22 April 09 - 19:50
Experience required.
For those of you who are my forever followers this is a repost of something that I posted a few years back. It has become a part of my life again as I have been on the hunt for a new job.
Experience required.
So recently I have been on the hunt for a job. This has proven more difficult then I have ever expected. As a young adult you are told that the higher your education the more opportunities you will have in the job market. But as a college graduate with my BA I have found that it takes more then a degree to get your foot in the door.
On almost all help wanted ad the words experience required appear. Four years of school and five years of work experience during school and shortly after graduation have not proven enough experience to get a job. So if a job requires experience and this is not enough then where do you get experience? How do you get experience? Doesn’t some employer have to take a chance on you for you to gain the experience? Why doesn’t your four years of experience in school count for something? These are some of the questions I keep asking myself, without answer.
On a recent job interview I was told that I was over qualified to be a receptionist. I had never heard of such a thing. Over qualified? Because I have a degree. I just wanted a job. I have in the past done this type of work and felt I did an exceptional job at it… but because I have a degree this company didn’t want to hire me. I wasn’t asking for more money I was just asking for the opportunity to work.
I may have a degree and experience but for a job within my degree field it has proven that is not enough. Some times I wonder if I went to the right school. Would it have made a difference if I had a degree for some prestigious school?
I worked really hard in school and got good grades hoping that the degree would be the key to open doors. But I am starting to think that I should have just bought a battering ram and knocked down the doors. I spend at least an hour each day looking for a job and applying to everything that comes my way. I keep telling myself the only thing that matters is that I am trying.
I recently started looking into doing a freelance job. Even had someone interested in my editing a manuscript for them but when they found out that I lived on the other side of the states they weren’t interested. I didn’t think being a manuscript editor in another state would be a problem. I have experience in this and thought I could do it but with this last let down I feel like maybe I should just work at McDonalds. Boy was I wrong about that. I went to apply and they told me they were looking for a teenager cause they were easier to replace. ARG!
My final thoughts are someone should take the chance on the lonely job seeker with little or no experience or even the one who is over qualified cause they may be the best employee that they have ever had. Over the years I have learned that being happy in what you do makes for better work… so if I am just happy to have a job I am going to do my best.
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