So congratulations - you made it! Four-plus years of hard work have paid off, and you finally have that precious degree to show for it. You are smart, well-educated, dedicated and ready to take on the world. Graduation was great, and so was the party… until everyone you know started asking you that dreaded question, “So, what are you going to do NOW?”
No matter what degree you came out of school carrying, you probably didn’t have an answer other than “Umm… go out and find a job?" Unless you are set to start grad school, have a spot reserved at your favorite Uncle’s office, or are independently wealthy, you’ve been asking yourself that same question. Unfortunately, that puts you in the same situation as everyone else that’s graduated in the past few years. You keep running into the old Catch 22 - you can’t get a job without experience, and you can’t get experience without a job. To make things worse, you’ve been hearing horror stories about the economy and the lack of openings out there, and you’ve applied to everything you’ve seen online and in the paper with no results. So what are your options?
The best answer may be using a placement agency to help you with your job search. Many companies are going the “Temp” or “Temp-to-Hire” route when it comes to finding great new grads to fill their positions during these unstable times.
From a hiring manager’s perspective, using an agency assures that they are getting the cream of the crop: pre-screened, pre-tested and pre-interviewed applicants that they KNOW are qualified and interested in their position, no matter what the person’s resume states. It saves them significant amounts of time, money and effort to get their “short list” of ideal candidates, and they don’t have to go through the pile of 700 resumes from Monster that are sitting on their desk – if they even bothered to make the opening public or post an ad.
Why will an agency help YOU? Maybe you still don’t know exactly how you want to use that degree, just like 99% of the people that I grew up with. Despite what your parents may say, there is certainly nothing wrong with that! Temping will give you a chance to try out/experience different fields, industries and office environments.
You may think you want to work for a small suburban office, but what if you took a job like that, got bored in a few weeks, and were trapped as you dreamt of the hustle and bustle of a big company in Center City? If you moved to Philly from out-of-state and aren’t familiar with the top-notch companies in the area, a recruiter can give you the low-down on who you might want to work for, and how to get noticed by their decision makers. Say you were pre-law, and got a temp job with a big-name firm as an office assistant – then decided after a few weeks you COULDN’T STAND working with attorneys? On the reverse side, I had a candidate that tried an unfamiliar industry out as a temp to make some cash while she looked for her “dream job”… she fell in love with the place and has been promoted twice in 18 months – instant career gold!
Whether you have specific plans for your future, want to beef up your resume, dip your toe into the corporate waters, or just want to make some money before you backpack through Europe or go to grad school, registering with a good agency will help you get a head start on your path to success. Broaden your search and your horizons…after all, isn’t that what going to college was really about?
Melissa Wilson, Recruiter
