So, I graduated last October. I have a Master’s in publishing and a lot of internships/experience under my belt. I’m STILL searching for a job.
Here are some things I learned while job searching:
1) Internships
Today’s employers don’t want to take risks (read: offer salaries or compensation) for entry-level roles. They also seem to want mid-level amounts of experience for internships and entry-level positions. In my opinion, an internship or entry-level job is supposed to be a pathway an opportunity to break in and learn the ropes. If the position has “assistant” in the title, then you should be assisting. These are meant to be roles for those just starting their careers, so why is it that “2-3 years experience is required? Why is prior internship experience needed for an internship? something is clearly wrong here.
“Pre-position internships” – this is a new thing, too. Now companies want to call the first three months an “internship” so they don’t have to pay you until they absolutely feel like they want you. Basically, they want you to be doing the things you would be doing if you worked there without getting paid. I had an interview with a company that said the internship could lead to a full time paid position, but they wanted me to work full-time unpaid initially. Obviously, money should not be the only motivation for work, but it’s a pretty important one. It’s one thing to work one-two days a week unpaid, as a person could still be working a second part-time paid job. But I’ve come across many that want someone to work full-time, like this job posting that states:
Duration of Internship: Immediate Start to mid-August
Hours: Up to 40 Hrs per week depending on your availability. 2 full days a week is the absolute minimum though 3,4,5 are preferred. Some work can be done off-site if desired. Days are usually 9 to 5 or 9:30 to 5:30
This internship is unpaid. However, a stipend of $20 for a full day will be provided to cover travel and food expenses.
That’s four months working full-time for only $100 a week. Travel and food expenses will probably eat up most of that. This internship was working in a law office – I doubt they couldn’t afford to hire someone for at least minimum wage. I’ve seen some of the same internships like this listed and re-listed for months, and I’m not surprised. Why should employers expect someone to invest their time, knowledge, and skills in them if they employer is not willing to, in-return, invest in the employee or intern? Frankly, I think unpaid internships should be illegal, especially where the internship is working the hours of a full-time position.
2) Entry-level roles
It seems that entry-level is the new mid-level. Just as internships now require prior work experience, entry-level jobs now require anywhere from 2-5 years experience.
Employers also don’t seem to know what they are looking for either. I saw an entry level marketing assistant position that required the applicant to be skilled in pretty much every area of marketing and PR, plus office admin experience. The amount of tasks they listed was enough work for at least two or three people. Job listings like this make it seem like the employer has no idea what they are looking for – and also no idea of reality. To require so much of an entry-level position is absurd, and frankly, I’m pretty sure the only reason they list such roles as “entry-level” is so that they don’t have to offer as much money.
3) Salaries
Speaking of which, job salaries are also frustrating. The cost of education is going up and up – and we all know that most jobs require at least a Bachelor’s degree. Yet, entry-level salaries remain abysmally low. I also don’t like that employers ask for your “salary requirements” with you application. If you state too high of a salary, you risk them tossing your application. However, state too low of a number and you might be losing money if you do get offered the position. Obviously, the employer has an offer in mind, especially for entry-level roles. Save us all time by stating that in the job description.
4) Rejections
Whether it’s not hearing anything after submitting and application or not hearing anything after an interview, the job searching process is incredibly frustrating. I recently had an interview that I thought went really well. The interview lasted nearly an hour and I thought I got along well with everyone I had spoken with. I sent nice thank-you emails after. Then, I waited. And waited. After two weeks, I emailed the person who interviewed me. The next day I got a rejection email.
So, I’m just wondering when were they going to inform me if I had never reached out? Obviously, they made their decision before that, or else I wouldn’t have had my email returned so quickly, so why did it take till I emailed them to get the rejection email?
Speaking of rejection emails, the next frustrating thing about job searching is having interviews you think go well, but being rejected and getting no helpful feedback. It’s always “We really liked your experience, but decided to go with other candidates that better fit our requirements”. I get that they don’t want to offend anyone or get into any legal trouble if they said something wrong, but how is someone supposed to improve for next time if they have no idea what they did wrong or how they could have been a better fit. At least if they said “We were looking for someone with more experience in (this area or this program)” then at least you know you can work on developing those areas or on better presenting yourself next time if you do have experience in those areas.
Employers are also generally terrible at moving things forward when they are positive. While I was still working on my degree, I applied for an internship in July. I got an email in October about interviewing. Well, by that point I had moved on to other things and told them exactly that. It would be different if the position stated it was for a specific time frame, otherwise, it shouldn’t take a company four months to determine which candidates they want to interview. This has happened to me several times and not just for internships either. It’s annoying that companies just assume you are sitting around waiting for their response. If they’re interested, they should contact you as soon as they come to that decision. If they think you have potential, they shouldn’t expect that you’ll still be available in four months’ time.
5) Interviews
I HATE interviews. I’m an introvert, and I am shit at talking up my skills and accomplishments. I think I’m just a modest person. I’ve obviously accomplished some cool stuff, but I just don’t like the spotlight on me, which is what an interview is all about. This in no way reflects on how I can do a job. Does the fact that I can’t just go into a room of strangers and brag about myself diminish my editing, social media, office, and design skills? Does it mean I’m not a hard worker with a lot of experience? No, it just means I don’t like talking about myself. I get that employers are looking for your personality and how you’ll fit in with their team, but is there not some other way this could be determined besides being grilled for half an hour on things you’ve already listed on your CV?
Obviously, it depends on the company, but I think interviews should be fun and creative. How about a “show-and-tell”? Ask interviewees to bring in something that represents themselves, or give them a task that will take under an hour to complete/research to present on – a draft of potential marketing materials for one of the companies titles, for example. Not only would this allow employers to better see the personalities of the interviewees, but it would make things less formal and stuffy and maybe make for an environment where the interviewee feels more comfortable. As it stands, interviews are kind of like standardized tests. There’re people that are great at taking tests and even if they don’t really have the skills or experience, they can still pass the test. Then, there are people that have really great skills and experience, but are awful at tests. And most of the time, the test doesn’t really do a great job at determining the skills and experience of the taker and isn’t a good gauge on potential job performance.
In conclusion, trying to find a job is frustrating. Employers don’t want to take risks and they expect more education and experience for less, the interview process isn’t really helpful in finding good matches, and employers suck at following up. If anyone has any helpful tips for becoming better at the hell that is job searching, please let me know!
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