Is it the economy or is it me? (job offers, employees, applying)

[08grad]

I graduated with my Bachelor's Degree in December. I haven't been able to find work since. I've had a grand total of 2 interviews. I sent my resume and cover letter to what seems like 100 jobs. I went to 2 career fairs. I'm only applying for jobs I am 100% qualified, and some that I am over-qualified for.

I've been using indeed.com, setting up job alerts that have my keywords in it, I've bookmarked nearly 150 employers I'm interested in, always checking their sites for openings, I've been searching all of craigslist, I've been using Monster/Careerbuilder. Yet I haven't found anything.

Am I doing this the wrong way? Or is it simply the recession? I've been living with my parents for 4 months and really don't know what to do. I have student loan payments due in 2 months and don't know what I'm going to do. My savings is being drained as I can't even find part time work here in MI.

[Wordy]

I was thinking, "Well, it's hard to tell. It's probably at least partly the economy but maybe something else is at play here, too." But then I read the sentence where you said you are "here in MI" and I pretty much went "Yup, the economy." I keep reading that not all of Michigan is in trouble, but overall it seems to be in much worse shape than most other states.

Is relocation an option for you?

[annerk]

I agree, it seems that you might be better off relocating. Michigan is about the ONLY state that I think this is the best option, because it's only going to get worse there before it gets better.

What is your degree in? What do you want to do?

[08grad]

My degree is in business management. I would love to work for a non-profit in athletics, such as government Parks and Recreation departments, high schools, universities/colleges, Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, etc.

I am 100% willing to move wherever there is a job. I'm not moving without a job. I don't want to do sales/cold calling. Would love to move somewhere warmer (CA/NV/AZ/FL) or a big city. Do you guys have any advice on where to look? I had one interview in Vegas working on a golf course, didn't go well but they haven't told me "Sorry" yet so I guess there's still hope.

[tabbcat]

Try GMAC. They're hiring right now.

[gea12345]

Look into getting an exercise cruise ship job with an American or Europan cruiseship line. There are some internation links on my thread 10 plus employees, down below.

good luck!

Originally Posted by 08grad

My degree is in business management. I would love to work for a non-profit in athletics, such as government Parks and Recreation departments, high schools, universities/colleges, Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, etc.

I am 100% willing to move wherever there is a job. I'm not moving without a job. I don't want to do sales/cold calling. Would love to move somewhere warmer (CA/NV/AZ/FL) or a big city. Do you guys have any advice on where to look? I had one interview in Vegas working on a golf course, didn't go well but they haven't told me "Sorry" yet so I guess there's still hope.

[gardener34]

First of all, you are putting too much effort into electronic job sites. Sometimes those job postings are phoney I suspect - companies just want to see what is out there for the$$. And so many people apply to those jobs. When a job goes on the Internet, you are competing globally remember.
Also try placement / temp agencies, perhaps there is one that specializes in the field you want to get into. These are a mixed bag, but if you are desperate, they can come up with something.
You should maybe do the research, target the companies you want. Try and see if you can get a contact name there. (this is very tricky). Write them letters, try not to go directly to HR. They don't like to look at anything that doesn't come thorugh their approved website.
Also, does your university have placement sourcing, etc. Maybe they can help you out. Make them work for what you paid them to do with your tuition. You can defer loans for a while too, look into that as it may take a while to get that ball rolling.

[Tulpan78]

Originally Posted by 08grad

I graduated with my Bachelor's Degree in December. I haven't been able to find work since. I've had a grand total of 2 interviews. I sent my resume and cover letter to what seems like 100 jobs. I went to 2 career fairs. I'm only applying for jobs I am 100% qualified, and some that I am over-qualified for.

I've been using indeed.com, setting up job alerts that have my keywords in it, I've bookmarked nearly 150 employers I'm interested in, always checking their sites for openings, I've been searching all of craigslist, I've been using Monster/Careerbuilder. Yet I haven't found anything.

Am I doing this the wrong way? Or is it simply the recession? I've been living with my parents for 4 months and really don't know what to do. I have student loan payments due in 2 months and don't know what I'm going to do. My savings is being drained as I can't even find part time work here in MI.

Looks like you are doing everything right. Look, many people with 10+ years experience have been unemployed for 6+ months. It is economy.
It is great that you are willing to relocate. That will open many doors to you. I would probably put that on your resume somewhere at the bottom that you are willing to relocate.
You should probably thing about a couple of places in US or abroad and focus your search there. It is not that easy to look everywhere. Yes, you are open to relocate, but again in my opinion youstill need to focus.
Another idea is when you see a job postion, try to find someone at that company and ask it it is a real position. You need to be creative how to find a contact. HR is useless sometimes; you need to find someone who is close to that job.
Another idea is do some volontering work. Sometimes if they like you, they can offer you full time. Do not do it full time - I know you need time to look for a real job. Do it part time or a couple of hours a week..
Just some thought - hope they will be helpful..

[gea12345]

Originally Posted by 08grad

My degree is in business management. I would love to work for a non-profit in athletics, such as government Parks and Recreation departments, high schools, universities/colleges, Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, etc.

I am 100% willing to move wherever there is a job. I'm not moving without a job. I don't want to do sales/cold calling. Would love to move somewhere warmer (CA/NV/AZ/FL) or a big city. Do you guys have any advice on where to look? I had one interview in Vegas working on a golf course, didn't go well but they haven't told me "Sorry" yet so I guess there's still hope.

I worked for Portland Parks and Recreation. They have an EXCELLENT parks and recreation. Much better than Phila or Detroit!!

But even in the good old days before Bush Junior!! the jobs were part-time.

I was a dance/ballet teacher to little children 1st to 3rd grade and i spent a whole lot of time going to school to school.

good luck!!

[wanderer74]

That is unfortunately very common in Michigan. I finished my bachelor's degree in August '07 and similarly applied for tons of jobs - even seasonal retail - and didn't get any job offers at all until Starbucks hired me as a part-time barista in March '08. I kept applying for better jobs and I found a job as a part-time library assistant in September '08, which pays more than double what I made at Starbucks per hour but is only 18 hours a week with no benefits. So if you're following along, it actually took 8 months to find the job at Starbucks and over a year to find a more professional job (which requires a BA) that is still only part-time. The job market in MI is just really, really tight right now. The good news is that you can get loan deferments if you are unemployed or only working part time. My loans are still in deferment as I still can't afford to pay them on 18 hours a week, but I continue to look and hope I will find full-time work soon as I know I can't avoid these loans forever.

I will say however that you might want to check with the job placement service at your alma mater if you haven't already. A lot of schools even have the listings online, and many of them are for positions that never get advertised anywhere else.