This is not good news for the college class of 2012. According to an article on USAToday.com, college graduates who have their bachelor’s degrees are having a harder time finding jobs, and many are accepting lower-wage jobs, such as serving jobs in restaurants and receptionists in business offices.

However, it’s not every college graduate who is suffering due to this poor job economy. There are some who are still doing just fine. Students who majored in education, health, and science are finding jobs, but those who studied arts or humanities are having a hard time. This problem could also be because these students have not studied for a career, per se, like those who have majored in science, education, or health are more likely to have done.

“I don’t even know what I’m looking for,” said Michael Bledsoe. Bledsoe graduated in 2010 with a degree in creative writing. Since then, he has been working at a coffee shop as a barista because his college degree did not open up all the doors he thought it would. After two years without any results from his numerous job applications, Bledsoe is considering attending graduate school as his next step in the job-hunting process. “There is not much out there [with his current level of education], it seems.” Read the rest of this entry »

One year ago, I was like many other college seniors. I was facing my last semester of college and knew that I had to get a job soon, but I had no idea about what I wanted to do with my college degree. I could have done what my parents suggested and gotten an entry-level position at a company near my hometown, but instead I did something a little more extreme. I applied for a teaching position in Spain and was accepted. Eight months later, I was on a trans-Atlantic flight to start my “gap-year” as an English teacher.

So far, this year abroad has been a life-changing opportunity and I am very glad that I am doing it. I have learned more about a culture and a language than I could ever have done if I had stayed in the USA, and my time abroad will make me more desirable to future employers.

If you are a college student and want to live and work abroad after graduation, you have several options. You can secure an internship or job with a company that has an overseas office and ask to be transferred to that office. However, this can be difficult and many companies are not willing to do this. If you want a surefire guaranteed way to live abroad, here are some good options for you.

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As a recent college graduate, I can relate to William Klein. Klein recently graduated from the College at Brockport, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history. Shortly after graduating, Klein moved back in with his parents and returned to his high school job, serving tables for $7.25/hour. It’s not that Klein did not look for another job or that he didn’t apply for these jobs. The problem is that these employers did not think that Klein had enough education and needed to get a master’s degree before they would consider hiring him.

Long gone are the days when a bachelor’s degree was enough education to get your foot in the door at a prestigious job. Instead, the master’s degree has become the newest ticket you will need to ride the ride.

Some are calling this new trend credential inflation, but whatever you call it, there is no denying the fact that more and more people are pursuing a master’s degree in order to get a job. In 2009, 657,000 master’s degrees were awarded; this number has doubled since the 1980s and has increased even more substantially in the past few years.

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As a recent college graduate, I can tell you that the whole finding-a-job process is difficult, exhausting, and discouraging. You can cruise websites like Monster.com, read your local classified ads, and network to your heart’s content, but you still might not find the right job, even though you have spent hours searching. Luckily, a new website takes a lot of the legwork out of this process for you. Let me introduce you to YourEmployment.com.

YourEmployment.com is a free website that lists more than 500,000 jobs from more than 20,000 websites and job boards. YourEmployment.com has full time, part time, internships, and temporary positions available while also offering resources that you might need in order to make yourself a better candidate for jobs, such as information about pursuing a higher education.

Employers also use this website to list jobs that they currently have available. Employers either list directly on YourEmployment.com or the website searches it’s network of websites to find listings that are applicable and relevant for job-searchers.

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As a recent college graduate, I am here to tell you: the job market is dismal. Last year, workers ages 16-24 (a generation also known as the Millennials) faced an unemployment rate of 18.4 percent. This is the highest unemployment rate for this age group in the past 60 years. The U.S. Labor Department recently reported that there are four unemployed American for every one new job that becomes available. That’s some pretty tough competition, if you ask me.

So what should recent grads who want to start their careers do? One option is to move back in with Mom and Dad until things improve. In fact, 85 percent of recent graduates are doing just that. By living with their parents, Millennials can reduce their living expenses and focus on reducing the large amount of debt that they probably incurred during college.

Another option will take students far away from their parents’ house. I thought I was being somewhat unusual when I decided to look outside our nation’s boarders for a job, but evidently, that is one of the biggest trends among Millennials. Where are these ex-pats going to start their careers? Many are going to Asia, where they can teach English and learn about a culture that is very different from their own. Japan and South Korea are two very popular options, with high wages and low costs of living luring in many recent graduates.

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I will graduate from college this year. As that deadline looms closer and closer, I have started to realize that I need to find a job. I have been to several interview workshops and had my resume proofread by countless advisers. However, I just learned something that nobody ever bothered to tell me: resumes need keywords.

Most employers prefer resumes that are sent via email. These emailed resumes are then scanned by an Applicant Tracking System (basically, a search engine for resumes). These programs pre-screen your resume to determine if you are a qualified candidate for the position or if the interviewer should look elsewhere for their next employee.

Here a few basic guidelines for properly using resume keywords to get yourself the job interview. Beyond that, it’s up to you to dazzle the interviewer.

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