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Networking is the best way to get a job....period.
Does your school have a Database of Alums where you can search by location? If so, start your search that way. If not, join linked in and see if there is University of Kentucky Chicago group on there. Join that and start networking. Set up informational interviews with anyone who works at a decent company or has a job that sounds interesting. Someone is bound to speak with you just because you went to the same school.
Also, does your career placement office at the university have any company contacts from Chicago that recruit on campus? Try to get as much help from them as possible.
Please DON'T come here without a job or do an admin job. It is sometimes hard to get out of a certain role like an admin once you are in it.
Good luck!
Thank you for this advice. Sadly, my school only gets companies that recruit for the KY, OH, TN, IN area.
You mentioned many great ideas that I will definitely look into.
The first piece of advice I would give you is to make up your mind where you want to live. If you want to live within your means in Chicago then you should have $24-30K saved for the first year without a job. You are contemplating moving into an area of 10M people - most of whom want to work.
The second thing I would tell you to do is look at small colleges and private universities rather than big name schools. There are several very good schools outside of Chicago that are near enough to the city that you can drive in 3 hours or less, fly, ride a train or take a bus.
The third thing I would tell you after talking to college graduates with a Bachelor degrees is Statay in School. In todays market a BA is not worth a whole lot more than a HS diploma was 30 years ago. If you are serious about your field, put your Chicago plans on hald and go for you Master's Degree. The best reason to do this is the dollar difference between a BA and MA; prestige doesn't hurt either.
Thanks for this. I have been considering getting my Masters for some time now...this just reaffirms my thoughts on it! Thanks!
Thanks for this. I have been considering getting my Masters for some time now...this just reaffirms my thoughts on it! Thanks!
I don't know that I would recommend you jump into a masters program before getting some real experience. It depends on what you want to do, of course, but speaking as someone in the financial industry, an MBA with no real experience isn't in a great spot. People with an MBA automatically expect a higher salary, but with no real experience, they're not really worth it, so companies generally aren't rushing out to hire them. This is just based on my observations, but I think that if you're considering an advanced degree in business, I would wait until you have some experience first. Not only is experience more valuable than a degree, it'll help you to make sure you're going into a field you really like before you spend a ton more money to learn about it.
I don't know if you're open to this, but I would consider broadening the type of job you're looking for. There are a lot of companies in Chicago that hire entry level grads with business degrees. The financial industry has a pretty large presence here and could be a great place to get started in your career, even if you don't want to stay at a financial firm forever.
I know a lot of people say that a masters degree will get you more money, but I just don't know... I really think it depends on the field. Out of my friends from college (graduated 6 years ago with bachelor's degrees), 4 of us have undergrad degrees in business (3 finance, 1 accounting), 1 has a masters in biology and environmental science, 1 has a masters in bio-engineering, 1 has a masters in urban planning and 1 has a PhD in art history. Us 4 business grads make more money than all of our friends with the advanced degrees. By a large margin, too. I have the most "fancy" title, as well, if that matters to anyone (I sure don't care).
I think getting a masters degree is a great thing if you're really passionate about your field and career. I think it definitely can help your career and I think in some fields you have a tough time getting your foot in the door without a master's degree. That said, I don't think business is one of those fields; certainly based on my personal experience it isn't.
Also, for as much as people say applying for jobs online doesn't work, I know that it can. I've had jobs at 4 companies since I graduated and I found every job after my first one (which I got through campus recruiting) online in some form. I had very good luck with Robert Half, actually, they've gotten me several job offers over the years. I would recommend looking at the Robert Half website because it helps to have someone in touch with the employer directly that can speak your praises when you're looking.
People have given good advice in this thread, but I just want to add that if you have applied for 40-50 jobs without so much as a call back or an interview then you may want to take another look at your resume. My company is very hard on resumes and if you have fundamental mistakes then you will not even get your foot in the door. I can only assume that other companies are the same way. Take another look, do some research and see how you can improve it.
People actually say I sound like I'm from the North...I don't think I do. I haven't even talked to a lot of people on the phone because no one will contact me. How long have you been in Chicago?
Been here 3.5 years. I actually have a relative who is up here living with some family and has been looking for a job since graduation with no luck. I would say do it if you have family to live with, but finding a job right now right out of college is pretty damn hard. Even when times were good it was not easy. I know other experienced people that got laid off and have been looking for a job for a while.
An example of how bad it is, is when I first moved up here I put my resume up on online and never even applied to jobs. I had headhunters contact me (staffing firms). Now I applied to temp agencies etc and haven't even gotten an interview. Don't be afraid to apply to internships. Paid or unpaid! Offer to work for free for 4 months. Avoid careerbuilder. Apply straight to company websites and hand in resumes in person. Most job postings on craiglslist get about 100 people apply per job. And yes, I heard it helps to live in the city for getting interviews. You might even want to put a Chicago address on your resume.
I don't know that I would recommend you jump into a masters program before getting some real experience. It depends on what you want to do, of course, but speaking as someone in the financial industry, an MBA with no real experience isn't in a great spot. People with an MBA automatically expect a higher salary, but with no real experience, they're not really worth it, so companies generally aren't rushing out to hire them. This is just based on my observations, but I think that if you're considering an advanced degree in business, I would wait until you have some experience first. Not only is experience more valuable than a degree, it'll help you to make sure you're going into a field you really like before you spend a ton more money to learn about it.
I don't know if you're open to this, but I would consider broadening the type of job you're looking for. There are a lot of companies in Chicago that hire entry level grads with business degrees. The financial industry has a pretty large presence here and could be a great place to get started in your career, even if you don't want to stay at a financial firm forever.
I know a lot of people say that a masters degree will get you more money, but I just don't know... I really think it depends on the field. Out of my friends from college (graduated 6 years ago with bachelor's degrees), 4 of us have undergrad degrees in business (3 finance, 1 accounting), 1 has a masters in biology and environmental science, 1 has a masters in bio-engineering, 1 has a masters in urban planning and 1 has a PhD in art history. Us 4 business grads make more money than all of our friends with the advanced degrees. By a large margin, too. I have the most "fancy" title, as well, if that matters to anyone (I sure don't care).
I think getting a masters degree is a great thing if you're really passionate about your field and career. I think it definitely can help your career and I think in some fields you have a tough time getting your foot in the door without a master's degree. That said, I don't think business is one of those fields; certainly based on my personal experience it isn't.
Also, for as much as people say applying for jobs online doesn't work, I know that it can. I've had jobs at 4 companies since I graduated and I found every job after my first one (which I got through campus recruiting) online in some form. I had very good luck with Robert Half, actually, they've gotten me several job offers over the years. I would recommend looking at the Robert Half website because it helps to have someone in touch with the employer directly that can speak your praises when you're looking.
This is good advice and just to add, many companies will also pay for or at the very least help out with the costs associated with a Masters. The last thing I'd want just starting out is even more debt.
People have given good advice in this thread, but I just want to add that if you have applied for 40-50 jobs without so much as a call back or an interview then you may want to take another look at your resume. My company is very hard on resumes and if you have fundamental mistakes then you will not even get your foot in the door. I can only assume that other companies are the same way. Take another look, do some research and see how you can improve it.
I actually don't think it's my resume...right now I work at a Career Center on campus and I've had several career counselors critique my resumes and cover letters. So, I doubt that it's my resume.
Thank you everyone for the advice...I've thought about going home (UGH!) and living with my parents again to save money, find a "real" job, and start to continue my education...I think that's what I'll have to do, because I've got some money saved up, but from what everyone is saying, it doesn't seem like what I have will last long enough in Chicago. =(
Been here 3.5 years. I actually have a relative who is up here living with some family and has been looking for a job since graduation with no luck. I would say do it if you have family to live with, but finding a job right now right out of college is pretty damn hard. Even when times were good it was not easy. I know other experienced people that got laid off and have been looking for a job for a while.
An example of how bad it is, is when I first moved up here I put my resume up on online and never even applied to jobs. I had headhunters contact me (staffing firms). Now I applied to temp agencies etc and haven't even gotten an interview. Don't be afraid to apply to internships. Paid or unpaid! Offer to work for free for 4 months. Avoid careerbuilder. Apply straight to company websites and hand in resumes in person. Most job postings on craiglslist get about 100 people apply per job. And yes, I heard it helps to live in the city for getting interviews. You might even want to put a Chicago address on your resume.
I would definitely use a Chicago address on my resume- except I don't have any family living there now. My mom and her siblings grew up there, but then they all moved down to KY so no one's left in Chicago.
Thank you everyone for the advice...I've thought about going home (UGH!) and living with my parents again to save money, find a "real" job, and start to continue my education...I think that's what I'll have to do, because I've got some money saved up, but from what everyone is saying, it doesn't seem like what I have will last long enough in Chicago. =(
You are young. 21-22 I guess. A couple of years back home is not the end of the world. Save up as much money as you can. Then take a shot.
You can always come up here a couple times a year to explore until you are ready to move.
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This is just my two cents, but...
So, I doubt that it's my resume.
