5 lessons I learned by graduating without a secured?job

It's graduation season again and while many enjoy the thought of not having to study for tests anytime soon (at least for a while), many are confronted to reach their summer breaks without job offers. To undergrads and graduates, I wanted to write down what my job hunt experience was during my college years at UC Berkeley before landing my current job.

Though the future does look a bit brighter for this year's class, according to LinkedIn's May Workforce Report 2019, "around 55% of last year’s crop of graduates found work within the year they graduated, and that rate should keep increasing," I would like to share my own experience and advice for the coming class.

Do note that everyone's experience is vastly different.

For the undergrads: senior year is very important

1. Create your own resources

Looking back to my last year at Cal, the worst excuse I gave myself was:

I'm busy.

Everyone is also busy, but they still manage, meaning so can you. At Berkeley, I taught Digital Marketing Today - a student-run class that focused on storytelling, creativity, and social media. While I did not take any marketing courses at the business school, I opted to teach myself by being active in the Adweek/marketing online community.

Which leads me to my first point: use your time wisely. For my course, I reached out to professionals to come speak at my course and they turned into great mentors I still text to this day. For the final project, I partnered up with brands/social media managers to give them student perspectives on their social media efforts, later some students even got to work at the brands they consulted for. Make do with what resources you have, and if you think you have none: create them.

2. Senioritis and procrastination are real: tread carefully

After four years at college, you might feel like you deserve a break. The same routine for four years (or more) is bound to tire anyone out - and stress them too. But there's no point in giving up at the last hurdle. You're on the homestretch, finish in first.

My last hurdle at UC Berkeley came in the form of having to write a required thesis for my major in order to graduate, and this took up most (and my last) days of my final semester. Late in the semester, I landed an interview at YouTube but amidst finals and submission of my thesis, I did not prep well, thus not getting the job.

To avoid procrastination, my best advice is to prioritize job applications at the start of the semester/quarter. Yes, there are plenty of parties to go to, but there are also thousands of career websites with hundreds of open positions for new grads, a number that will keep decreasing as the school year progresses. Get your application in and don't worry about it until you get that email asking you for an interview.

Pro-tip: to filter out job apps that require minimum +5 years experience, try searching the student section first. Meaning, instead of company.com/jobs, aim for company.com/jobs/students. A fine example of this is https://careers.google.com/students/. Save yourself some time.

For recent graduates: don't give up

3. Couch surfing might be part of it

For years, the apartment's lease ended conveniently in May, the month many seniors graduated. When I graduated, housemates all found another place. Still being on the job hunt meant not knowing where I would reside - would it still be manageable for me to live in Berkeley in case I worked at San Francisco? What if I get into a year-long lease and have to break it because I get relocated somewhere else not in the Bay Area?

Luckily, I had friends that allowed me to stay at their place whilst on the job hunt. Without a job, expenses started racking up, especially around San Francisco. I needed to stay near the bay in case of an interview at a San Francisco office, so proximity was necessary for my job application process. Eventually, I moved out of the bay area.

My point is: people will offer you help and you should take it. Going from college to the working world is very different, and at times you will need a group of friends to make it. And of course, you should reciprocate to your friends should the situation arise, just manners.

4. Rejections aren't easy, but patience is everything

Give it time, things will get better if you're working towards it. You might feel it as a blow to the ego, but it's okay. Early August 2018 I was invited to speak at a student panel in San Francisco. For marketing purposes, they asked me for my current job title and company - I had none, instead, I opted for the course instructor role that I had concluded 3 months prior. Everyone else added their current titles, and I felt I fell behind.

But as I kept applying to jobs, I kept communication with my mentors. Regardless of all of the problems I told them about, they always replied back: "give it time, something better is around the corner." And to my luck, it did.

5. Take time to focus on your mental health

Finally, it's important to acknowledge your own mental health and making time to stay healthy. I never shared my graduation photos on social media. My (wrongful) reasoning was that I hadn't really graduated until I had signed an offer letter. Seeing many others start their first day at their jobs while I stayed at home sending the same resume with a cover letter that only changed company names and title roles did not make me proud of having graduated.

I neglected my mental health until I took a step back and realized that I spent entire days typing on my computer screen, submitting job applications. After that, I decided to unplug and hang out more with friends, something I hadn't done all that summer.

Take time to treat yourself and disconnect. Check out https://www.impactmentality.co/ for more info.

Got any thoughts to add? Tweet me @juliangumbo or comment below! Read my other college advice piece on choosing majors.

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Julian Gamboa is a UC Berkeley graduate with a focus on marketing. Julian was selected as a LinkedIn Top Voice for Marketing and #Social Media (2017) and a Course Instructor of the marketing and digital publishing course Digital Marketing Today at the Haas School of Business. He is currently a Marketing & Social Media Manager at Adweek.

Like what you read? Read Julian’s previous posts and follow him on Medium and LinkedIn.

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