or to Google how to trim sails.

 

Anyway, I do appreciate suggestions I have gotten and I am going to look more seriously at graduate and certificate programs. Between GI Bill and Pell Grants I should be able to swing it without too much debt. I have drill this weekend and can't do anything but next week I'm going to get more serious. I only graduated in August so it's not a terribly long time to be between school and a job, I don't think?

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post #60 of 93
10/12/12 at 4:44pm
Good thread. Now I don't feel as bad.

EMartNJ: At this rate I doubt you will find a job by the end of the year though from my experience, I am about to hit 1 year mark at my current employment come end of Oct. So, there maybe hope for you yet! I got this position through family (it counts as networking too right, guys?) and will echo what everyone else said about talking to people you know.

J/W but have you considered creative writing as an outlet and practice in the meantime? Not tumbler or anything but something a bit more "sophisticated" like Wordpress. If you like to write and you can learn to navigate that media, I am sure certain small businesses and start-ups would appreciate that skill set.
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