Because trying to jump-start your career (with no help - financial or otherwise) is hard, and I am still trying to navigate the job market. And I didn’t write this for those people, I wrote it for others in a similar bind to the one I was in. I wasted a lot of time being jealous of those with amazing connections and my peers that still have their parents funding them, but that’s not my life. But as time passed, I realized that I didn’t have to cling to a job I hated because it’s what I thought was expected of me. When I realized the job I’d finally landed wasn’t close to what I wanted, I was so dejected. Sometimes I wish that I hadn’t graduated into such a shaky job market, but I cannot change those circumstances, and it’s honestly taught me so much more than I expected. As of now, I want to be taking every opportunity I can to independently build my name and income. While freelance work is by no means guaranteed, there are sites (such as ) that can help you get work, which you can then add to your resumé or portfolio. If you have a skill that you feel is marketable, look at the freelance market for your skill. I know many unsure graduates like me who picked up retail work after graduation at places like Starbucks or Costco because of their great benefits. But in my spare time, I often looked at Indeed and CareerBuilder to search for other jobs. I didn’t have the option of falling back on my parents financially, so I was bound to my job for financial reasons. Giving the job search my all - while plugging away at my PR job - was the best I could do. The only thing I have control over is my actions, and the rest is up to chance, opportunity and timing. The main thing that helped me release my feelings of panic and anxiety was recognizing that I had no control over the outside world. Though I felt useless and stuck, more than anything, I wanted to do something to change my situation. I’m not the only one who went to college because I was told it would give me a secure future, only to come out to minimal jobs and maximum disappointment. There were thousands of recent graduates who were in the same boat as I was. It also dawned on me that I wasn’t alone in this. Just because my first job was a dead end, didn’t mean I couldn’t still begin building my writing skills (and others skills) on my own time. So, in the midst of my drama-filled job, I started to read about people in similar positions to my own, who had done something about their less-than-desirable work situations. The idea of being a key player in a business excites me. I’ve always wanted to eventually run my own business, and I have a strong desire to work my way up. My internship turned into a job, and while I wished I’d started my career elsewhere, I knew how much I needed my income and decided to bite the bullet until I found a new opportunity. Was I grateful for this opportunity? Absolutely.ĭid I want to start my career with a dead-end job? Hell no.ĭespite my misgivings, I allowed my PR firm trajectory to unfold. I had very limited responsibilities and was somehow being micromanaged at every turn, as were my other, more-seasoned colleagues. Initially, I found that it was work I enjoyed, but as time went on, I found that the environment I’d entered was filled with negativity and drama, which was there long before I came onboard. For me, this marked the beginning of a war with myself: I was torn between wanting to get a job relevant to what I enjoyed and wanted to start my career in, and sucking it up to just make a decent income.įast forward a few months, and I finally found an internship at a PR firm, which was a *HUGE* relief. I had no clue what I could or couldn’t do, and even more, I had no idea what I really wanted to do. I was once again a small tadpole in the biggest pond I had ever been in, and I had no clue how to make any kind of ripple that might get bigger fish to notice me. I was doe-eyed, naïve (still am) and, at times, I felt like I was plopped onto a stage while completely naked, facing 2,000 strangers. Like many of my peers, I stumbled out of college with a bachelor’s degree in English, and absolutely no idea how to use it to get a job.
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