Post graduate dilemma

[toolboxolio]

Ok, so I graduated this past semester with a BS in Computer & Information Science with a 3.2 GPA.

I haven't put a great deal of effort into finding a job yet. I went to my school's career fair Jan 23rd and it wasn't what I expected. Most companies are looking for interns for summer. Fall career fair is where they do the real hiring.

Anyhow, I was wondering if I should be stressing much. I have a good amount of experience and background as a technophile.

Also, my GPA from UF reflects all Junior / Senior level courses since I went to community college for an AA (3.67 GPA).


What are your post graduate experiences? And do I suck?

 

[tbike06]

Why didnt you get a summer internship? Then if they like you hopefully they will give you an offer.

 

[Art Vandelay]

Have you checked out this thread? Also, finding a job is never easy unless you are a perfect match, keep looking, it took me 5 months to find my first real job post-graduation.

 

[edro]

I haven't put a great deal of effort into finding a job yet.

/thread

 

[toolboxolio]

Originally posted by: edro

I haven't put a great deal of effort into finding a job yet.

/thread

I might not be giving myself credit when I said that. I did drive 300 miles back to my school for 2 days to goto career fair. Talked to 20+ companies, most of which I don't think I could work for. The ones I wanted to work for told me the best thing is to come back in Fall.

I am currently in talks with a person I know at Motorola. He works higher level and is in charge of hiring for his dept. The thing is that they are letting 3500 people go this year. Though they are still hiring, I won't hear back until the cuts are finalized and they see a new budget.

 

[toolboxolio]

Originally posted by: tbike06
Why didnt you get a summer internship? Then if they like you hopefully they will give you an offer.

I guess I feel that I should be able to do better than that.

All my friends from the same college who graduated have jobs that pay 55 - 66k. They never did internships and most have around the same GPA. My one friend who is getting 66k had a 4.0. But it even took him 5 months to get that.

 

[smack Down]

Why did you wait until after you graduated to start looking for a job?

 

[ngvepforever2]

What do you mean by "good amount of experience" and what is Computer and Information Science?, is it like computer science or like information technology? or a mix of both? Either way, as others have said, you should have gotten an internship while you were in school, because your GPA is ok but it's not stellar. Have you thought about applying for Jobs in other states or you want to stay in Florida?

ng

 

[toolboxolio]

Originally posted by: ngvepforever2
What do you mean by "good amount of experience" and what is Computer and Information Science?, is it like computer science or like information technology? or a mix of both? Either way, as others have said, you should have gotten an internship while you were in school, because your GPA is ok but it's not stellar. Have you thought about applying for Jobs in other states or you want to stay in Florida?

ng

Hindsight is always a pain. Yes, I woulda, coulda, shoulda alot of things while I was in school.

But I was more concerned about my financial situation when I transferred into a university and just pounded it out. I did work full time while I was full time at community college. WebMD and technical contract work with the school. However that experience is outdated and small scale compared to what I am trying to get into.

The Florida thing, that is a preference for what I consider a best case scenario. Since I moved back into my parents house, I am saving tons of money. No more food, utilities, rent, laundry cost to me. Staying here a couple years will save me 15K+ a year compared to living on my own. My family is very tight when it comes to helping one another. It was my parents' idea to stay at home, save and pay off loans / debt and gain experience for a 2-3 years.

 

[CountZero]

Most comanies seem to have two large hiring times (some only use one or the other). Fall and January. I'd be a bit worried but most companies probably still have many entry level positions posted.

Here's what I did:
1. Make a list of the companies you want to or can work for. Put any company you can think of on this list (I was EE so this might be different if you are IT side of things since thats nearly all companies).
2. Order the list from where you most want to be to least.
3. Starting from the top sign up on their job pages, and apply to positions. Record the date you did this and possibly the job number if it doesn't automatically track it.
4. A week later go back and see if there are more jobs posted, if so apply.

If you stack alot of companies at the same time and they work at about the same speed you could have multiple interviews around the same time which sucks but if you get multiple offers you can weigh them against each other whereas if you are slow about it you might get one offer period. If you stick to doing at least a couple companies a day and repeating companies weekly or so you should start hearing from people.

Oh and if you know someone who might be able to hand your resume off inside then do it. Its not what you know its who you know is definitely true and can help alot.

I should add I never made it through my list of companies. Alot were fall backs and in the end I got an offer from a company I wanted to work for.

 

[toolboxolio]

Originally posted by: CountZero
Most comanies seem to have two large hiring times (some only use one or the other). Fall and January. I'd be a bit worried but most companies probably still have many entry level positions posted.

Here's what I did:
1. Make a list of the companies you want to or can work for. Put any company you can think of on this list (I was EE so this might be different if you are IT side of things since thats nearly all companies).
2. Order the list from where you most want to be to least.
3. Starting from the top sign up on their job pages, and apply to positions. Record the date you did this and possibly the job number if it doesn't automatically track it.
4. A week later go back and see if there are more jobs posted, if so apply.

If you stack alot of companies at the same time and they work at about the same speed you could have multiple interviews around the same time which sucks but if you get multiple offers you can weigh them against each other whereas if you are slow about it you might get one offer period. If you stick to doing at least a couple companies a day and repeating companies weekly or so you should start hearing from people.

Oh and if you know someone who might be able to hand your resume off inside then do it. Its not what you know its who you know is definitely true and can help alot.

I should add I never made it through my list of companies. Alot were fall backs and in the end I got an offer from a company I wanted to work for.

grreat i'll try that.

 

[Whisper]

It took me a few months to find a job I wanted after a May graduation a couple years back (although I've since gone back to grad school), so I wouldn't be terribly worried.

However, I'll also give you the same advice a friend gave to me: you have to treat job hunting like a full-time job in its own right. It deserves, at the very least, a few hours of your attention everyday.

 

[clamum]

I started looking for a job probably about 5/6 months before I graduated (B.S. in computer science) with no luck. Took me 6 months AFTER graduating to find a job, which doesn't pay much though I'm gonna make about 5k more in a bit. It's not like I don't know my stuff either, and I had a 3.4 GPA. I think not having a co-op or internship hurt me the most.

 

[toolboxolio]

Ok, I feel a little better know. Though I am wishing I did make an internship happen. I did have a shot at Intel last year. But I didn't want to put off my grad date for a two semester internship (summer / fall). I thought if I could get an intership while in school that I would be able to get something better with a degree.

Oh well. Let's see if I was right.

 

[j00fek]

you need experience. best thing to do is get an internship, i did the same type schooling you did. i had an internship for 1.5yrs while i was in school. it paid off when i got hired, youll find out that the exp. will help you alot. i havent herd of any companies looking for higher gpa candidates, i dont think that matters.