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Is it strange or uncommon for a college graduate to go unemployed for 2 months after graduation?
My mom thinks something is wrong here but to me I think 2 months since I graduated is kinda expected, especially considering my industry is really competitive.
I don't think it is strange that you don't have a job in your profession 2 months after graduation. Most companies aren't interested in recent grads that don't have a lot of experience so that first job is difficult to obtain. I graduated last December and it took me 2 months to land a gig in my profession and it is a contract to hire position that is suppose to go perm next month; I already filled out the application through human resources for the position and they are required to post the job for 2 weeks even though the job is for me. It is completely normal for it to take a recent graduate 6 months or up to a year to land a full time permanent job in their profession because companies are so picky and want 2 years of experience even for entry level positions. I started sending out my resumes 2 semesters before I graduated and had my resume public on career builder. I was contacted by several staffing agencies for chemist positions at several companies in the Atlanta area. All were contract to hire positions. I would look into dropping your resume off at a local staffing agency to get your foot in the door. I know everyone turns their nose up at temp agencies but a lot of companies are hiring through contract to hire as a "try before you buy" thing to make sure you are capable of handling the job. My friend that graduated with me started a temp to hire job in January and it just became permanent last month and I started a contract job back in February that I am expecting to become perm next month. Hang in there, as a recent grad I understand how hard it is to land a job in your profession and my field is swamped by staffing agencies and most of those jobs end up becoming permatemp jobs. I do suggest give a temp to hire job a shot first and see how that goes. If you can put up with the lack of job security, no health insurance, and no time off for 6 months, it can be well worth it when the job becomes full time.
A career where you aren't underemployed? Months, sometimes YEARS. A dead end job where you are undermployed, shouldn't take too long but that is becoming increasingly difficult because now employers look at you like "why are you applying for this job with a college degree?" So you think to yourself, " because in today's economy most of he jobs being created are nothing but service level, low wage crap jobs"
A lot of those low wage jobs are starting to require degrees. As more and more people graduate with bachelors degrees they essentially become the new bare minimum education, just like the high school diploma was of yesteryear. It's a great deal for the colleges who are wracking in tuition profit like no tomorrow
a lot of companies are hiring through contract to hire as a "try before you buy" thing to make sure you are capable of handling the job. My friend that graduated with me started a temp to hire job in January and it just became permanent last month and I started a contract job back in February that I am expecting to become perm next month. Hang in there, as a recent grad I understand how hard it is to land a job in your profession and my field is swamped by staffing agencies and most of those jobs end up becoming permatemp jobs. I do suggest give a temp to hire job a shot first and see how that goes. If you can put up with the lack of job security, no health insurance, and no time off for 6 months, it can be well worth it when the job becomes full time.
I'd still recommend holding off on going to the staffing agencies until you absolutely have to. More companies are churn and burn permatemp rather than try before you buy temp-to-hire. I posted a study a while back that found only 27% of said temp to hire jobs turn permanent.
I'd still recommend holding off on going to the staffing agencies until you absolutely have to. More companies are churn and burn permatemp rather than try before you buy temp-to-hire. I posted a study a while back that found only 27% of said temp to hire jobs turn permanent.
Yes that is true that majority of contract to hire jobs do not go permanent and you end up as a permatemp. It happens a lot in our profession. He can keep networking and looking up to 6 months after his graduation date but he has to be careful. A gap in employment longer than 6 months looks negative on a resume; therefore, once he reaches the 6 months marks he then should consider a temp to hire job. Trust me I hated these 6 months I have worked as a temp and I am going to be really disappointed if I don't get hired on next month. The R&D manager likes me but I have to jump through all the hoops through HR (background check, salary specifications, etc) that can be a long process.
I hated my last permatemp job so much I spent my 30th birthday burning my chemistry degrees in the backyard grill for a morale pickup, I was seriously getting ready to go back to college for accounting and came close to getting and taking a Fed job in the middle of nowhere West Virginia. I spent 3 years angry and demoralized.
All my friend who graduated in May actually did find jobs in their field, I attend a very small school but it is very well known for the few things it does have like hospitality, culinary arts, and forestry and environmental sciences. I think it definitely depends on your field of study and your location though.
I hated my last permatemp job so much I spent my 30th birthday burning my chemistry degrees in the backyard grill for a morale pickup, I was seriously getting ready to go back to college for accounting and came close to getting and taking a Fed job in the middle of nowhere West Virginia. I spent 3 years angry and demoralized.
I don't know how you put up with a temp job for 3 years!! You are brave soul. I am serious, if this job does not go perm I am leaving and going back to my fork lift driving job I had in college. I would actually make more money that way considering the fact I wouldn't have to commute 25 miles one way to work. While I am working that job I am going to try my absolute hardest to get a fed job as a chemist and if I don't obtain one by the end of the year, I am going to wash my hands with chemistry and go back to school to get a masters in computer science. My friend from high school majored in computer science and he immediately had a job as a system analyst for State Farm. I don't have much patience with computer programming but if companies in my area only want offer permatemp jobs paying $17-20 an hour I'll take computer science and learn to like it! No way I am going to continue to work for a company that doesn't respect me enough to hire me directly after my initial 6 month contract ends.
Nothing has changed much in the college grad scene. 45 years ago, with a few outstanding exceptions, it took 3 - 10 years in a job to start moving up. And I said "start moving up." A (typical) degree in hand never did and never will get you, right out of school, a corner high floor office with personal secretary; or a $300K beige big box in the suburbs. Anything else you hear is a myth.
Nothing has changed much in the college grad scene. 45 years ago, with a few outstanding exceptions, it took 3 - 10 years in a job to start moving up. And I said "start moving up." A (typical) degree in hand never did and never will get you, right out of school, a corner high floor office with personal secretary; or a $300K beige big box in the suburbs. Anything else you hear is a myth.
I understand that you have to start at the bottom and work your way up, but how about not starting beneath the bottom working as a temp. I don't understand why most companies hire recent college grads as temp to hire as a "try before you buy period". If they want to do that, just put the worker on a 90-180 day probation period and if they don't work out just dump the worker. We don't know if the OP is having a difficult time finding a job because he is super picky or not, but I think every recent college grad shouldn't have to work for janitor wages just to get their foot in the door.
Hm, I know you and MSchemist have talked about the permtemps but I didn't think it was that prevalent...
To me, the permtemp (I hadn't heard this term before but I like it) are college jobs... as in internship-like...
they hire you as a temp the last year to try you out while you are in school. Since it is a temp, I found they are a bit more flexible in scheduling around class time so you could finish school while working. After the temp contract is up, you are done with school and know if they want you or not. If not, you can use that as work experience for a full time job somewhere else. Or at least the ones I've seen are young enough to be in school still, young being just a few years younger than me but they didn't seem like they graduated, I don't ask them since I don't work directly with them.
At least that's how I view it, to me the permtemp is just a PRN like job or internship. They aren't real contract jobs to me because the ones I've used I "worked" with the contract agency who then contracted me out to whoever needed me (I got to pick where to go) but I always had work lined up after the contract was up so I wasn't left with no job after each contract. Basically, I worked full time but knew the lengths of the contracts and when it got within a month of ending, I contact the agency to set me up with a new location. The agency provided all the benefits of a full time job as well, vacation time/insurance/401k/etc.
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