After graduation, all former college students have jobs that are perfect for them and apply to what they majored in. The application process was fairly easy, and most of them received the job they applied for first or wanted the most. They describe their jobs as “perfect” and never plan to leave.
Lies. All absolute, in-your-face, sleep-stealing lies. And after reading that paragraph, you knew they were lies. So why, then, do so many college seniors find themselves in a panic about post-grad life?
After long nights spent stressing over cover letters and how to make “tour guide” sound like the perfect precursor to a public relations job, I finally realized just how deeply I had bought into that lie. Somewhere along the way, I stopped enjoying my senior year and starting believing that if I graduated without the perfect job offer, I had failed.
Sweet children, do not let the fingertips of societal pressure poison your minds like they did mine. To help you come to the realization that each path is different and being an unemployed recent college graduate is nothing to be ashamed of, I’ve asked a few recent grads and a current senior to talk about what really happens after graduation and the honest truth behind the job hunt. Read. Learn. Absorb.
The moment the panic first set in for me was when I started to apply for jobs and internships. In the past, I've been blessed. I got the first job I ever applied for at Chick-fil-A (just like the other 85 percent of the Berry student population) and the second internship I ever applied to at Georgia Aquarium. So as I submitted applications for one job, then another, then another and still didn't hear back, I started to really panic.
Annakate Shepherd, a senior PR major at Berry, is feeling the pressure as she applies for jobs and internships.
"I attend networking events when Berry College offers them, and I try to spend three days a week searching for and applying for jobs I find online. I have applied for two internships and five jobs so far," said Shepherd. "The process of filling out applications is long and tedious, and it can be frustrating when three weeks go by and I still haven't heard anything,"
While that may not sound stressful, consider that each job requires a resume tailored to the position, a cover letter crafted specifically to the company's specifications, plus potential essays and questionnaires.
Some college students respond to the pressure by accepting jobs they don't really want, just to have something when they enter the real world. Hayden Sloan (c14) accepted a job at CNN because it was safe and sounded good when he was asked what his post-grad plans were.
"I rushed into a low-paying job at CNN because it's what I was 'supposed' to do," said Sloan.
After continuing to look for jobs, he found a position as an account manager at CINC where he finally fell in love with his work and is now studying for the LSAT.
In the case of Kelsey Dedels (c15), a job that seems perfect can teach you what you don't want to do. Kelsey started her first job right after graduation in the marketing department at Lenox Square Mall. Having worked a similar internship at the Mall of Georgia the summer before, she took the job thinking it would be the perfect fit.
"I enjoyed it until I realized it's not what I wanted to do for the rest of my life," said Dedels. She then resigned from her position and decided to go to graduate school to get her master's in the art of teaching, a complete change from her communications bachelor's degree.
Not all students land jobs right after graduation. Alex Brizzi (c15) decided to spend her last semester enjoying what little bit of college she had left. No jobs she found caught her interest, so she decided to travel during the summer and take a job as a gymnastics coach in the meantime. However, at the end of September, she started to worry that she'd missed her window of opportunity.
Sam Nazione, a professor in the communications department, reached out to her and invited her on a trip to visit Jackson Spalding and Edelman, two major PR firms in Atlanta.
"I was hesitant at first and almost embarrassed that was going on a tour with a group of seniors, since I had already graduated," said Brizzi.
That tour allowed Alex to make connections that led to an internship at Edelman, and then a full-time position
Alex's advice to current seniors is, "I think you should always go into work loving your job. In the same sense, don't lay around and do nothing while waiting for the perfect opportunity to fall out of the sky."
Her story is far from rare. In 2014 Huffington Post article, a study found that nearly half of recent college graduates don't have jobs that require a degree.
According to this 2013 Washington Post article, only 27 percent of college students have jobs that are closely related to their major.
That being said, soon-to-be college graduates, take a deep breath and step away from your laptop. Not having the perfect job — or a job at all for that matter — lined up for after graduation does not mean that you have failed or that you are any less qualified than your peers.
I spent hours agonizing over applications and sending resumes to companies I knew I didn't really want to work for. Don't be like me. We have the world by the tail, people. Let's act like it.
