Desperate College Grad! (house, unemployed, school)
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Have you tried local government jobs with economic development departments? Seems like they would consider people with marketing experience for entry-level jobs. I would look on the websites of all the local governments in the Washington region. There's got to be at least 10 local governments around there.
I'm am no longer lookin for a job in fashion. I have been actively pursuing jobs in other fields, however most employers do not believe I have transferable skills. I am volunteering to strengthen my technical knowledge in web development.
I tried to whole going to NYC for interviews thing. You have to understand the fashion industry has been suffering horribly during the recession. What's the first thing you scale back on when money is tight? Clothes! There are zero entry level jobs, few prospects other than low paying retail ($8-10 per hour) and headhunters won't even tough recent grads. Even the career fairs in NYC require you to submit your resume before hand to make sure you have 2-3 years experience, interships and co-ops not included.
As far as finding government work, it's been difficult. I'm just going to keep looking and trying to improve my KSAs.
That's what I was getting at - when you're not looking for work in fashion or design, you're setting yourself up to be seen as someone who will leave the minute the economy turns and a fashion job becomes available.
Plus - you couldn't have picked a worse city than DC in terms of a general disrespect for the fashion industry or people with that background.
You can always find some sort of work in commission sales. Companies are always looking for someone they hardly have to pay anything to whose income is completely based on how much they sell. It's brutal work for many and no guarantee that you'll make any money, but it's at least a chance.
You probably know all this already, but I'm just trying to help. I've been in your position and it's just awful. I really feel for ya.
I'm am no longer lookin for a job in fashion. I have been actively pursuing jobs in other fields, however most employers do not believe I have transferable skills. I am volunteering to strengthen my technical knowledge in web development.
I tried to whole going to NYC for interviews thing. You have to understand the fashion industry has been suffering horribly during the recession. What's the first thing you scale back on when money is tight? Clothes! There are zero entry level jobs, few prospects other than low paying retail ($8-10 per hour) and headhunters won't even tough recent grads. Even the career fairs in NYC require you to submit your resume before hand to make sure you have 2-3 years experience, interships and co-ops not included.
As far as finding government work, it's been difficult. I'm just going to keep looking and trying to improve my KSAs.
I am a federal human resources specialist. My advice is to simply find out what you want to do, because based on the information provided, it's not quite clear. *Also, you won't have success using USA JOBS, if you target regular announcements, because those jobs are really designed for candidates who have experience in the federal government or substantial experience in the private sector.
You will however have success, if you target the federal career internship program (better known as FCIP). Every federal agency tends to recruit using FCIP. FCIP appointments are full-time with benefits. Recent grads usually start at the GS-5 or 7 level. For the GS-07 level, you must have completed the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, class standing in the upper third of a graduating class or major subdivision, or membership in a national scholastic honor society.
FCIP is great, because it will allow you to gain on the job experience, while earning a starting/entry level salary of 40K+ with full benefits. Also, FCIP positions have non competitive promotional potential to the GS-9, which means that within 2 years, you will be a GS-9 federal employee (after successfully completing your FCIP appointment).
If you are interested in getting assistance with writing a resume, and the accompanying KSA's, I urge you to explore the website of the partnership for public service. They provide a lot of useful information on how to incorporate: context, challenges, actions and results into your KSAs; this will help you stand out from all of the other applicants. They also offer a host of useful information about federal career job fairs, and seminars for present and recent grads interested in public sector jobs/careers.
Wow. Interns making over $40k a year. Only the Feds could come up with that and justify it.
Sounds like an answer for the OP's problems, though.
The federal government uses the word 'intern' very loosely. The Federal Career Intern Program, FCIP was established years ago through executive order, to bring new talent into government. It allows recent college grads the opportunity to learn on the job. However, individuals on FCIP appointments are expected to function as a viable member of the federal (white collar) workforce.
An FCIP appointee at the FDIC for example, may have the official title of a bank examiner (the FCIP is simply the name of their excepted service appointment). The individual is expected to fulfill all of the duties of a bank examiner at the GS-7 level, (i.e. traveling (in teams) to the various branches and locations of their assigned banks either locally, within the state, or even nationally. Performing audits of bank records (with senior level bank examiners), preparing reports both in written and oral form and presenting them to their managers, researching and keeping up-to-date on laws and regulations regarding banking and banking reform, etc, etc).
LOL, I do not want you to believe that the federal government simply pays 'interns' 40K+ to copy papers and fetch coffee. They are getting viable on the job training in their respective fields. After a year on the job, the manager will have the discretion to promote the person (based on performance). At the conclusion of the 2-year excepted service appointment, the manager has the following two options: 1. Sever ties with the federal career intern and not appoint them or 2. appoint them into the federal service at their performance level (in most instances this will be at the GS 9 level (50K+ or GS-11, 60K+).
Those selected for FCIP appointments should make certain that they do a stellar job, because they can be fired at any time by management. FCIPS do not have any protections while serving under an excepted service appointment. Therefore, the goal of the federal career intern should be to: 1. Successfully learn the job/perform accordingly, and 2. Secure non competitive appointment into the federal service at the conclusion of the 2 year excepted service federal career internship.
I'm on the job hunt too. While I haven't been hired yet. I will say that putting my resume online got a lot of attention. While you still plug away at usajobs you can't rely on them. Defense contractors might be a better way to get in closer to the government. Hollister hires college grads as managers the pay sucks but it'll be better than minimum wage. Either way good luck.
Wow. Interns making over $40k a year. Only the Feds could come up with that and justify it.
Sounds like an answer for the OP's problems, though.
I applied for a similar job back in Georgia paying $30K a year a couple years ago. Which is basically the same if not better than $40K a year here. Of course they didn't back to me until a year later two weeks after I had moved here. I think it was a like a trainee job. Either way a good opportunity if I had stayed in Georgia.
Wow. Interns making over $40k a year. Only the Feds could come up with that and justify it.
Sounds like an answer for the OP's problems, though.
I'm mainly just backing up what Eboni_Kisses said, but it's not an "internship" in the sense that they're full-time students working over breaks or a bit during the week. I had a full-time term position that was transitioned into the FCIP program while I was there (we had the option to officially "join" the FCIP program, or do nothing and stay where we were). For the particular job I had (research analyst) nothing substantively changed, it just freed up more money for training funds and gave the agency more flexibility in who they could hire. There had also been some issue with the transitioning from the GS-7 to GS-9, so it streamlined that. The hiring and promotion issues are the main reasons they wanted the program in the first place.
I am a federal human resources specialist. My advice is to simply find out what you want to do, because based on the information provided, it's not quite clear. *Also, you won't have success using USA JOBS, if you target regular announcements, because those jobs are really designed for candidates who have experience in the federal government or substantial experience in the private sector.
You will however have success, if you target the federal career internship program (better known as FCIP). Every federal agency tends to recruit using FCIP. FCIP appointments are full-time with benefits. Recent grads usually start at the GS-5 or 7 level. For the GS-07 level, you must have completed the requirements for a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale, class standing in the upper third of a graduating class or major subdivision, or membership in a national scholastic honor society.
FCIP is great, because it will allow you to gain on the job experience, while earning a starting/entry level salary of 40K+ with full benefits. Also, FCIP positions have non competitive promotional potential to the GS-9, which means that within 2 years, you will be a GS-9 federal employee (after successfully completing your FCIP appointment).
If you are interested in getting assistance with writing a resume, and the accompanying KSA's, I urge you to explore the website of the partnership for public service. They provide a lot of useful information on how to incorporate: context, challenges, actions and results into your KSAs; this will help you stand out from all of the other applicants. They also offer a host of useful information about federal career job fairs, and seminars for present and recent grads interested in public sector jobs/careers.
Good luck to you!
I graduated from a well-known and of course accredited university in Philadelphia with a 3.1 GPA, so hopefully that will allow me to apply for the GS-7 level.
I have been researching the FCIP program and it says "There is no public notice requirement for Career Intern appointments" (here is the link). I did a search on USAJOBS for FCIP positions and I found none. Since many of the appointments may not be public, how do I inquire about what agencies have openings?
As far as what I would like to do: I would love to work for the National Gallery of Art or the Smithsonian. I studied art history/design so I would LOVE to work in a museum setting. I am also volunteering in the IT branch of a government agency, so I would love to continue getting training in web development.
Also I'm not receiving any type of response after I apply for jobs on USAJOBS. I actually called the National Gallery of Art about one job I applied for and they told me over the phone that I was referred but eventually not selected to move ahead. I had no problem with being rejected, but it was a little disconcerting that I was not informed via email or on USAJOBS in the application status section. If I had not called, I would have never known.
I have been researching the FCIP program and it says "There is no public notice requirement for Career Intern appointments" (here is the link). I did a search on USAJOBS for FCIP positions and I found none. Since many of the appointments may not be public, how do I inquire about what agencies have openings?
Also I'm not receiving any type of response after I apply for jobs on USAJOBS. I actually called the National Gallery of Art about one job I applied for and they told me over the phone that I was referred but eventually not selected to move ahead. I had no problem with being rejected, but it was a little disconcerting that I was not informed via email or on USAJOBS in the application status section. If I had not called, I would have never known.
FCIP positions are sometimes posted on USA jobs.gov, and sometimes posted on an agency's website. OPM's guidance states:
"The Federal Career Intern Program is designed to help agencies recruit and attract exceptional individuals into a variety of occupations. It was created under Executive Order 13162, and is intended for positions at grade levels GS-5, 7, and 9. In general, individuals are appointed to a 2-year internship. Upon successful completion of the internships, the interns may be eligible for permanent placement within an agency. Individuals interested in Career Intern opportunities must contact specific agencies directly. The Office of Personnel Management will not be the central source for career intern opportunities."
When you search for positions on USA jobs, be sure to input 'FCIP' into the search engine function. It's also a good idea to set up automatic alert notifications; this will help ensure that you are notified every time a new FCIP annoucement is posted. You will need to log-on to USA jobs.gov to set special alerts.
Also, you should definitely contact the National Gallery of Art and ask about their current internship programs. Mention your interest in FCIP and find out if they will have any openings in the near future. You really have to do the leg work. Try your best to get a direct contact in the division that you're interested in. You should also search the website of the agency. Many times, FCIP information may be posted directly on the site. The following link is an example: Federal Career Intern Program
The site clearly states that no FCIP positions are currently available; however, interested applicants should still continuously check for openings. Generally speaking, most FCIP openings are very streamlined and the application period expires after a month or so.
*Since you are presently interning/volunteering at a federal agency, it may be a better idea to inquire directly about their FCIP positions. Once you have an FCIP, you can simply complete the 2 year appointment (get your career conditional appointment and then transfer to another agency of your choosing).
BTW, Information Technology is a great area to work in because your skills will be transferrable and highly sought after by both the public and private sector.
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