You went through Craigslist for the millionth time today.
You updated your profile on Monster.com and LinkedIn.
You reached out to former college professors for referrals and recommendations.
You attended those job fairs and made sure your resume is up to date.
But nothing seems to work.
Which employers hire the class of 2014? People, like me, who want to build careers, wonder where we can find real opportunities. Does this sound familiar?
So ConsumerMojo set out to find out who’s hiring the class of 2014 and a recent survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) made me very happy.
Turns out financial and insurance industries want to hire recent college grads. Researchers found, “Employers who responded say they plan to hire 8.6 percent more graduates from the Class of 2014 than they did from the Class of 2013. ” This means companies like J.P. Morgan Chase, AIG and AllState will take on people with little or no experience who commit to work hard and learn the business.
The average salary starts at a little over $57,000.
We talked to Steve O’Halloran at J.P. Morgan Chase and he said Chase made a commitment to help young people find jobs. Over the next five years, J.P. Morgan Chase plans to invest $250 million and it launched something it calls the New Skills at Work Initiative. The program aims to help young people build skills for jobs employers need.
JOBS ELSEWHERE
Back to the NACE survey. It also found that federal, state and local governments want to hire recent grads and employers in healthcare and social work also are looking for entry level people.
NEW YORK CITY MAY HIRE YOU
I did a quick Google search for jobs in NYC, and NYC.gov‘s career section calls for a wide range of entry level positions.
You can develop a career in one of New York City’s public services like the FDNY, NYPD, Sanitation, Corrections, and Health and Hospitals Cooperation (HHC). The application process for these jobs requires a civil service entrance exam. NYC.gov lists testing locations, dates and information on their website.
HOW TO TAP INTO WHAT’S OUT THERE
Use your college resources. You paid for it. Why not?
Natalia Guarin-Klein, Interim Director of the Brooklyn College Magner Career Center, helps graduates as well as current students.
Guarin-Klein gave ConsumerMojo these tips:
1. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOUR COLLEGE’S RESOURCES.
2. UPDATE YOUR RESUME.
3. USE YOUR COLLEGE CAREER CENTER FOR COACHING, EVEN AFTER GRADUATION. BUT TRY TO CONTACT THEM AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE TO GET A BETTER PERSPECTIVE ON WHAT YOU NEED TO STAND OUT TO EMPLOYERS.
4. FOR CURRENT STUDENTS, GET AT LEAST 2 INTERNSHIPS BEFORE GRADUATION. A COLLEGE DEGREE ALONE IS NO LONGER SUFFICIENT.
4. IF YOU CAN’T FIND YOUR DREAM JOB, TAKE WHAT’S AVAILABLE AND USE IT AS A STEPPING-STONE. YOU CAN LEARN A LOT AND BEGIN TO BUILD A PROFESSIONAL NETWORK.
5. USE YOUR TACTICS FOR FINDING A JOB AS A REFLECTION OF WHO YOU WILL BE AS AN EMPLOYEE. DON’T BE AFRAID TO DO THE HARD WORK AND GO THE EXTRA MILE TO GET NOTICED.
BE CREATIVE. EMPLOYERS WILL ACKNOWLEDGE IT.
SHARE WITH US!
Have you landed your first job since graduation? Was it in your field of study? What were key factors in landing this job? Comment below, and share with a friend! Let’s keep the conversation going.
