Party ends, caps with tassels fly, dorm is packed up, and resumes are distributed, on to the bigger and better! After school, the next step for most grads is the grand job (or should I say “career”) search.
For many, however, this is not the simple transition your professors railed on about.
If you’ve been looking for work since graduation in spring, you’ve most likely read a job description or two. Your heart probably skipped a beat when you read “Entry Level Designer” in the header. As you read and the requirements seem as if they were copied directly from your resume, your brain simultaneously scans your closet inventory searching for that “first day” outfit you KNOW you’re going to need after applying to this job. Then the last line quotes: “2 years experience required.” Dagger.
We’ve all been there. The moment you read that line and think to yourself, “How the hell can ‘entry level’ be for someone who has already ‘entered’ something for 2 years?” It’s the classic need to work to get experience but need experience to get work.
It’s a frustrating Catch 22 that sticks you squarely between “needing experience” yet not being allowed the “opportunity” to gain those essential years.
Well, it’s not going to be easy but here are some tips for getting experience without being handed opportunity.
Freelance
Easier said than done. Yes, I know. But it’s possible. You may need to take gigs that aren’t “sexy” OR that don’t pay much, if at all! See our previous blog for the lowdown on this.
Intern
Same goes here. You may work for free for a bit. But c’mon, weren’t you just a college student? Aren’t they all broke? What’s another couple of months of ONLY happy hour Pabst? Truly though, lots of companies do take at least one intern a summer and lots of them will pay you a little. The key to this is starting your search early. If you’ve hit graduation already… you may be too late.