On April 30 2013 03:02 Torte de Lini wrote:Show nested quote +On April 30 2013 02:39 HardlyNever wrote:On April 30 2013 02:09 Torte de Lini wrote:On April 30 2013 02:02 HardlyNever wrote:
Went through something fairly similar about 10 months ago. Only I was graduating from graduate school. I "slacked" and only started looking for jobs about 2 months prior to graduation (it is pretty hard when you are working 2 jobs and making sure you're getting both degrees you're in the program for, but I still could have done better).
It took me almost 9 months from the time of graduation until me actually starting my current job. The job I have now is one of the first ones I applied to after I graduated; it took over 5 months for them to narrow applicants, respond, do 2 interviews, and then eventually make an offer. That stretch of unemployment was probably the 2nd worst part of my life (won't get into the first). I would recommend doing 2 things (both of which I did, but should have done earlier):
1. Set a minimum number of jobs you are going to apply to each week. I started at 1, and upped that to 2 pretty quickly. I don't really know how many jobs I actually applied to in total.
2. Get a part time job doing something crappy. Yes, the job will suck, but it is better than sitting around for months on end. It gives you some social interaction, and some structure to the day/week.
On a side note, I decided sometime back in undergrad that I liked the "train" so to speak and wanted to work at a university/college if possible, and I'm doing that now. Just keep trying, things will eventually work out. I already do #1 with about 8-9 job applications every 3-4 days [in anything and everything] What's working at university like? I found the place dreadful because it didn't really challenge me, but more like a time-user (it filled up the majority of my days). I really like working at a university, but I would certainly say it isn't for everyone. Also, there are lots of types of jobs at universities, so I can't really say what your experience would be like at some particular jobs. However, if you are interested in doing anything "academic" you're going to need a higher degree (at least a masters), which would mean more school. And if you are finding universities "dreadful" more school probably doesn't appeal to you at this point. There are several reasons why I like working at universities, but the two that stand out to me (and this is mostly a personal thing): 1. Reasonably sized universities have a lot of resources/perks/discounts etc. that you get for just being a part of the "institution." These get better the higher you move up the academic ladder, but even at the bottom they are pretty good. 2. I don't really like the corporate world, but like the job security and benefits (see above) that are associated with it. Universities provide a lot of this without being "for profit" businesses. I also am the kind of person that feels like they constantly need to be learning, and universities are great for this as you can often get classes for free or heavily discounted if you are faculty (tying into #1). Overall, I just like the atmosphere and benefits that universities provide, but I'm not the type of person that feels like they need to be challenged in order to find something fulfilling (at least not all the time). I was definitely thinking of going back to school if I can't find anything to be honest, maybe graduate school in something more demanding than sociology (ughhh) What kind of perks? Interesting, it sounds pretty personal.
Grad school is a big decision in and of itself. Having just left grad school I can say this: there are too many people (imo) currently there, especially in the humanities/social sciences, that are there because they couldn't get anything else to work. Now, at least they are doing something and trying to make themselves better, but I got the sneaking suspicion that say... the bottom 20% of my "classmates" (defined broadly), were just kind of terrible at everything. They weren't going to be any more successful at their "post grad school" career than they were before. Just my 2c regarding the subject. It very well may not apply to you.
As far as benefits of working at a university, this of course varies from school to school and whether your university is a state school, private school, the size etc. Also, it is probably worth noting that while the US public education system (kindergarten- grade 12) is kind of crappy compared to the rest of the first world, the higher education is still regarded as one of the best if not the best systems in the world. US universities tend to have a lot of money and a lot of resources. I'm not sure if this is true in Canada, but I'm sure there are some really good institutions up there, as well. Since I've spent all of my higher education in mid/large sized public state schools, and I currently work at one now, I'll go with that. All of them provide what I would consider the "basic" necessities of a "real job" (i.e. career) that include:
-health insurance
-dental insurance
-retirement plan
-other insurances options (life, vision, etc. if you want them)
Those are pretty basic, however because most universities are part of the state education system, they tend to be pretty good (I had a dentist office tell me that my dental insurance was the best they've seen). Some things that are more unique to universities are as follows:
-General access to most or all of the campus facilities. This includes things like information resources (libraries, archives), gyms, food services, museums, performing arts, etc. For instance, I can go work out at the gym for 30 min per day (on work time) at my particular university.
-Continuing education. Again, this varies from school to school, but every university has had some benefits for faculty for continuing education. For the specific university system I work in, after I work here for 6 months, I get free tuition for most of the courses available within the state university system (with the exception of some courses that are high demand, like business, law and other "premium" courses).
-Progressive/liberal work environment. This is something I value personally, while others might not. I'm a fairly liberal/progressive minded person in most regards, and it is nice to work at places with similar attitudes.
Those are some that stick out. There are more, but I don't want this to turn into some sort of "brag blog" because that isn't my intent at all. I can tell you more in a pm or something if you are interested, or are interested in grad school I can give you my experience.
Hope that helps.
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On May 01 2013 08:28 Dojobear wrote:In reading through your blog and hearing you last night on eSportsCanadaTV, have you considered a field related to your studies like marketing or PR? I personally think what you've accumulated within the eSports world can be considered worthwhile experience so long as you can effectively communicate the results of your efforts, and the process properly. It may be worth considering a short term internship (paid or otherwise) in the interim to grab some experience/build up your networks as well, since you're not in debt and have some time at home. As for shotgunning out resumes... I have mixed feelings on that - I mean it eventually works because of probability, but I feel like you'd be using your time more efficiently singling out a few organizations with positions you're interested in and reaching out to them specifically (depending on the position, it might be worth volunteering/doing something pro-bono with them to at least get your foot in the door first and prove your wealth). Either way, I think you've got good chances; sooner or later someone's gonna punch your ticket and before you know it you'll be on-board the next train. 
Someone watched me on EsportsCanada haha! I wanted to do PR, but I wouldn't do a whole study on it after finishing Sociology and having three years experience (within E-Sports sadly) of PR and Marketing.
The problem with PR, so I am told, is that you need to know your journalist contacts initially, when applying. So it's hard to getting in, but then you transition to many PR jobs for different companies (apparently).
I've started contacting organizations I really wanted to get into and now I'm changed gears into something more hyper-drive-esque.
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EPT
