With commencement ceremonies throughout the week, many graduating seniors at Cal State Long Beach are facing the intimidation and constraints of having to enter the “real world” and seek occupation in today’s competitive work force for the first time.
Economics major Joseph King, a senior walking at graduation this year, began feeling the pressures of finding work in his field. Early in the spring semester, King addressed his concerns to his department office and was given assistance in finding local internship opportunities that best suited his qualifications, personal goals and interests.
King submitted his resume and had only one interview before successfully landing a non-paid internship at a marketing firm in Newport Beach. After three months, the company offered King a full-time paying position that he accepted. Finding an internship has proven to be very rewarding for him, as he recommended the process to all students.
“I got the job without ever even filling out an application,” said King.
The application process is one of the most daunting aspects graduates face in the quest for careers. While graduates do hold degrees, often the degrees alone are not sufficient.
Applicants potentially relinquish their entire privacy to employers when agreeing to have background checks, drug tests, lie detector tests, psychological assessments or other approaches that many companies utilize to filter through prospective job candidates.
Several businesses have also begun investing in organizations that specialize in verifying that the information given by job applicants is legitimate. Students should be warned that falsifying information during the application and interview processes could likely be the most detrimental mistake to landing a position.
Though individuals with troubled pasts may feel especially discouraged, being honest about skeletons in one’s closet and not letting those situations deter from an opportunity is what the assistant director of the Mentoring Business Program, Nohel Corral, advised.
Having recently counseled one student facing this dilemma, Corral recommended applying to many different establishments when hunting for the right job.
“Often times larger companies will implement really harsh applicant standards, while smaller companies won’t be so tough,” said Corral.
One concern is that current students are not sufficiently preparing for the job search process altogether. With nearly 300 students in the business department, only about half are actually taking advantage of the mentoring programs offered, said Corral.
The Career Development Center (CDC) is one of many facilities on campus that helps the students and alumni of CSULB ease any insecurities in the transition between the university and a professional occupation.
