Seems like the second I put my cap and gown on and turned the tassel from right to left I’ve been asked the same question over and over again. “So, what’s next?” I graduated on Monday morning and I would jokingly respond, “Usually Tuesday,” or “Lunch.”
I’m the kind of person that always has a plan, a back-up plan and the back-up plan for the back-up plan. Yes, I have a plan A, B, C, D and E. So while I was able to answer the question well, I can’t help but think of the recent grads that have to respond, “I don’t know.”
It’s an awful question to ask really because a person can either respond in a way that will make it sound like they have everything under control or they will sound like they’re completely lost.
With the job market the way it is, most grads have to respond that they are looking for a job and everyone wishes them luck knowing the hard road ahead. My Facebook newsfeed has become a forum for recent grads to complain about not being able to find a job. One that I found amusing was a status update reading, “Searching for jobs because they ain’t searching for me.” While humorous, a recent grad commented on his status, “Same here, you’d think a master’s degree would help but it doesn’t.” That person did what many are doing which is to go to graduate school in hopes of having more job opportunities with a higher degree or “waiting it out” until the job market improves.
According to USA Today, in 2010 only 44% of employers planned to hire recent college grads. It faces a decline every year so I’m sure that number is even lower now for 2011. It is what it is so Class of 2011, let’s go out there and hunt for our dream job, or something like it.
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