Hard Time Finding Employment

Thanks everyone for your input and advice. I am looking for a job related to business and utilizing my major. I originally started out wanting to get into Human Resources, but the hardest part is getting my foot in the door with no experience. I wasn't able to get internships because I'm no longer in school. I wanted to get PHR certified, but that required investment of my money and time towards a field that may not work out for me purely based on my lack of experience. Then I became less specific and searched for positions related to business.

I have looked at a lot of company websites, and I usually can't find many entry level positions. I've applied for a ton of jobs, many of which I'm either over qualified for or under qualified for. When looking for temp agencies, I don't really know where to go. I googled and looked up yellowpages.com for agencies in DE, and some are really specific to certain fields. Thanks hockey for the link.

yep... we hired one of our customer service reps from a temp service...she really WAS temporary...we had no intentions of hiring her...but she went above and beyond...somehow..some way...she got the job fulltime...and shes far better then either of the other two...infact teaches her boss a thing or two atleast once a week...


we have a national contract with the company...ill find out who it is...and get back with you later today

In the IT industry a college degree really doesn't even matter until you go into management.
For entry level positions it's all about certifications.
A+, Security +, MCTS, MCSE.
And yes, we initially hire only contractors. If they make the grade and we have open positions, they get hired on as Full Time Employees.
If they don't make the grade we just let them go and request another person from the agency.
These days it is SOOO difficult to fire someone, so this way we can get a 'drive before you buy' methodology. It really does work well.

So yes, I suggest taking the temp/contractor route.

the company is called centrix =oP

Welcome mslychee.

It's very hard for a BS Management grad to get going these days - there are a lot of you out there (I hold the same degree, but I found my industry in my second year of school and worked part-time until I graduated, the company actually paid for 1/2 of my degree then they paid for all of my MBA). You just spent your undergraduate work learning theory and being told how things are supposed to be, but when you actually get out there and start working, you'll find out what is supposed to be really isn't. Did you work at all while in school?

My first suggestion to you would be to make a plan - start by picking an industry. Map out what companies are in that industry and then start looking at where they show up (trade shows, public events, etc). Where do they advertise? What's their message? What products/services do the specialize in? What are the differences amongst the players?

You probably are going to have to start somewhere in Customer Service - nobody is going to give you a department to run or staff to supervise just because you hold a degree. The good thing about a Customer Service job is that you learn where everything is in a company and if you find a decent mentor, you can learn about the different departments, what they do and how they do it.

But you gotta get in first - most of the decent jobs out there aren't advertised, so you really need to know someone in the company or have someone refer you directly to someone in the company. You're at a real rough time right now because NOBODY seems to be hiring. I've been out of my industry for 3 years now and I still get phone calls monthly from head-hunters and former colleagues waiting for me to break down and go back!

Good Luck!

__________________
When in doubt, EMPTY the magazine.

ss0847, thanks for your help. I'll look into the temp agency and see if they can help me.

Raptor, thanks for your advice. I did have a few jobs while in school, but they didn't involve working for a big company. I helped my parents as an assistant property manager for 3 rental properties in Newark for about 3 years. I also worked at the university as an office assistant. My one regret is not getting an internship, but I had a lot of personal issues come up (breaking ties with my parents, moving out, and figuring out how to pay my last year of tuition) that prevented me from doing so.

I started out with the plan of getting into Human Resources, and I did the research to determine what I could do (PHR certification). Ultimately, I need the experience before I can get anywhere in that field. I have since given up on it because no one will hire someone with no experience in HR, and I was told so by the company that had considered me for an internship (which I didn't get b/c I'm no longer in school).

I'm not saying that I want to exactly manage people, even though I majored in management. I don't expect a company to hire me on to manage people either. I do have realistic expectations, and I know that I need years of experience with a company before that would even happen. I'm just looking for an entry level position in business...a position that will actually utilize what I learned in school. I don't want to know that I could have been an English major and have been given the same position.