Can't Find a Job? Don't Sue Your Alma Mater!

Google the name "Trina Thompson" and you get headlines that say "JOBLESS GRAD SUES COLLEGE FOR 70G TUITION" and "Trina Thompson Sues Monroe College for Bad Career Service". Reading her story, I found it outrageous. She even put 2,000 dollars for "stress compensation" during her job hunt--whatever that means. As a college graduate, I don't want to say "I don't blame her-it's tough out there" like every other college graduate but is it enough to compel to sue their own school too because they can't get a job? I doubt it, they know times are tough but as far as complaints go some students wished their alma mater would strengthen their alumni network and career services especially in times like these.

This article teaches a couple of lessons, one is that it is not how well you did in college but how well you work the system (explain later on) and the second lesson is that a college degree is not a free ticket to get a job. Things have changed a few years ago. Back then, one would get a job once they graduated or they would even get an offer before they graduated. Compared to today, it's no surprised that a person is still living back at home after their college years because they are still unemployed.

For Thompson, even if she got a 4.0 and had a strong work background in her field of study with internships, her exposure on the news lead her to becoming blacklisted from ever getting a good job. There are some criticisms about the articles published for examples she graduated in April and been job hunting for a few months but there has not been any mention of her how she approached her job hunt? Did she apply often? Did she actively follow up on the places she's been applying to show interest for an interview? But all in all from all the articles her suit is baseless and cannot hold her alma mater and career accountable.

The "system" I am talking is on about how to get a job-it is like having a full time job by itself. You have to look up for jobs in as many resources as possible it can be Monster.com or it can be from reading the newspaper or straight from a company website or from your alumni network or from friends of a friends. The sources are endless! So don't think just looking solely Craigslist could help launch your career. There are lots of websites and job agencies that post lots of opportunities in other websites that you would not see on Craigslist so explore-you've got the internet to look for jobs. Trying all sources out to find a job is draining because are so many of them and then you have to put the effort of creating that resume and cover letter and following up-but in the end its all worth it because you got a job.

Also there are going to be times where you apply to so many jobs but you have not heard from them in a long time can be pretty discouraging for job seekers but try to keep a good attitude throughout your hunt. A new job seeker fresh from college would go "Does it really take a degree to type 30 WPM and to be attentive detail (as said by the job description)? Why did they not consider me for an interview?" But the key to having a successful job search is to keep on looking, expand your resources, and if you're not sure about how your resume looks or how you approach your job search-then ask for help you need to!

In conclusion, a college degree is not a free ticket to getting job especially now so you have to put the effort to even look for a job. A lot more people are going to college and obtaining their degrees and the job market is getting fiercely competitively. And in other cases companies are getting rid of positions and job titles because they don't need them and they can't afford them so job opportunities get scarce. So fellow college graduates look hard and expand your options.