Entry Level Jobs

I recently saw a tweet on twitter that said: “ENTRY-LEVEL JOB OPENING: Minimum 4 years experience required. Must speak 6 languages, be an astronaut, and have the cure for cancer.” It made me chuckle for a couple minutes but then I actually started to think about what this person said in their tweet.

They are almost completely right, when you are on the entry level job search (like I am) you obviously start to read the job qualifications. What has surprised me on every single one is that the job experience must be 2 years (at least).

So this is what I don’t understand:

1. If its Entry Level why do you need 2 years of experience?

2. Do college clubs, activities or classes count towards your years of experience?

3. How do you factor Internships into that experience?

4. Why on earth is it called an Entry Level position if it isn’t actually Entry Level?

Its very frustrating to me when applying to these kinds of jobs. How am I supposed to get any type of job experience if Entry Level requires all these non Entry Level qualifications and like no one offers Post Graduation Internships that pay and with student loans I need a paycheck of some sort.

Its almost like companies are telling college grads that if you didn’t get the experience in college or on your summers off from school then you are basically screwed because we aren’t going to help you gain experience and we will not be offering you this position.

Its very frustrating.

What Every Unemployed College Grad Needs To Pass The Time

1. Netflix or Hulu: At least if you are jobless you can catch up on your favorite TV show. If you graduated in the last year I’m sure you fell behind on some of your favs..now is the perfect time to catch up..you have no job to wake up for, no tests to study for and no papers to write. 

2. A New Hobby: I personally have taken on cooking, I have never been great at it and with both my parents working I can spend hours during the day cooking new foods for them to try for dinner when they come home from work. 

3. Books: When you get sick of your new hobby and don’t feeling like watching Netflix anymore you can pull out a book and invest your time in that.  Don’t have money for new books? You can always get a library card or pull out the Harry Potter series you have stuck in the back of your closet and reread all of them. 

4. Comfy pillow: Let’s face it, if you are unemployed and in your early 20s you will probably at least sleep 10 hours a night and spend at least another 5 laying in your bed on your Mac. So you will probably need to spend whatever money you might have laying around on a nice pillow. 

5. a Blog: hobbies, books, and TV only last for so long and you need something else to pass the time. Blogging is a great way to catch up on things, learn new things and write down your feelings. Even if its just a photo blog it could still be fun. You could even try a “Photo a Day” challenge which would make you leave your house and explore. 

Why didn’t I make a 5 year plan?!

When I started my freshman year of college I had a 4 year plan and it went something a little like this…Graduate college in 4 years double majoring in Computer Science and History, have amazing internships every single summer so by the time I started senior year I would know exactly where I wanted to work and the internships would give me the experience I needed, then by Christmas of senior year I would have a job and be all set for after Graduation that upcoming May. That way when I graduated I wouldn’t be moving back home, I would be moving into my own apartment in some amazing town or city and starting my own life…unfortunately that plan didn’t exactly happen.

Not only did I not double major, I didn’t even major in Computer Science or History. I was told by the dean of computer science at my college that girls did not do computer science and therefore I would not succeed in it. For some crazy reason I decided to listen to him, went on to change my major 5 times before settling for one that I don’t really even like.

Now i’m 6 months out of college, with no job, no plan and have nothing but complete boredom to pass my days…oh and student loans are due on November 2nd! yay me.

Yes I can blame myself for picking a University that was barely giving me any scholarship money and so I had to take out student loans, and yes I can blame myself for choosing a major that…. A. Doesn’t pay very well B. Has limited jobs and C. if you get a job its only because you had awesome internships or you know someone in the company. I probably should have figured all of this out junior year when I decided on my major.

I have figured out in the last 6 months what is important to me, what I want to do with my life (i think) and what I need to do to get there. I have also had lots of free time to learn new hobbies, become more organized and realize who is important to me. So really the only negative to this being unemployed thing is the fact that student loans are about to hit, i have no job and no way to really pay for them 6 months from now. Really if it wasn’t for the fact that I need money I would be completely fine with being unemployed and just exploring for a couple more months.

What I should have done was save my money during college instead of spending it at the bars or on clothes or on stupid junk and saved it for when I graduated and might need it for something. I plan for everything and make lists for everything. Why did I not make a 5 year plan when I made my 4 year plan? Why didn’t I think of a plan B for if I didn’t get a job?

Now i’m sitting in my parents house, unemployed, writing a blog, applying to jobs like it is a job and praying that sometime soon i get even a part time job offer so I don’t have to defer my loans and live with my parents forever.