Resume Writing

The purpose of your resume is to make the reader want to interview you. Resumes should be informative, concise, consistent, and should highlight intriguing skills and experience. They should grab attention early and provide a concentrated, convincing argument that you perfectly match the position at hand.

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Best Bets for College Degrees

The job market for recent college graduates is the best it‚Äôs been in years. Starting salaries for entry level jobs are up nearly across the board, and more companies are hiring than in recent years. Competition is fierce, however, and a college degree doesn‚Äôt mean as much as it used to–and some mean more than others. Graduates looking at entry level jobs are more likely to see more attractive numbers in certain fields.
Salary levels are up nearly across the board, and while liberal arts majors are seeing a well-deserved increase in starting salary, they should expect their teeth to be cut by the time they earn a comfortable living.
Degrees at the top of the charts include the usual suspects. Engineering degrees offer consistently more attractive salaries, in all varieties from chemical to mechanical. Demand varies from one region to another, especially demographically dictated fields like civil engineering–graduates can follow the trends to find the best opportunities.
The financial services sector has seen some rapid growth in recent years, with many companies recruiting graduates of all fields. Positions in the industry offer a strong entry level salary, and internal promotion is generally the firm’s intention. The luckiest of accounting majors may even see six figures.
Job mobility soon trumps entry-level pay, but the same fields that offer the highest base salary generally account for some of the best advancement opportunities as well. Climbing the ladder to management is made easier for those with knowledge of their field, and for the fields in demand, opportunities from start to finish are always open.

The Wonderful World of Temping

For those who believe the endless cycle of resume submission and rejection is more frustrating than the actual experience of college education, the world of temporary placement offers a great alternative to the usual supplication requisite with entry-level assignment. Aside from the competitive wages, which are often in line with other companies that recruit straight from the college campus, temp agencies offer a number of advantages for those who would sooner be judged on performance instead of presentation.
Employment agencies evaluate job skills and place candidates accordingly, sidestepping the months wasted filing applications to an uncaring corporate world. Jobs come knocking without the endless phone tag and “we’ll let you know” frustrations, and multiple placements create a rapidly growing list of business references. The better agencies offer benefits, bonuses, and continuing client support.
Short-term placements are invaluable to the recent grad unsure of long-term life plans, who wants a steady paycheck without the lengthy commitment, offering a degree of flexibility otherwise impossible–though this understandably comes at the expense of job security. One temp was let go on the eve of the office New Year‚Äôs party. The low commitment means placements can end at any time, often without warning or explanation–though a solid performance can easily lead to a permanent position. Temps really have to shine, as they make easy targets for managers looking to cut the bottom line, or who simply needed a spot filled for a month. But for those with any job skills the market is insatiable, and new assignments come quickly–even the same day.

The Wasteland

Graduation is a bit overrated. It costs tens of thousands of dollars, takes several years, is generally spent doing little real-world preparation, and two-thirds of college students end up living with their parents for a while anyway. Not the path to the future so often promised in the brochure. It leaves one with mountains of debt and fewer prospects than high-school-only peers who already have the job, the apartment, a classy wardrobe and a business card.
It is, of course, the path to financial freedom and success. Rarely are the upper echelons populated by anything but the highly educated. Circumstances out of the gate, however, can often be more disheartening than lucrative, as an entry level position will rarely be a dream job. Those who expected their living rooms to resemble a page out of the Pottery Barn catalog may soon be disappointed to realize their prospects are less than ideal. Those who define themselves by their status or title may be in for a difficult first few years. Entry level jobs are just that–entry level, and often come with all the frustrations requisite with the position.
As many soon come to realize, 25 is the new 40 for a life crisis. The difficulties of the real world can lead to disillusionment for the multitudes who thought their diploma would be the beginning and end of their career search. We all knew it would be harder than that–no really, we did–but we all know we were wishing for six figures at 22.
My cousin in high school makes more money than I do with a college degree. She is a baby-sitter for a wealthy family, and spends most of her time playing Nintendo and counting cash. I’m sure the investment will pay off someday. But in the meantime it may take more dedication than hard work to pursue the dream.

Money or Happiness after Graduation

The age-old question will never go away, and the idealists that place quality of life over an increment rise in pay may be fronting for a casual longing for a more comfortable paycheck. Everyone has their price.
It‚Äôs worth a second thought, though, when so many college students scouring the career services offerings for an entry level job will work themselves to the bone willfully and with pride for a job that pays less than they‚Äôre worth. The most successful workaholics show up 15 minutes early, had their coffee on the way and nail the interview–maybe they land a dream job, maybe they don‚Äôt. But they will work hard either way. They have to crawl every step to the top, and they know it can mean scraping by and working long hours for those first few years–with the belief, albeit often quite accurately–that it will someday pay off.
Hard work will only be rewarded at reputable companies, of course–but it‚Äôs worth considering, when applying for entry level positions that won‚Äôt be the least bit fulfilling, if it will be worth it. There is no reason to work hard doing something of no interest, just to someday be a manager, working harder, still doing something of no interest. To hear people talk of consistent 13 hour days doing little more than customer service in a suit and tie is rather discouraging, especially when those are the people that have worked at the company more than a few years.
Perhaps it goes without saying that a paycheck from anywhere is generally better than no paycheck from nowhere–but don‚Äôt forget work doesn‚Äôt have to be a means to an end.
I met a man who said, “I love my job. I love, love, love my job. Every morning I get up I can’t wait to get to work.”
I’ll never forget it. It’s worth pursuing.

Working at Home

There may indeed be companies that pay people to take surveys, and plenty of envelopes do need to be mailed–but it‚Äôs rare to hear of someone earning even supplementary income from these frequent bulletin board occupants.
Opportunities do in fact exist for those who enjoy late mornings and the freedom of flexible hours. Many companies offer entry level jobs for employees working from home, and the practice will only become more widespread as the world gets more connected, christening it “telework” and validating its relevance with a sophisticated title.
Data entry and research positions lend themselves especially well to the practice, with the same entry level offerings available in the office or at home, with sales and customer service opportunities available as well. Many of these jobs begin as office employment and only later move outside the home, but expect the opportunities to grow in the coming years.
For the freelance writer many opportunities exist for editing and copywriting, especially for online publications for which there is no office; this expands the search criteria beyond the local offerings, and allows endless opportunities and exposure.
Keep in mind, however, that working from home appreciably leads to fewer business contacts and networking opportunities, and makes padding the references section a little more difficult. For those who want to land the job of their dreams they will have to show up to the office eventually, but for decent or supplemental pay on one’s own terms, it’s hard to beat.

Entry-level writing jobs and your future

While your parents may not be taking the news for your journalistic aspirations as well as they would if your dreams involved med school, the future is looking up for writers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Bureau of Labor Statistics concludes that there is a growing demand for writers that will reach around triple the current average around the year 2014.
It may seem a bit odd that in a world that is becoming more and more technical that the demand for writers would increase but upon reflection it is hard to not notice that someone needs to create all the published work available on the Internet. Writers and editors are needed for all kinds of jobs like advertising copy to periodicals. A simple entry-level writing job search shows that writers are already coming into a demand. For example, the new news information medium is bloging. Blogging gives a voice to anyone with an opinion but advertisers are also using this form to sell products. So there are lots of places to get your name out there in the writing world through an entry-level job opportunity and there is also an ability to get paid!

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Will your major help or hinder you in your entry-level job search?

It may seem that all of your friends whom stuck with Business, Accounting, or Marketing degrees in school had the right idea as far as pursuing a lucrative job post-graduation. After all, in doing a basic search on most job websites- most entry level jobs are associated with business and marketing.
But there are jobs out there for the English and Philosophy majors, you may just have to search a little harder for them and may require some clever thinking in how you can transfer how you learned (perhaps being analytical and creative) can transfer to even the stuffiest job. Creativity, for example, is often called for in entry-level jobs, employers often describe looking for people whom can “think out of the box.” That would be a clue to us, creative types, that the employer wanted someone whom was creative. Employers want people whom can problem solve and come up with solutions that may save time or money. Analytical or logical thinkers are also very useful in the business world because we have sharpened our ability to think out the tiny details and see the big picture. This will save time and allow us to find mistakes or flaws in a system before they cost the company money.

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Entry Levels jobs and your dreams

When searching for jobs after college, it seems logical to start off in an entry- level job in almost any field. After being in school for so long where you have acquired the educational bones needed to succeed in life you may feel that you are complete and ready to work but, you will most likely lack the work experience that will flesh out what you have learned. Hopefully when you graduate you have some idea of the type of dream job that you will want to work one day.
It is very rare to graduate and right away get your dream job. And as far as I know, it is very unlikely to graduate and know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life. Some people will choose to head directly into the work force and grab an entry-level job that they see. It will give them needed experience and certainly help to pay back loans or rent. However, you can have an entry-level job and still be heading towards a career that you would like to have.

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Online scams and writing jobs for entry level applicants

If you use a search engine to do look for entry level writing jobs, you will ultimately be flooded with results that promise little work, flexible hours, and high pay all at the your home. These job offers may seem to be like hitting the jackpot. Imagine being able to do all your work in pajamas while still having time to hang out with your friends and sleep late. It should sound somewhat like a fantasy because it most likely will be one. Some of these so-called job offers for entry-level writers are scams. They require you to pay a subscription fee for using their database of real job offers.
It is often very hard to determine if these writing jobs are fraudulent. I would suggest doing a search on Google or yahoo to see if anyone has posted on other websites about scams. Some things to consider if you want to try to work with a website for job offers- some will have a trial period that you should take advantage of before shelling out a lot of money for the subscription. Also, think about how much money they are asking for and what they tell you that you will get for it. It is pretty unrealistic for them to promise you automatic jobs just for signing up, but they should be able to provide lots of job postings that are current and updated frequently. The website www.writing-world.com has a lot of resources that highlight what to look for in a possible scam and it also had some reference websites to spot scams that have been reported. Internet offers may be a risk that you would have to consider if it was right for you to pursue this way of a writing job or maybe to search for different entry level writing jobs.