I’m 31 and I just graduated 4 months ago I was in an out of college for about 12 years during that time I worked a few management jobs but my goal is to work in marketing since I earned a business degree.
I work a part time retail job at the time and I’m making nothing I feel ashamed of myself but I’m not sure what to do now that I finished school I feel so lost and unmotivated I’ve applied to a bunch of jobs but I rarely get a call back.
I haven’t worked a fulltime job in about 4 years but I’ve been working and volunteering this whole time.
What should I do?
7 comments
Keep at it. Honestly there is no other option. You’re almost there. Stay positive. Keep applying. You’re time will come.
Just keep in mind that no matter how many times you get rejected or ignored it takes just one good offer and you win. Go for it.
Do you have a professional headshot, No? get one. Wear a suit in said headshot. Do you have a LinkedIn, no? Make one. Everything you have done in the last 5-10 years, paid or not should be on your resume as experience including volunteering. Use your resume to build value for yourself. Expand on your strengths that apply to business. Research keywords and phrases that recruiters are looking for and put them on your resume. Finding a job is a job so get to work during the remaining hours that you are not working your retail job.
Keep at it. My sister graduated with a degree in marketing, and it seemed like she had one place she almost got in (4 interviews), but after that she seemed to give up on getting something and that was it. She’s been working twice as hard for half as much ever since.
It took me 8 months to find something once I graduated, and that was a contract. It was probably a year and a half before I found a full time, direct hire, job. But I’ve been there for over 15 years now. It only takes one.
Not sure what you’re current retail job is, but if you can maybe find something that might be a similar tier, but in something more related to marketing, or that could get you into more contact with people who might hiring marketing people. My first thought is something like a print shop that makes banners and stuff like that.
Another, probably long shot and maybe more of a graphic design thing, is I’ve seen a few stories where someone mocked up their idea for re-branding various companies, posted them online, and they went viral… then those people got hired. So doing some work and putting it out there could get you some attention. It’s a long shot, but if you have some free time that you aren’t doing anything else with, it can’t hurt, and it will help you keep up and hone your skills.
If you’re desperate, fast and lucrative would be working in restaurants. Serving and bartending. Much more physical than retail but you should make minimum $25hr, more likely 30-45$ an hour.
Here are a couple more ideas:
Make an appointment with your college’s career services center for help with your resume. As a graduate, they may help you for free or charge a small fee. They can also help you update your LinkedIn page and help you with a professional headshot.
Try getting a contractor position in any corporate office through a staffing agency. Search around and find out about ones in your area that work with corporations (hopefully one’s you want to work for – you can always ask). Make sure that you are specific in that you are looking for a position that has a strong possibility to transition from a contracted position to a permanent position (which doesn’t always work out, but at least it’s more and potentially relevant experience for your resume). Even if you get a position at a financial services firm, for instance, doing something outside of marketing to start, if the firm likes you and brings you on full time, its typically a little easier to transition to a department you would like to work in from within the company.
Are you getting interviews? Or just not finding ones to apply for?
When it comes to feeling inadequate, I think about work this way: The job you have is only as valuable as the lessons you can learn from it that can apply to a future job. And you need to be able to articulate those lessons in an interview for said future job.
If you cant find anything about your current work that gives you said learning experience, then you need to get out and move laterally for something that would at least give you a skill. From there you put in a year or two l, all the while looking for jobs that might auit you better.
As long as you are learning something you can use to further your position, you shouldnt feel inadequate even for a second