As a senior at The university of Missouri my time to say “Oh the economy will improve before I start looking for a job” is quickly coming to an end. The reality being of course that the economy has not drastically improved and that jobs for new college graduates are more difficult than ever to secure. Its times like these that I start to question the relevance of my college education (I’m an English major) and start wondering if I should have sprinkled in a few business classes here and there. I was recently lead by my frantic google search of “how to get a job in publishing” to an article titled, well, “How to Get a Job in Publishing.” The approach taken by the writer of the article to find a job is anything but traditional, and she even goes as far as creating an ad for herself on facebook.. I’m not one to shy away from creative approaches, and I am more than ready to give it a good effort, but as I spend more time scanning MediaBistro and Bookjobs, I’m feeling a bit discouraged with the job market. GALLEYCAT has a new blog post everytime any major company advertises a job opening, and I can only imagine these positions are flooded with thousands of applicants. I would love to hear if any readers have advice on how to go about getting a new job, or if anyone has been successful in getting a job advertised online.
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Current Issue: 35.1 (Spring 2012)
Poem of the Week- David Kirby: “If Any Man Have an Ear, Let Him Listen”
- Larry Levis: “Labyrinth as the Erasure of Cries Heard Once Within It or: (Mr. Bones I Succeeded. . .’ Later)”
- Amy Newman: “The Day After The Dean of Michigan State College Admits Him To Lansing Sparrow Hospital For Rest, A Naked Theodore Roethke Barricades Himself Behind A Hospital Mattress”
Jolene,
Although I haven’t looked in any of the places you have, I have found that most of the online job prospecting sites do not work.
After 8 months of job searching, I have not had any companies respond to the resume I posted on Monster, Careerbuilder, or any other website. In fact, I get daily spam from the numerous sites I have joined over the last several months, and typically they want me to buy something.
I have found success on textbroker.com and odesk.com. However, I unfortunately do not make enough money to live on, but I have gotten some freelance experience writing for clients I met on these sites.
I graduated last summer, and I was quite surprised at the lack of jobs, even for a tough economy. Good luck in your job search!