For most recent college graduates during a bad economy, the job prospects are usually very poor. But what about those who recently graduated, land their first job, then soon after have to face the reality of unemployment. Mentally it can be a shock, and drive many post graduates into questioning their abilities and self-worth. But the truth is, losing your job for the first time can be a very valuable learning experience. The saying goes, you can't appreciate success until you've experience failure. The same goes for being unemployed.

Being unemployed allows you to reassess your skills, and make new decisions as to what direction you should embark next. There are two key things to consider when looking ahead. Do you want to continue working for someone else in the previous field for which you're certifified, or do you want to use your knowledge and skills to venture out on your own to take a risk and launch your own company to generate revenue.

Most people will avoid the latter for fear of a second failure or not having a steady or dependable income. The few who do take a risk and go on their own will find that there is a lot more work involved, and and earning an income will take longer. For the never ending job seeker though who prefers to work for someone else but can't find work, there's no reason to throw in the towel and give up. It simply means you need to change your expectations to fit the reality of the economic situation. A more extreme economic downturn generally means your job hunt will take much longer and yield fewer positive results.

To keep you active and networking while you're still unemployed there are four things you can do to improve your jobless situation:

1. Learn new skills.
   Being versatile and having a variety of different skills is critical in today's employment market. Competition is extremely stiff, and potential employers prefer multi-dimensional candidates. So adding some web page editing or social media marketing and SEO to your abilities as a marketing professional will boost your chances 10 times greater than other candidates competing for the same job. Learning a new skill is as easy as searching the internet. There are numberous tutorial sites with how to videos and articles to get you started. DO a quick  "how to" search on any topic job profession and the results are endless. Having a lack of money is no excuse for not learning something new. All it requires is access to the web.
    
2. Volunteer.
   Doing volunteer work or finding a charity you can lend your time to is a great way to jumpstart your endeavors after college. You can find a cause that believe in and do something good. That's always worthwhile. But beyond that, the benefits for your job prospects are potentially huge: you will pick upnew skills , meet people who can point you toward different opportunities, and have something interesting to talk about when your interviewer inevitably asks you what you've been up to since graduation.
    
3. Do odd jobs and freelancing.
   How many ways can you earn some money on the side while you're unemployed? You'll be surprised to know the list is pretty long. You can do babysitting,  walk dogs, be a movie extra (if you're near movie production areas like Los Angeles), coach a sport, sign up with a job recruiting agency, tutor, and many others not listed here. Check out the "Gigs" section of Craigslist, which actually has some great stuff thing listed. You can also become a freelancer, and write for blogs and websites, and design web pages for small clients. In addition to Craigslist, check out Indeed, SoloGig, and Mandy.
    
4. Find an internship.
   Internships are still one of the best ways to get your foot in the door, if you're recently graduated and jobless. Most companies favor hiring people who've interned for them to fulltime job status. Think of an internship as one very long job interview. Your performance and results you produce is all the employer needs to make a decision whether to hire you for a permanent job position. Whats also great about some internships is that they pay. This most often happen in much larger companies though with a budget for it. $10 an hour internship may sound like pocket change, but if you save up enough of every paycheck, and limit your spending you'll earn a decent amount by the nd of the internship.
    
5. Pick up a new skill.
   Being versatile and having a variety of different skills is critical in today's employment market. Competition is extremely stiff, and potential employers prefer multi-dimensional candidates. So adding some web page editing or social media marketing and SEO to your skills as a marketing professional will boost your chances 10 times greater than other candidates competing for the same job. Tutors for almost anything can be found on Craiglist, SoloGig, and Indeed. If you're very self-motivated, here are also endless resources online for learning new skills, many of which are free.
   
   

Comments 

 

0 #5 evangeline 2010-08-09 00:30

swallow your pride, and work for minimum wage at department stores and supermarkets. It never hurts, you can work part-time and still interview for any possible jobs openings you find during the day. maybe do the afternoon or evening shifts at stores and save your days for job hunting. Of course not every place with minimum wage work will want to give you the mornings off, so just be prepared for that.

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0 #4 ponytail 2010-07-09 14:41

I'm unemployed and recently graduated with a masters degree. I can tell you it gets pretty depressing at first, but then you hear countless stories of other people also unemployed who are worst off than you and it puts things into perspective. I read a story yesterday on Yahoo about all the billionaires that became billionaires from developing their hobbies and passions while in college. I suggest to anyone who's still in college to start exploring other options besides a degree and a job. That can only take you so far since your financial future literally rest on a company hiring or firing you. Don't be afraid to test the waters of starting your own projects or company. You never know what it could turn into in a couple of years. Use the internet and tell your friends about your idea how they can use it to benefit them or another group of people. Don't be afraid, just try something different besides relying on finding a job after you graduate.

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0 #3 Jubilee 2010-04-14 19:21

One of the positive things now of being an unemployed recent college grad is that you can stay on your parents health insurance. Thats one of the new benefits Obama crated in the new Healthcare Law. So at least thank your lucky stars for that. You might not have a job but you have health insurance, and that's especially important for young women who need to go to the OBGYN

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0 #2 prettyfacewoman 2010-04-08 20:51

The unemployment of recent college graduates is pretty high and dismal. While the economy is getting better jobs are still scarce and they face tough competition with lots of people who are already laid off for a year or more. But the good news for them is that thanks to President Obama, they can stay on their parents health insurance until they're 26 years old. Considering the typical college graduate is about 22 to 24 years old, they should be OK for a couple of years and by then the U.S. economy wil be booming again.

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0 #1 lisalefty 2010-03-06 11:51

Good read. SO many people out of jobs need to follow these tips. Being unemployed and sitting at home is never the answer. You can still do many things even if they barely pay anything. I'm not ignorant to the fact bills gotta be paid though. If you do become unemployed, first thing to do is apply for unemployment benefits of course. The next thing to do is to keep searching or develop your hobby into an online money earning gig. Good luck to anybody looking its tough, but doable.

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