Tips for a fresh graduate seeking a job in DC (College Park: apartment, lease)

[EK2012]

Hello,
I am a fresh graduate (ealry 20ies/female/bachelor’s degree) seeking a job opportunity related to international affairs in DC area.
I recently arrived in DC (with a limited budget) and am still trying to figure out the "system" to land a good job. I would highly appreciate any guidance/information from people who have been in my position or from experienced professionals who happen to know the area very well on the following points:
1. What are some good recruitment agencies to work with (which ones to avoid)
2. What are some good job sites/banks to explore or post a c.v. in
3. Any tip on how to find a job with an international organization
4. Any tip (specific or general) that may be helful for my situation.
5. What would be a reasonable starting salary and benefits that I can look forward to.
Any piece of information you can provide regarding any or all of the above will be much appreciated

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by EK2012

Hello,
I am a fresh graduate (ealry 20ies/female/bachelor’s degree) seeking a job opportunity related to international affairs in DC area.
I recently arrived in DC (with a limited budget) and am still trying to figure out the "system" to land a good job. I would highly appreciate any guidance/information from people who have been in my position or from experienced professionals who happen to know the area very well on the following points:
1. What are some good recruitment agencies to work with (which ones to avoid)
2. What are some good job sites/banks to explore or post a c.v. in
3. Any tip on how to find a job with an international organization
4. Any tip (specific or general) that may be helful for my situation.
5. What would be a reasonable starting salary and benefits that I can look forward to.
Any piece of information you can provide regarding any or all of the above will be much appreciated

I'm not that familiar with the international affairs field, but I can give you a few general tips.

2. If you want to go on the government side (maybe Dept. of State, since you are into international affairs?), of course go on usajobs.gov. If you are on the private side, try dcjobs.com. Craig's list isn't bad, but my recommendation to make sure that they are legit is to apply to ones that have links to their website so that you can research the organization to see if they are legit and if you would even be interested in them.
4. Start off with a roommate if possible. Depending if you have student loan debt, it will enable you to afford areas that fit your age group/lifestyle more i.e. like Arlington or even Navy Yard in DC for example. Otherwise you may be forced to live in places in PG that are more suburban, which may not be bad, but if you are looking to have a single/night life (assuming you are single), there isn't a whole lot that matches your criteria in PG. College Park/Hyattsville would probably be one of the only exceptions.

Also do not move get a place until you have a job. The last thing you want is a long commute. It can be a make or break for how happy you would be here. People literally leave this area because of the crazy commutes they have. If you can live closer to your job or at least access it easily via public transportation, you will enjoy your time immensely!
5. If you live on your own, $40,000 with little to no debt is good, but if you have debt and/or make less than that, then it will be a struggle. In that case, having a roommate might extend your dollars a bit more so that you can have some money for disposable expenses.

[EK2012]

Thanks a lot PGITANS! Fortunately, I have no loans/debt to worry about but I need to save for my Masters. I am currently taking temporary work assignments ($15/hr) until I find the job that will pay me at least $40 K. I will do my best to defer my decision on a long term housing lease until I find the right job but I might not be able to do so as I need to move out of my current housing arrangement by middle of this month. My strategy has been: plan ahead but take it one day at a time. I am learning something new everyday! Thanks a lot.

[molukai]

Hi there, EK2012! Congratulations on your graduation. As I am a relative newcomer to the area myself with 2 of my 6 civilian degrees within the international studies framework, I feel obligated to answer your questions.

1. What are some good recruitment agencies to work with (which ones to avoid)
Department of State, hands down. But I hate to break it to you, you didn't need to move to DC to land a position with them. And depending on the position - I recommend the best you can get which is the Foreign Service Officer position - you will probably be moving around anyway on Uncle Sam's dime. Retaining some level of permanence (i.e. buying a house or renting an apartment) in DC just means you are paying more of your income for something you won't be using as often than a typical working stiff in another field. As for organizations to avoid, I would really suggest any organization that doesn't have an established US presence. There are legitimate NGOs out there, but there is unnecessary risk to expose yourself to one that hasn't been vetted within stringent US regulations, especially when you can find American NGOs just as easily.

2. What are some good job sites/banks to explore or post a c.v. in
Monster.com, Clearancejobs.com, Usajobs.gov, State.gov, Linkedin.com

3. Any tip on how to find a job with an international organization
There are many governmental agencies and NGOs out there; the best way is to actually look online. Search engines are your best friend.

4. Any tip (specific or general) that may be helpful for my situation.
Don't move to DC. Not trying to sound like an ass, but it's true. If your sole interest is landing an international position then you can achieve your goal without having to go through the congestion and high cost of living. There are plenty of nice sized cities that have the benefits of DC (except perhaps the large number of free museums) that are a fraction of the cost to live in. I rue the day I decided to leave my (still) favorite city of Columbus, OH to move over to the Greater DC region.

5. What would be a reasonable starting salary and benefits that I can look forward to.
Any piece of information you can provide regarding any or all of the above will be much appreciated
For an international affairs position, it would largely depend on your background, namely your academic background. Department of State has a general ballpark starting salary for its Foreign Service Officers that is differentiated based on your academics (i.e. you get paid more for advanced degrees like a Master or PhD). In general though, you can expect about $40-60K as a recent college graduate with a BA that directly uses international affairs. If you are able to obtain a position that requires secret/top secret/sci/special security classification, then you might be looking at substantially (i.e. six figures) income with one of the alphabet soup intelligence agencies.

[anthonydr2]

1. Make stuff up, create an interesting past.
2. Become a community organizer, learn to speak well - whether you mean what you say, or not.
3. Shake a few trees, keep it up until you can reap enough nuts to talk about convincingly as a success story.
4. Find a set of friends who are most comfortable in the gray area - make it mutually beneficial later. Help them, however you can first.
5. Find a local or regional election that is either unopposed or has an incumbent you can easily undermine at the last minute (see 2, 3 and 4 above) as you consider the where/when/who
6. Rinse and repeat, but only moving up to grander scale
7. Never sell yourself short, who knows you may be president one day

[molukai]

^^ i see what you did there.

[justtitans]

Originally Posted by anthonydr2

1. Make stuff up, create an interesting past.
2. Become a community organizer, learn to speak well - whether you mean what you say, or not.
3. Shake a few trees, keep it up until you can reap enough nuts to talk about convincingly as a success story.
4. Find a set of friends who are most comfortable in the gray area - make it mutually beneficial later. Help them, however you can first.
5. Find a local or regional election that is either unopposed or has an incumbent you can easily undermine at the last minute (see 2, 3 and 4 above) as you consider the where/when/who
6. Rinse and repeat, but only moving up to grander scale
7. Never sell yourself short, who knows you may be president one day

LOL, pretty creative response.

[molukai]

Not that creative, it is the ultra conservative skeptics' view of how President Obama came to be

[RKK2012]

Molukai,
Had some issues accessing my account; that's why I was unable to respond sooner. Thanks a lot

Anthonydr2,
Interesting approach! An eye openner and material for a whole new post: can one dodge "politics" when working in DC? Hmmmm! Now you got me wondering: Is this mostly what is on job seekers minds' when they try to get a career going in DC?

[RKK2012]

Just wanted to say that I (EK2012) am using a new log in name: RKK2012. Sorry for the confusion!