What To Do When You Don't Get a Job After College

By Kathleen Martini on March 11, 2013

Postgraduate employment rates suck.  Fifty percent of the Class of 2012 didn’t have a job when they left the safe haven of their college campus, and it doesn’t look like the Class of 2013 is going to fare much better.

I personally will be entering the job market in December 2014 after earning my BA in Journalism, with minors in German, Theatre, and Media Production & Analysis.  I understand that my degree doesn’t set me up for immediate job placement and a stable, secure future, but I like that.  Not everyone does.  For those of you who don’t, here are some things that you can do if you don’t have a lucrative degree after graduation.

  • Write a book: Everyone has a story to tell.  How about writing yours down?  Even if it doesn’t get picked up and no one reads it, you will feel terribly accomplished having this labor of love that you created.  Another plus: when people ask you what you’re doing, you can avoid the dreaded U-word (unemployed) and say you’re writing a book.
  • Explore your city: You know what’s going on in the campus community, but chances are you don’t know what’s going on in your city.  Take a walk, a drive, or a bike ride around town.  See what it’s like to live where you live and not be a college student (because that category now contains you, my friend).  You might be surprised by what you find.
  • Work for less than you should: Take a minimum wage job.  Wait tables.  Work retail.  Babysit.  It’s good for your soul.  It will humble you.  It will make you appreciate the money you’ll be getting when you do find a job that gainfully employs your skills.
  • Move: You might need a change of pace.  Move to another city (that you can afford, of course) and continue your job search there.  You’ll be able to entertain yourself by familiarizing yourself with a new environment, and this will keep you from wallowing in your own self-pity.
  • Take stock of what you have: You just finished four years of quality higher education.  You have a lot to be thankful for, if only you notice it.  Focus on what you have going for you in your life, rather than what’s not going the way you think it should.
  • Love: Do all things with great love.  Love everyone: your neighbor, your family, your friends, yourself.  Love will make everything look a lot more wonderful.

Being unemployed is obviously not desirable, but focusing on the fact that it’s undesirable isn’t going to help you become employed.  Focus on the good in the bad.  Smile more.  Life is wonderful, even if some things in it aren’t.

Everything will be okay.

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