Everything They Never Told You
Image Courtesy: VSCO
It’s that time of year for a lot of us - submission after submission, cover letter after cover letter. It feels like no matter what we do, the acceptance doesn’t come. Especially in the fashion industry, I swear it feels like thousands of us are fighting for two or three positions. I’m the first to admit that sometimes it feels like it would be easier just to accept a small retail sales position until something bigger comes along, but I’m hoping this article gives you (and me) a little more hope to keep pushing for that dream job. Take it from me, a girl who has applied to hundreds of jobs heard back from under 10, and is still sitting here with no offer. We are in this together!
Going into my senior year of college, I was so stuck on this idea that I needed to have a job by the time the second semester rolled around. I was watching the business and accounting majors around me get offers, and I couldn’t understand that not every industry hires people the same way or in the same time frame — so that is my first tip to you: DO NOT COMPARE YOUR JOURNEY TO OTHERS.
This is something that I still struggle with to this day. It’s so hard to not look at your journey or accolades and compare it to your peers, but at the end of the day you don’t know what their journey looked like to get to where they are, so there is no point in wondering why they have something and you don’t.
Based on my tone of voice, I am hoping by this point you can tell that I too am still unemployed, so these are as much tips for you as they are for me. I didn’t think not having a job lined up after graduation would bother me as much as it does. Wouldn’t you think we would all want a break after being in school for nearly 18 years of our lives? Wrong. The stigma around seniors needing to have a job lined up post-grad is ever prevalent around Athens, as I’m sure it is on every other college campus in America. However, as I approach the middle of my final college semester, I can’t help but think it might be nice to have a break.
After speaking with a friend who graduated last semester, she told me she didn’t even think about applying to jobs until the April before her May graduation date to ensure at least a small break before she entered the rest of her life in the corporate, working world. This is where my next piece of advice comes in: DO NOT RUSH THE PROCESS. All good things take time, and while I know that not everyone is able to take a break between college and their career, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if you did. Plus, you never know what opportunities might show up along the way.
Let’s talk about what happens when you inevitably land the interview. To me, the hard part is getting seen amongst all of the noise and other applications being submitted, so you’re halfway there in my opinion. Now it’s time to prep your heart out. Do any and all research you can on the company. I typically look for articles about new initiatives they are putting out, reviews of the interview process from people who have done it in the past via Glassdoor, as well as following all of their social media accounts and staying up to date. Companies love when you’ve looked into what they are doing because it shows you care.
However, when doing this: MAKE SURE YOUR FACTS ARE UP TO DATE. One of the worst things that could happen is you go into an interview confident and ready to talk all about what’s going on, and then you say something out-of-date, no longer true, or just straight-up incorrect. Especially if you’ve been putting in the work, you want it to pay off, not bite you in the ass.
With all of that being said, I feel your pain whether you're struggling to find a job, accepted one you aren’t the most excited about, or just don’t quite know what you want next year to look like. This time coming out of college and entering the real, adult world is one that is not only scary but also seemingly impossible to navigate on your own.
No matter what this journey looks like for you, it will end somewhere great, and it doesn’t mean you should be any less proud of yourself. Those are words I need to remind myself of every day too. It will all work out in the end.
Manifesting jobs or whatever your dream plans might be for everyone in the coming months. <3
Strike Out,
Haley Wolf
Editor: Caroline Kostuch
Athens