Beating the Odds
Beating the odds: getting a job after college
Unemployment rates are a hot topic these days, especially with the recent completion of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
The recession officially ended three years ago, but monthly figures still tend to be disappointing. Only 96,000 non-farm jobs were added in August according to a Labor Department report Friday.
With such slow growth, the possibility of finding employment after college seems pretty bleak for many students. Only 51% of graduates since 2006 have found full time employment, according to a 2012 Rutgers University study.
Numbers like this make it easy to be discouraged about the opportunities awaiting you after throwing up that graduation cap. However, despite an uncertain job market, young people are still landing their dream job.
These days it just takes a little extra work.
Hanna Danielson graduated last spring from University of Oregon. Today she lives in New York City and works as a customer communications associate for Rent the Runway. Danielson interned for the clothing rental company her senior year of college and was offered a job upon graduation.
Her first internship was on the marketing team at her dad’s architecture firm her sophomore year of college. Two years later she found the Rent the Runway position and jumped on it. At the end of the year she went to a networking event with the company in the hopes of landing a job. After five interviews, she was hired.
“I knew how hard it was going to be to get a job after graduation, so I got involved early. [You need to] seek out opportunities that aren’t just going to fill your resume, but seek opportunities that are going to be applicable to your area of career interest, and opportunities that are ultimately going to teach you something valuable,” Danielson said.
Getting work experience during college is key to being successful afterwards.
Trey Chappell, a college and career counselor and the founder of College X-ing in
Unemployment rates are a hot topic these days, especially with the recent completion of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions.
The recession officially ended three years ago, but monthly figures still tend to be disappointing. Only 96,000 non-farm jobs were added in August according to a Labor Department report Friday.
With such slow growth, the possibility of finding employment after college seems pretty bleak for many students. Only 51% of graduates since 2006 have found full time employment, according to a 2012 Rutgers University study.
Numbers like this make it easy to be discouraged about the opportunities awaiting you after throwing up that graduation cap. However, despite an uncertain job market, young people are still landing their dream job.
These days it just takes a little extra work.
Hanna Danielson graduated last spring from University of Oregon. Today she lives in New York City and works as a customer communications associate for Rent the Runway. Danielson interned for the clothing rental company her senior year of college and was offered a job upon graduation.
Her first internship was on the marketing team at her dad’s architecture firm her sophomore year of college. Two years later she found the Rent the Runway position and jumped on it. At the end of the year she went to a networking event with the company in the hopes of landing a job. After five interviews, she was hired.
“I knew how hard it was going to be to get a job after graduation, so I got involved early. [You need to] seek out opportunities that aren’t just going to fill your resume, but seek opportunities that are going to be applicable to your area of career interest, and opportunities that are ultimately going to teach you something valuable,” Danielson said.
Getting work experience during college is key to being successful afterwards.
Trey Chappell, a college and career counselor and the founder of College X-ing in