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I have worked in offices that make those phone calls, attempting to recruit people for insurance or financial sales, and it is not about being "cut-throat" or "shady." It's purely drumming up customers, making cold calls, etc. It's not for everybody. It's hard as hell.
I don't get the impression that the OP has the personality and initiative for that line of work.
Yeah, you're right. I mean, I like to take initiative, and I've had significant leadership roles in my volunteer work... but I'm on this forum to get honest advice/information, soooo I have to be honest too, and I don't think I could hack it in a commission based sales job.
I still don't think it is a good idea if only for experience. Commission based sales are too feast or famine and for the most part are temporary in nature (unless you are a star.)
I'm not suggesting he take one of these jobs - the point was to put a resume on career builder where employers will contact him. Maybe he won't want to reply to anything, but you never know, something might come up.
Problem, there are more Econ graduates, than there are jobs available for them.
Problem, the low GPA is not going to attract top employers.
Problem, there are few jobs in the Econ range of jobs, in a small town nearly 100 miles from a city.
Problem, out of area hiring, is not what someone that is hiring is willing to pay the costs of bringing in the person for an interview, and if hired moving costs, when they have quite a few applicants that live closer, with higher GPA in much of the country.
Question: Why should the company you are applying for hire you, instead of someone that has served internships, and/or had a higher grade point average which most employers will take as an indication of your intelligence, and drive?
Give three reasons why should a company hire you, over others with higher grade point average, and live closer to the employer and will not require paying for costs to fly you in for an interview and if hired your moving costs.
If you can come up with 3 reasons in your favor, maybe you are not emphasizing these reasons in your applications and resume. That is what you need to consider.
I'm not suggesting he take one of these jobs - the point was to put a resume on career builder where employers will contact him. Maybe he won't want to reply to anything, but you never know, something might come up.
The only other jobs I've gotten contacted from directly from Career Builder and the like are the scam jobs that have you acting as a "mailer" who gets packages and re-direct them. These jobs typically get you a nice pair of silver bracelets.
Just a suggestion...what about joining the military? It will get you out of that small town plus teach you a skill that can translate into civilian life.
I'm actually waiting for my fingerprints/background information to go through the state for substitute teaching right now! Do you think sub teaching will be worth my time? It will give me some money (about $60-$70/day) but does it stand out at all on a resume? I guess it will show that I have extreme patience when faced with a big group of people, lol. As someone who grew up with a mom as a teacher, I know classroom management is difficult.
Back when the economy was hot, sub teaching was probably a negative. In this economy, I think a lot of people are way more understanding. And yes, one could definitely point out the patience and other people skills needed to be a good sub. teacher.
Bottomline, you'd be working and building up your savings.
Just a suggestion...what about joining the military? It will get you out of that small town plus teach you a skill that can translate into civilian life.
It's also super hard to get into. Health wise you need to pass basic and have no preexisting mental issues. This was the case even looking at joining the National Guard like I was as a post-grad.
I started out applying for jobs relating to professional fundraising, mostly for non profit orgs, but it seems hard to break into. Tons of my volunteer experience relates to fundraising, one of the annual philanthropies that I started regularly raises enough money pay for the shipping charges to send hundreds and hundreds of care packages to deployed troops every year (one care package costs about $13-$15 to send). Those types of experiences were always my favorite thing about college, so I wanted to translate that into a career, it just seems like right now I don't have enough experience to land those types of jobs.
Maybe try to combine your experience with veterans services, your experience with fundraising, and your family experiences with military? You could possibly get involved with financial development with veteran-focused non-profits.
Even with government cut-backs, there have been recent 'RFPs' (requests for proposals) coming out from federal and state level government agencies to increase services to veterans. So many non-profits that have always worked with vets have been applying for these, as well as other human services non-profits that want to break into the veteran's services world. Look for programs for vets like supportive housing, supported employment, "SSVF" (support services for veteran families), case management, etc.
The big thing that many human services non-profits need, that we have trouble finding, are people who have experience grant-writing. We tend to find people with fundraising experience, who are good at raising donations from private individuals and businesses. But few people have expertise in soliciting funding from governmental sources or private foundations that give grants. (We also have a heck of a time finding people with basic writing skills, but that's a whole other story).
Community colleges, professional organizations, and freelance training companies sometimes offer a 1-2 day course on grant-writing. This could cost maybe $150-$250, but it could make you very marketable in the non profit world, especially with your past experience with volunteering and fundraising for non-profits.
Just a suggestion...what about joining the military? It will get you out of that small town plus teach you a skill that can translate into civilian life.
I've considered it, I'm pretty tall and strong, especially for a female, I guess after having so many family members and friends who've joined the military, I just know how much of a big decision it is. It literally takes over your life, you are pretty much government property. I have tons of respect for those who serve/have served in the military, but I don't know if I'm personally ready to sign my life over. I know a few people who have been KIA and I don't think I'm ready to put my life at risk for this country. You don't really get to pick where you go in the military, so I may just be sent to another small town (I actually live near-ish two military installations that are both in pretty rural/small town locations also), I could literally be PCS'ed to North Dakota or Nebraska or something... I mean, you do get a "dream sheet" where you can list your preferred locations, but the military doesn't really care about that - they'll put ya where they need ya.
Also, not all military skills translate into a civilian job - it all depends on your MOS and the demand of the economy when you leave the military. So, if I go into the military tomorrow and take an IT or maybe a finance related MOS and leave the military ~4 years later, the American economy may not have a big demand for IT jobs anymore.
I hope no one takes that the wrong way, I'm more than happy to be an American and believe in supporting active military and veterans, but being in the military isn't for everyone. I may start considering it if I haven't found any career leads by about a year and a half from now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam
Maybe try to combine your experience with veterans services, your experience with fundraising, and your family experiences with military? You could possibly get involved with financial development with veteran-focused non-profits.
Even with government cut-backs, there have been recent 'RFPs' (requests for proposals) coming out from federal and state level government agencies to increase services to veterans. So many non-profits that have always worked with vets have been applying for these, as well as other human services non-profits that want to break into the veteran's services world. Look for programs for vets like supportive housing, supported employment, "SSVF" (support services for veteran families), case management, etc.
The big thing that many human services non-profits need, that we have trouble finding, are people who have experience grant-writing. We tend to find people with fundraising experience, who are good at raising donations from private individuals and businesses. But few people have expertise in soliciting funding from governmental sources or private foundations that give grants. (We also have a heck of a time finding people with basic writing skills, but that's a whole other story).
Community colleges, professional organizations, and freelance training companies sometimes offer a 1-2 day course on grant-writing. This could cost maybe $150-$250, but it could make you very marketable in the non profit world, especially with your past experience with volunteering and fundraising for non-profits.
Wow, thanks, I do have some experience in writing (PR/marketing for big fundraising events) but no grant writing experience. I'll try to find out more about those courses on grant writing because like I said, my favorite college experiences were the big fundraising/volunteering events and I always hoped to translate that into a career. When I first started out job searching it just wasn't working out.
The only other jobs I've gotten contacted from directly from Career Builder and the like are the scam jobs that have you acting as a "mailer" who gets packages and re-direct them. These jobs typically get you a nice pair of silver bracelets.
Oh. I get legit calls from recruiters and local companies for real positions. I've cross checked the calls from the companies on their private sites to confirm they have the job posted. And I've found and applied (and then taken jobs) that were posted on CB. That company ONLY posts on CB, some employers may do the same thing - only post to a preferred site.
OP - just make sure all your options are open.
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