Are you entering the workforce? If so, some of your many thoughts may be:  

• Will I find a job?  

• Am I okay with moving? Well, where to? How far? 

• What about compensation? And the other benefits?  

• How is the workplace environment? Am I a cultural fit?  

• And their diversity and DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) efforts?  

As the end of the school year rolls around, graduates everywhere are worrying about the next step of their lives. Wondering what life has in store for them and how they are going to adjust to post-graduate life.  

Today’s job hunt can be stressful to say the least. But after speaking with some of the newest Digital Corps staff members, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  

Getting the Job 

This is where it all starts.

The first job is where you enter into the workforce and it gives you the first impression of the rest of your career. But no pressure.  

So, how do you get the first job? What are the steps? Well, everyone you ask will tell you a different story.  

They will tell you how they got their first job from a previous opportunity or internship. Or how they applied to 500 different opportunities, and they chose the first offer they were given. Almost always they will say how their path was “not traditional.”

And that is the truth of it all.

Every path is different and “not traditional.” Because in today’s job search there is no tradition. 

To give some ideas of what today’s job market looks like let’s hear from the newest Digital Corps staff member our Training Coordinator, Annie Ashbrook:  

Annie’s Journey 

Entering her senior year in 2020, Annie was ready to leave after Covid-19 affected nearly every part of her collegiate experience.  

“The way that my schedule was going to turn out was that the spring semester of my senior year I would only have one capstone class,” Annie said. “After multiple internships and three and one-half years of school, I was so burnt out and I asked myself, ‘What can I do to not take this class?’ Somehow, by the grace of Ball State gods I was told I did not have to take this final class and I was able to graduate a semester early.” 

After finding out her collegiate career was coming to an end, she realized that the job hunt was coming much quicker than anticipated. 

So, she started applying. 

“I was rushing, like, ‘oh my gosh what am I going to do?’”  

After many applications and a couple of interviews, in January of 2021, a month after she graduated, a former intern manager reached out to Annie and asked if she was still on the hunt for a job. As she was, he told her about an open position on his team and mentioned how she should apply. And in February she found herself working full time as a Social Media Marketing Coordinator at SurveyMonkey.  

And that’s how it started. But how did it continue? Well, in today’s workforce working at one company forever and always is not the norm. Instead, looking for different opportunities for various benefits is the way many young adults are approaching their careers.  

According to The New York Times, “Seventy-four percent of 18- to 26-year-olds and 62 percent of 27- to 42-year-olds were searching for a new job or planned to search in the next six months.”  

This may seem scary to the older generations of workers; however, financial and personal benefits are clearly seen to those who do not stay in one spot for their entire careers. Annie would attest to that.  

After about a year at her position at SurveyMonkey, she decided she wanted to try a position in education. After some time in this position, getting a clear understanding of what she thought about the career path, she decided to go back to school to learn even more.  

Now, with her Masters recently wrapped, Annie has a very well-rounded resume and has touched on many different career paths setting her apart from other candidates. Despite being one of our more recent staff-hires, it is obvious how hard of a worker Annie is and that her previous experience has made her a very desirable employee.  

Insights and Lessons from Annie:  

From Annie, we learn that it is okay to take a step away from the original plan. To dip your toes into different career paths and to return to school to learn more about the world around you.  

Some additional advice Annie wishes she could have given herself and gives any current graduates is:  

Take the time to find the job you want to do rather than the job offered to you. 

“The first job I took, just wasn’t really what I was expecting, and it did not set me up for future jobs. I was really unhappy doing it, I was so disappointed. But I felt a lot of pressure from my family, and I wanted to move out so badly. But instead of taking the first job offered to me I could have filled the gaps, and I could have taken a job in food or retail to give me more time.” 

Reach out to your connections. 

“I know it sucks to do this and no one wants to do this, but you have to reach out to people. Even if you went to high school with someone at the company you’re applying for, you should reach out. It is better to have that personal connection. Be willing to send a message and be left on ‘read’ over just submitting your resume with 900 other people.” 

Don’t necessarily listen to advice your parents gave you. 

“During my job search I would complain to my parents about how I couldn’t find a job and they would tell me, ‘Go print and hand out your resume to these companies’ – like what century do you think we are in? And some of their standards on salary and other benefits were way out of reach for someone just entering the workforce.” 

Don’t use AI to write your cover letters. 

“It’s so easy to want to use Chat GPT to write your resume/cover letters. It is so easy to tell. Because everyone else is using it, everyone can tell. Especially for your cover letter, even though they are a little outdated, the cover letter is where you get to talk more about yourself, and you are going to be able to talk about yourself much better than Chat GPT.” 

It’s Your Turn 

If you have taken the time to read through this portion of The Woes and Pros of Entering the Workforce, it is most likely that you yourself are entering the workforce as well. This is not a little task, and it is not going to be an easy one.  

After reading this blog, remember to know your worth, take initiative with your prospects and don’t be afraid to take a step back and evaluate where you are. You are on your own timeline, and you can and should do whatever it is that makes you happy and keeps you afloat.  

With Annie’s advice and some new knowledge on the “nontraditional career path,” take your time and truly find what is best for you. Live your own path, don’t live through the path of someone else.