Being a full time student can be financially frustrating after three years of working full time and receiving a paycheck every one or two weeks. It has been two years since I started classes again and “Now Hiring” signs still catch my eye.
Why? Guilt.
I had been supporting myself since I was 20 years old and now I rely on loans, my husband, and a part time job. Nevertheless, I stifle my desire to apply for jobs that I can easily get but do not want for the long-haul, and I continue to class. If I want to support myself in the way that I’ve been dreaming, I need to follow certain steps.
Minimum Effort = Low Results
Prior to receiving my Associate’s Degree in 2008, I thought I was taking all the right steps to becoming a marketing professional: a degree, some resume and cover letter help, a little extra resume help, and applying early.
I started applying a month or two before graduation and continued applying for at least a year after graduation. I received two interviews, neither ended in a job, and I settled into working at gas stations.
I had made the mistake of thinking that a degree alone would make me more desirable to employers. As a marketing and now strategic communications student, I am ashamed to say that I missed at least two big parts of the puzzle: job outlook and competition.
Sell yourself for all you’re worth.
A decent resume and cover letter are the MINIMUM requirements for anyone applying for professional jobs. This time around, I’m ramping up my game.
In addition to a good resume, which I will be rewriting for the 458th time ( <-exaggeration), I will also have a four-year degree, a beefed up LinkedIn profile, and at least four extra experience-boosters. For experience, I got involved in industry-relevant student organizations, participated in an internship, attended job shadows, and kept a student job that uses communications/marketing skills. If this blog goes well, perhaps I could also add blogging to that experience-boosting list.
Now, this plan is still in progress. We won’t know the results until next year. In the meantime, I need to work on my resume and getting more job shadows. I went to my school’s career advisor to get started and will share her wisdom in my next post. If it could help me, it could help anyone out there still searching for that career they’ve been wanting.
If you have any advice for me (or questions), add a comment to the post. If you like my subject area, my ideas, or just my writing style, make it official by clicking the “Like” button. If you share it, awesome-sauce!
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