Job Hunting

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Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
As my college graduation rapidly approaches, I'm frantically beginning my job search. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure what I want to do, or even where to look. My majors are in International Relations and History, but I don't expect to jump into a job directly relating to either right away. I'm going to be stuck in the Milwaukee area for about 9-12 months after graduation, so I'm just looking for something in the area to pay my bills, get some benefits, and to build some good networks. Anyone know of good websites to use or does anyone know of any potential job openings in the area? How did people here start their professional career after leaving college?
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  • Reply 1 of 23
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Your university should be able to help you out a lot.
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  • Reply 2 of 23
    I visited our career counselor here today, but didn't get a whole lot of help. She basically just stressed networking and gave me their website which has some job listings. However, either because we're just a small college or the job market is really bad here, there wasn't much listed. I'll keep checking back on that, but I need other options as well.
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  • Reply 3 of 23
    Give up all your material belongings and wander the earth.
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  • Reply 4 of 23
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    I am in the same spot, Naderfan.



    I am looking for a job that will allow me to dick around on the Internet all day. :-)
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  • Reply 5 of 23
    Quote:

    Originally posted by groverat

    I am in the same spot, Naderfan.



    I am looking for a job that will allow me to dick around on the Internet all day. :-)




    groverat, take mine!!. I'm doing exactly that and it F**** SUCKS!!!!!



    (ehm, ehm, sorry)
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  • Reply 6 of 23
    groveratgroverat Posts: 10,872member
    You live in Austin?



    (To all potential employers: I am just kidding. I am a hard worker-man. I work very hard and think nothing of myself, only the company. Amen.)
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  • Reply 7 of 23
    pfflampfflam Posts: 5,053member
    Security guard



    . . . except you apparently think some . . . and so, you're probably overqualified



    But, I was teaching adjuct in UpstateNY and had the summer off so I took a 3am security shift . . . it allowed me to prep for an upcoming intensive seminar class . . .

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  • Reply 8 of 23
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Naderfan

    She basically just stressed networking



    and for good reason. i just started college and have enough contacts already to have a job 4 years down the road.... obviously you're outta luck now, but networking is the key.
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  • Reply 9 of 23
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Where I work we're looking to fill a position. First thing we did is send emails to everyone we know letting them know that a job will be posted sometime next week. Anyone in the network will know about it before it's even posted.
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  • Reply 10 of 23
    Quote:

    Originally posted by piwozniak

    I'm (dicking around on the Internet all day) and it F**** SUCKS!!!!!



    Would you rather be working?
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  • Reply 11 of 23
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by piwozniak

    groverat, take mine!!. I'm doing exactly that and it F**** SUCKS!!!!!



    (ehm, ehm, sorry)




    Hey, they're not THAT bad.



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  • Reply 12 of 23
    When I was in the third year of my English degree one of my Profs brought a career counselor into class to talk to us about the our potential careers. The sum of her talk was a lot of English students get jobs as curators in Museums or work in Human Resources. I got up and left the class and dropped out a week later.



    Though completely under-qualified, I now administer some sort of database and spend most of the day dicking around on the internet.



    The moral of this post? Don't be an English major.
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  • Reply 13 of 23
    OK, here's my story.



    About 4 years ago people i work for had that great-new-forward thinking idea of implementing ERP system, business was good so money were there, even though it was one of these " Everyone else is doing it so it must be good" decisions.

    I was hired as a guy who knows lotus Domino/Notes which was purchased along ERP system as "it may come in handy" item.

    Since then (i swear and i'm not trying to say how great i'm, because i'm not) i moved them from something like 15 different no-name pc server boxes doing no-one knows what to really nice and efficient system, with our own mail/web server, paperless record keeping, integrated phone/fax system and all that stuff..



    I have also developed entire front end to that ERP system in Domino/Notes as ERP was never implemented properly and most modules were not being used because of president decided to basically abandon half completed project, save $$ on consulting fees, and send few selected people to expensive training programs (hey we can do it all ourselves, c'mon boys let's pull together, ...f**** morons), needles to say they know sh** all, and basically now we have a half-assed ERP system no-one uses, Domino front end to few ERP modules which everyone in our company is using and me in the middle of it, maintaining it.



    So for the first 2 years i was working my ass off sometimes staying up till 1 AM and getting couple hours of sleep, then gradually i realized there's no point as these people just don't care. "They would make photocopies of photocopies instead of printing 2 more copies", and there was nothing i could do to change it. So gradually i developed " I don't give a sh**" attitude which i proudly showcase till this day. I will do some small stuff from time to time, but that's all. There's tons of areas where improvements could be made which could save tens of thousands of $$$, but no-one is interested.



    So now basically i sit all day doing nothing :-)



    I've been trying to start up new company with couple ex-ibm guys, but it's not that easy, and just now we start to get some clients.



    There's couple of things i would like to do for my current employer before i go,

    but hopefully soon i will be in a position to walk in one beautiful morning, go straight up to the presidents office and tell him to "shove it", and if he would require my services, i will be glad to help for a small fee of $100/h (that's Canadian :-) )



    So basically, if you're really looking for work where you can just di** around, you're wasting your time (IMO).



    Find something challenging, something that would require you to solve problems, make you think and be proud of your work. Seriously. Life's too short to piss it away doing sh** all.



    Thank You.





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  • Reply 14 of 23
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    Scenes from a career counselor job interview.



    Interviewer: "So you are looking for a job as career counselor at our university?"



    Career Counselor-to be: "Yes. as you can see from my CV I have worked as..."



    I:"Never mind that. Can you say the word?"



    C: "Huh?"



    I: "You know. The word!"



    C: "I...I don´t think I know what you..."



    I: "You call yourself Career Counselor and you don´t know the word?"



    C: "What word?"



    I: "Look. I will hold up this sign for you and then you have to say what it say"



    C: "Net...Networking?"



    I: "Good pronouncing. Your hired"



    Me:
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  • Reply 15 of 23
    Networking is a good one, but here's another:



    MCSE



    EDIT: Forgot to add
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  • Reply 16 of 23
    Quote:

    Originally posted by piwozniak







    So for the first 2 years i was working my ass off sometimes staying up till 1 AM and getting couple hours of sleep, then gradually i realized there's no point as these people just don't care. "They would make photocopies of photocopies instead of printing 2 more copies", and there was nothing i could do to change it. So gradually i developed " I don't give a sh**" attitude which i proudly showcase till this day.







    Ack! The people at my office do the same thing. They also have a habit of printing their emails, photocopying it and handing me the hard copy to add the database. They also like to print off websites to look at at home. I've explained that the internet also exists outside the office but they claim it's easier just to print off the site. This includes one coworker that printed off 700 pages of a website to view "offline".



    Anyway, back on topic....when I was looking for work I let a temp agency find me work. At least that way you'll some money coming in whilst you engage in the hell that is job hunting.
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  • Reply 17 of 23
    I am looking for a summer internship/co-op. It is a requirement and worth between 9 to 12 credits. I am majoring in Information Technology - Network Administration.



    Besides the Pacific NW, any suggestion on other cities?
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  • Reply 18 of 23
    rokrok Posts: 3,519member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by InactionMan

    The moral of this post? Don't be an English major.



    coming from an english major who's become a web and print designer and married to an english professor, one word: bullshit.



    you are what you decide you will be, coupled with social/economic forces outside your control. learn to adapt, expand, and interview. i have at least 16 engineer friends from the college days (i started out thinking i would be an engineer, so i still keep in touch with a lot of them), and at least half are unemployed and/or miserable. either they couldn't communicate well enough to get in the door of the job they wanted, or when the economy turned to crap, they couldn't duck and weave to keep up. case in point: i can freelance my design work. they can't be freelance engineers... well, i don't THINK they can)



    i'm a good worker, and as my career has shown, my english degree has allowed me to get my foot in the door and interview into jobs where competition was stiff.



    god i hate it when people diss the english majors.
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  • Reply 19 of 23
    progmacprogmac Posts: 1,850member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Naderfan

    As my college graduation rapidly approaches, I'm frantically beginning my job search. Unfortunately, I'm not really sure what I want to do, or even where to look. My majors are in International Relations and History, but I don't expect to jump into a job directly relating to either right away. I'm going to be stuck in the Milwaukee area for about 9-12 months after graduation, so I'm just looking for something in the area to pay my bills, get some benefits, and to build some good networks. Anyone know of good websites to use or does anyone know of any potential job openings in the area? How did people here start their professional career after leaving college?



    i recommend grad school, especially with your majors. of course, you have to have a pretty clear idea of where you want your career to go if you choose grad school, but having a grad degree young can be very useful in some fields (urban planning, architecture, economics, etc.) don't think that you can only go to grad school within the subjects you studied in undergrad either...i used grad school to change my path...from telecom to international development.



    i'm not sure where you stand, but if you want to pursue international work, i would recommend doing a Masters International program with the Peace Corps ( http://www.peacecorps.gov/ )



    2 years experience plus a masters degree. very cool, since experience is a universal prerequisite for paying international jobs.



    but, get a job if you want...i'd say for international work you should head to washington and take a couple non-paying internships to gain experience.
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  • Reply 20 of 23
    This may seem painfully obvious, but judging by what we get in at my job it's not......When sending out resumes send a nice short and sweet cover letter, make quadruple sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors in either your resume or cover letter. Don't hound people, but don't be afraid to be a little persistent and if you do get an interview send a thank you letter or e-mail to the person that interviewed you. Not that many people do this and it always goes over big. Lastly remember that 9 times out of 10 the job will go to someone who was personally recommended.
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