9 lessons the brutal job hunt has taught me

1.     There are A LOT of intelligent and talented people out there and there is always one that is better than the next. There will always be that person who has a better website, more Twitter followers, a more interesting blog or hundreds more blog followers than you. Of course, it would be great to have the best website, thousands of blog and Twitter followers with really awesome content, but pick one and excel at it. That doesn’t mean not to ONLY have one of those, but pick the one your best at and become even better. It demonstrates initiative and shows off your talent. It’s stiff competition and no one has room to just be ordinary anymore.

2.     How to avoid putting too much pressure on yourself. I put a lot of pressure on myself daily to continuously network, stay up to date on current events especially in PR, read endless amounts of blogs and follow certain influential people on Twitter, but it’s difficult! There are so many great blogs out there and thousands of influential people on Twitter, however; narrow that down to the field you want to delve into and that online sphere will become a lot smaller. Try not to solely follow these people, try and interact with them! Create intelligent Twitter content and interact with as many professionals in that field as possible. Never before have we had the opportunity to send a personal tweet to the CEO of (insert dream company here). We need to take advantage of that!

3.     How to deal with frustration and stress. Well, for starters relaxing and re-evaluating my current situation is what has helped me the most. I have great networking weeks and weeks that have gone by where I haven’t heard from anyone, which becomes extremely frustrating. Being able to critique yourself and evaluate what you’re doing wrong or what you should be doing is a huge step to accomplishing your goals. Running, for me, is another huge stress reliever and thank god it’s a healthy one! Running allows me to cope with my stress in a healthy way that gives me the opportunity to assess what my goals are and what I’m doing on a daily basis to get where I want to be.

4.     Stepping away from the computer and taking some time to yourself. This one is HUGE! You can only sit at the computer for so long and apply to endless jobs throughout the day. A lot of the job search is waiting for other people to respond and for your networking abilities to pay off and land you that informational interview you’ve been working so hard for. Sitting at the computer all day waiting for a response will drive anyone up the wall, so step away. Set up segments of your day to devote to job searching, networking and researching and then step away for a few hours. It won’t kill you and everything will be right back where you left it, but this time hopefully with the response you’ve been waiting for! 

5.     The world is changing and so is the job search strategy. It’s people like this we are up against in today's job market. Can you imagine what it will be like in 10 years? I mean honestly, can you?

6.     An online presence today is a must. I’m sure if you’re reading this post then I’m just preaching to the choir, but a personal website, Twitter, LinkedIn and blog are now becoming the norm. And not only are they necessities to have, but it’s imperative to actually understand how to use them and use them effectively.

7.     People are more willing to help than you may think ESPECIALLY in PR and ESPECIALLY in your alumni network. I have reached out to countless Penn State alumni to set up informational interviews just to chat and hear about their transitions from students into their first PR jobs. Every time I reach out I have gotten a response in return. Everyone is busy, but everyone remembers what it was like to be in our position. Penn Staters are willing to help out other Penn Staters especially now more than ever. We are smart, driven and aspiring young professionals that just want to find our way. And what better way to do that than the advice and guidance of successful former alumni. So just reach out because you would be surprised at how helpful people truly are.

8.     Use hashtags and blogs like #HAPPO to help with the job search. Think about it, #HAPPO was created specifically for people like us, so take advantage of the tools that are out there because there are a lot more than you may actually think.

9.     Do something meaningful with the extra time on your hands because you probably won’t have it again for a VERY long time. Take an online class and continue learning and advancing your knowledge. It will show that you’re not just wasting your time and waiting for things to fall into your lap. Do some freelance work for local start-ups or small business’, start a blog, create a website, volunteer and get involved. It doesn’t really matter what you do, but make sure you are doing something. Once you land that interview you can show that employer the initiative and extra steps you took during your job search that someone else probably did not take.

It gets frustrating at times, but the connections I made from putting myself out there and speaking with people I would have normally never met are priceless. My opportunity will surface soon I can just feel it! To be honest, if I had started a job directly out of college I don’t think I would have appreciated it as much as I do now. I don’t just look for a job, I look for a career with a company or organization that I can grow and learn with everyday.