3 Ways Students Can Create Their Own Jobs
Gen Y career and workplace expert Lindsey Pollak just posted a great blog article about how students can make the most of a jobless summer. Rather than pinning the blame for being unemployed on the unemployed, she wisely took the high road by understanding that few want to be unemployed and most are victims of the economy, bad advice, or lack of advice.
So how can high school and college students make the most of a jobless summer? Lindsey recommends three courses of action:
- Volunteer. I've heard hundreds candidates complain that it isn't fair that they can't get hired without experience. They typically say something like, "If I don't have experience, how can I get the experience that employers require?" The answer is to volunteer. If you're an accounting major, volunteer to do the books for a non-profit or small business. Many will say that they need to make money and can't afford to volunteer. Wrong. Find a job in an industry like fast food which requires little to no experience and work there to make money. Then volunteer to get the experience you need for your chosen career path. Will it be tough to work two part-time jobs? Yes. Will it be tougher to be unemployed? Definitely.
- Take On a Project. Employers don't hire students or recent graduates to sit in classes and take tests. Employers hire people to get work done so you need to show them that you can get their work done. One way to do that is to create a project for yourself that will give you the ability to demonstrate that you can get the work done. If you're looking for a writing position, read one or more books on a topic that will likely be of interest to your future employer and then review it on a site like Amazon.com. Then when you sit down with that employer you'll be able to talk about the writing project that you successfully completed and point them to the tangible outcome of that project -- the review.
- Start a Small Business. Lindsey's provides a handful of excellent ideas including dog walking, tutoring, computer programming, babysitting/nannying, and social media consulting. These are all areas in which a typical student can excel, make good money, and get great experience.
Volunteering is perhaps most practical in my opinion as long as it is a win win situation. Volunteering is far more likely to lead to something in the future not to mention the opportunity to build new friends/relationships. Starting a business is perhaps ideal but who has the funds to pony up these days.