47 Creative Ideas, Resources, and Tips for Anyone Graduating College Without a Job

by RJ

in Making Money

It’s not the end of the world, if you find yourself graduating without a job. Times are changing. No longer are college grads handed over jobs because of their education

There are a lot of options and all of them are better than being in a job you don’t like. I’ve hand picked over 40+ ideas, resources, and tips to get you off on the right foot.

Build Skills That are in Demand

Chances are you didn’t have a class in college devoted to building some of the following skill sets. That’s good news because if you were not taught this in school, either was anyone else. If you can devote 30-60 days to learning the basics of one of the following skills, you can begin to sell your services for a fee. Plus, it looks a little better on a resume than saying you’re proficient in excel.
  1. Copy writing
  2. Search engine optimization
  3. Internet Marketing (Social Media, Ad Words,
  4. Building mobile applications
  5. Translation
  6. .NET
  7. PHP
  8. HTML
  9. CSS
  10. JAVA
  11. SQL
  12. Photoshop
  13. Graphic design

Bonus # 1: Don’t immediately go out and pay for a class. Since money is probably tight, utilize free resources on the Internet. Here are some of my favorite places to learn for free:

  1. MIT Open Course Ware – Everything
  2. YouTube – Everything
  3. iTunes U – Everything
  4. Education Portal – Everything
  5. Open Learn – Everything
  6. Open Culture – Everything
  7. 30 Day Challenge – Internet Marketing
  8. Academic Earth – Everything
  9. LiveMocha – Language Learning
  10. TED – Everything
  11. Khan – Everything
  12. Videojug – Everything

Bonus # 2: Want to know the latest trends of skills that are in demand? Elance.com is a site where business post certain jobs and freelancers bid on each job. This is a great way to see what skills businesses are valuing today.

Making Money / Entrepreneurship

There is no better time to start a business than after graduation. You have low monthly expenses, you don’t have a family to support, and you don’t have a mortgage to pay off. There might never be another time in your life when you have a blank slate to follow your dreams.

  1. Start your own business
  2. Start a blog about the skill you’re learning. Writing about your work, somehow gets you seen as an expert very fast.
  3. Get a part-time job to pay your bills and make minimum payments on debt.
  4. Find a way to get in the field you want to be in. Even if that means working for free or a low level job.
  5. Attend a convention of your chosen field. (You didn’t hear it from me, but keep your student ID for a discount)
  6. Write a research/white paper on the industry you want to be in. Post it on your blog or send it out to companies you want to work for.
  7. Write business plans/suggestions/ideas and send them to companies you want to work for.

Additional Learning

  1. Read What Color is your Parachute
  2. Get your PMBA (Personal MBA)
  3. Join Toastmasters

Networking

  1. Develop your own elevator pitch
  2. Read How to Win Friends and Influence People
  3. Read Who’s Got Your Back
  4. Join a local organization such as your local Chamber, Kiwanis, or Rotary. If there is a bunch of salesman trying to sell you something once you attend, look for more ideas on MeetUp.com. The goal is to find a group or organization that has something to do with the field you want to be in.
  5. Set up a profile on LinkedIn and connect with everyone.
  6. Set up a profile for your parents on LinkedIn and build their network. Now log in to their profile and find people who can help you.

Volunteer/Travel

  1. Since you don’t have a lot of money but have a lot of time, it’s a perfect time to volunteer. For ideas visit the Global Volunteer Network.

What Not To Do

  1. Look for jobs on Craigslist, Career Builder and Monster.
  2. Work full time at the same summer job you had all throughout college.
  3. Go back to school because there are no options.
  4. Move out of your parents house before you find a job

For more things of what not to do, visit 14 Dumb Mistakes College Students Make.

Good luck!

Have any creative ideas for those graduating without a job? Please list them in the comments.

If you learned something from this article, can you help me out by Tweeting or sharing this post on Facebook? Thank you!

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Tagged as: college, graduation

{ 1 comment }

Kyle C.No Gravatar May 13, 2010 at 7:40 am

Networking is probably one of the most important things prospective job seekers need to do. Especially if you are trying to get started with your own business. I am struggling right now to find the right people to help me branch out and make the connections I need to get my business rolling. It is slow going but you have to keep on trying if you ever want to succeed.
.-= Kyle C.´s last blog ..Sell Your Car Yourself, Screw the Dealership – Part 2 =-.

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