For this post, I thought it would be important to talk about the thing that is on every senior's mind, what is next? How do I find a job and can OU help me after I have graduated?
To find those answers I talked to Dean Pidcock, a graduate assistant with Career Services and Jim Harris, Assistant Director of Alumni Marketing and Communications.
When I talked to Pidcock, the first thing he said was that if you are a senior and just starting to look for a job, it will take about three to six months to find a job. He also mentioned that most recruiters come in the fall and since OU is on a quarter system and most schools have been out, which might make it harder.
He was optimistic about job searches, however, even though he said the job market in general right now is tight. If a person is flexible, it not be difficult for them to find a job, but as you start narrowing your search down, it gets harder. For example, he said an education major might find it hard to find a job in Ohio because there are many qualified people looking for teaching jobs. If they were willing to relocate to the West, however, that are in need of teachers and will even give signing bonuses for taking a position. If you are looking at a specific geographical location, be flexible in the kinds of positions, even if it is a job you didn't go to school for.
Pidcock also said to be looking for a job in a variety of ways. Only 4% of the people who are looking for jobs on Monster.com find jobs via that site.
Be realistic about your starting salary, Pidcock said. Most starting jobs are less than $40,000 to $60,000. Looking at the different benefits packages because though a job might pay more, you might not get as much in terms of insurance or retirement savings plans. That bit could be worth a lot more than a few thousand more dollars a year.
"I would say that (the small starting salary) is a shock to undergrads," he said.
He also said to be willing to work at a job that is not as high up in the company as you want.
His last bit of advice was to make sure that if you start investing for retirement right away, even if your company does not give you a retirement plan. For more from Career Services, check out thier website, they have lots of tips and other resources.
Another place to look for guidance is a place that many students look right past, the Konneker Alumni Center. Harris said the biggest thing the Alumni Center had to offer was several opportunities to network with fellow alumni.
The first way he said a graduating senior could connect with alumni and get valuable information about jobs and the places they live is call the gateway. It is a networking site similar to Facebook where you cal look up over 11,000 alumni, searching by location, degree or current place of employment. Harris instructed anyone who is interested in this to go to the alumni website and go to the link that says networking. Once there, click on the gateway and enter your e-mail address and your ten digit PID number. Then you can make a profie and start networking with fellow bobcats.
The other thing he said to do was get involved in Alumni chapters and societies. Alumni Chapters are geographically based and to get involved find your location and e-mail the chapter president. He said this was a great way to find fellow bobcats close to where you live, and they are in most of the major cities in the U.S.. Societies are a affinity based organizations you can join, such as if you were in the Marching 110 or Singing Men of Ohio. They are helpful too, but Harris emphasized the chapters because they are more likely to be able to help you with the important things you want to know, such as where a good place to live is and if anyone is hiring at the company you want to work for. There are many opportunities to get assistance as a graduating senior, he said so don't heslitate to stop in and make sure the center has your current contact information so you can stay connected to OU.
Well I hope this helped you as much as talking to these guys helped put my mind at ease.
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