When Roy Ma graduated from college, the competition for jobs was steep. But sheer determination and a focused search eventually worked in his favor.
Employers expect to hire 22% fewer new grads this year than they hired last year, according to a new study conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. That's the first time hiring projections have fallen since 2002, NACE said.
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Search by Company | Search by IndustryAnd students approaching graduation are well aware of the obstacles they face. When Roy Ma graduated from the University of Maryland in December, he was apprehensive about his job search.
"I was definitely worried about finding a job," Ma said.
Even though he attempted to get a jump start on his search by going to career fairs, on-campus interviews and information sessions as early as last spring, he had no success.
Desperate to make ends meet after graduation, the economics major picked up some odd jobs walking dogs and washing cars but spent his evenings applying to openings online that fit his criteria, including "even remotely possible job listings on all the major job sites."
"Eventually you notice that that's not working," he said, so Ma honed in on the positions that were particularly interesting to him and that he was qualified for.
Then, for each application, Ma rewrote a new cover letter and resume and crafted it to match the job requirements and preferences according to the posting and his own research on the company.
He also leveraged what he felt made him unique, which was a multicultural background and network, and focused his search on companies for which that would have value.
When Ma finally did land an interview at a Bethesda, Md. law firm, he practiced with his family and friends beforehand and prepared answers to hundreds of common interview questions, he says.
He was hired on the spot.
"He was prepared and his preparation paid off with an offer," said Ford Myers, president of Career Potential, LLC, a Pennsylvania-based career consulting firm. But, Ma could have saved a lot of time and energy by being more selective from the start, Myers said.
Dan King, principal of Career Planning and Management Inc. in Boston, says if Ma ultimately wanted to work in a law firm, he may have been able to speed up the process by compiling a list of local firms and going after them directly.
"You can research organizations to get information on who's inside," he suggested, and then try calling them to make some contacts or talk to someone you know about getting a referral.
Even though Ma was applying with the masses, he found success by narrowing his search and setting himself apart. "He learned from what he was doing, rather than blindly and continuously apply for jobs," said Gerry Crispin, co-owner of Careerxroads, a consulting firm based in New Jersey.
"Importantly, he continued to experiment with what he was doing and learned to become much more targeted."
Customizing his cover letter and paying attention to the specifics of each opening were a big part of that. Ma's customized cover letter helped tie his assets and strengths to the firm's specific needs and challenges, Myers said.
"People think they're going to have more success if they cast a really wide net, and that is not true," Myers said. "The truth is they have to be more selective in this market then ever before."
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May 17th 2009 @ 9:28PM KC
Apart from the use of Internet as a search tool, this advice sounds like it came out of some 1955 corporate manual. Articles contained on these sites are oversimplification of one systemic fact: There simply are no real jobs. That is the bottom line. The saccharine
advice given does not negate this fact and it is an insult to anyone who has been searching, displaced or seeking employment.
Corporate America does not want employees, they want third world people they can brow beat and pay no benefits to. I do not mean to discourage recent graduates, but it is important they know the truth.
It's not their father's Oldsmobile they are dealing with. (Or Chrysler, or GM for that matter!)
A key element in this non-substantive bull is the suggestion that potential applicants are not doing something right and if they only re-strategize - miraculously a job will appear. Keep it real we are in the midst of a depression and it is going to get worse before it gets better.
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May 17th 2009 @ 10:43PM brenda
Well said and aptly put! People do need to stop looking through the rose colored glasses and setting themselves up for the let-downs that are surely coming when you don't live in real time world, because everything you said is actually happening as we speak!!
May 18th 2009 @ 9:15PM Joe
I don't really ever read or respond to this type of ranting site. However, was just flipping by and came across your comment. RIGHT TO THE POINT!!!! As a soon to become retiree (1 1/2 months), I certainly see and feel the stress the young folks are going through. In many ways, the American Dream is no more a reality than "The Wizard of Oz" was for Dorothy once she woke up. Having been an executive/administrator in both the business and education fields, I see less and less opportunities on the horizon. As a matter of fact, part of my retirement decision was done just to help open up a spot for another person whoever he/she may be.
May 17th 2009 @ 11:31PM John
Totally agree with KC about the current job market. I'm 48 years old and was laid off last October 20th, 2008. I'm also a full time student at a local university and I'm wondering about finishing since the outlook is bleak.
May 18th 2009 @ 2:54AM Dan Venti
Amen!! Thanks for your honesty. I graduated in December with a degree in International Business, I speak Arabic and have been all over the Middle East and I can't even land a job as a bank teller or a server at a restaurant. I am frustrated beyond belief and these simple suggestions are not only unhelpful but they are also extremely irritating.
May 17th 2009 @ 9:28PM Allison
As a recent grad, things like this bug me. He *finally* figured out that all he needed to do was gear his resume and cover letter to the company? Most of us have been doing that all along - it's the simplest of job search tips. And yet, even when we put hours into cover letters that speak directly to our best-match companies, we get nowhere. But then our parents read articles like this and lecture other people are getting their act together, why can't we?
Sigh...
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May 17th 2009 @ 9:30PM Evelyn Norse
Great Idea !
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May 17th 2009 @ 9:42PM Yelena
Waht a basic stuff is written in this article... Nothing new but just filling out a cyber space. Will it help other people to land a job? I doubt. 22% less jobs = 22% less people are out of workforce. Why not to say it sucks, the economy is REALLY bad, and if you get a job, you are just lucky? Don't apply a damn logic to the big things when you don't know how long these times will last and how bad they are going to be. What a waste of time to read such idiotic articles - oh, you need to tailot your cover letter, that's it. Oh, really?
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May 17th 2009 @ 9:47PM Howard
Why does AOL allow these marketing shysters to hog the comments page? Its disgusting that Careerbuilder encourages fraudulent companies like MGA and Liberty to hog the listings. Aren't jobseekers raped enough already?
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May 17th 2009 @ 9:49PM Yelena
they delete some comments - ha-ha.
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May 17th 2009 @ 9:50PM Yelena
how you can get through?
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May 17th 2009 @ 10:17PM mamalee
80 yrs ago my father told me to choose a place that you really want to go to work for, and go there every other day to meet with the one that does the hiring. Pretty soon they realize you really want to work there and they hire you. It always worked for me and later for my daughter. We never forgot good ol' gramps advice.
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May 17th 2009 @ 10:46PM Ellen
The reality is this: the pendulum swing is back to the Depression. Adjust, grow a garden of vegetables, be willing to work a servant-class job. The very wealthy have accomplished their goal. All the money has gone to the top and now the top is in charge. They wanted cheap labor. Now they have it, here and abroad. Nothing will change until a revolution of will or just simply, a social revolution takes place. T'was ever thus. Thank you George Bush, et al. All Bush supporters can chasten themselves with these words. "Oh, how the mighty have fallen."
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May 17th 2009 @ 10:51PM brenda
The guy who spoke about the societal woes and the corporations that enlist 3rd world workers is definitely on point and his argument was aptly put, especially about the lies that rise above the maddening crowds. I am a grad student but am under no illusions of grandeur as far as pursuing my dreams. This degree has no miracle pill fixes attached to it. My will power and sense of accomplishments comes from within and not without. I have all faculties of the realities intact!
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May 17th 2009 @ 10:52PM brendabeyt
this is the third time i have entered the comments what's wrong the truth will stop the corporations advertising money or what?
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May 17th 2009 @ 11:33PM Joanne
Not mentioned was the amount of his contract offer. Was it 22% lower than than last year in terms of salary? There are lots of jobs out there if you're willing (and and able) to take what effectively amounts to a paid internship.
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May 18th 2009 @ 12:01AM Raymond Robinson
Folks, be creative! Learn about the company you are interested in and offer ways to get into the door that really benifit the company. Example, back in 85 when we were in a down economy such as this, our area was at 15% unemplyment. I got a job at a company by offering to work for them for 60 days at $6.00 an hour. At the end of this time, give me a raise to what you think I am worth or we can both go our seperate ways. I ended up in a few short years a regional VP for this company and I was with them 20 years. I have since started a company of my owm. Be different and show them what a value you are. Good luck!
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May 18th 2009 @ 1:30AM paulmcg
I've been on both sides of the table during job hunts, and now I'm one of the people doing the interviewing. Looking at industry and government, if I was starting out these days, I'd look for a lower paying job at small company, instead of trying to score a job at major corporation or government agency. Jobs at large institutions are getting scarcer, and they tend to have more mass layoffs, where people are laid off merely because of how long they've been there, "last hired, first fired". You can always gain some experience at a small company, make some friends, do something new and different that the big institutions didn't think of. In the early days of my career, I worked for a company that 16 employees, and now I work for global company with 350,000 employees. Sometimes, I miss the old days, because my job involved much more innovation, and much less bureaucracy.
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May 18th 2009 @ 3:20AM MArk
Umm, 1 dude gets a job out of 6,000,000 laid off. HURRAY! I am so pumped now I will start writing fake resumes like he did right now!
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May 18th 2009 @ 5:01AM Steve
Sigh. I have been a high tech worker for 20+ years with a BS in Chemistry. I am currently drawing unemployment for the 3rd time in my career because a company went bankrupt while I was there. Most of these "news" articles that claim to disclose some trick or technique that will get you hired are written by people that haven't looked for a job in decades. Of course, be prepared for your interview. Of course, have taylored resumes for different fields. Of course, try to make cover letters personal and specific. But...the best method for finding a job is to have someone on the INSIDE of the company you are trying to get a job with to put in a good word for you. Most company HR departments will receive hundreds of resumes for every position advertised and will disqualify 90% or more of them by letting the high-school intern scan each one looking for certain number of key phrases or acronyms of "buzz words". The hiring manager only sees between 3 and 6 candidates' resumes that have been "pre-screened" in this manner. The best way to get around this barrier is to have someone who works there drop your name and vouch for you to the hiring manager so he can REQUEST your resume from HR. This is called networking, and most of the jobs offers I have gotten in my life were a direct result of someone I knew dropping my name at the right time to the right person.
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