Libby Otto had a plan. Graduate from Bryn Mawr College. Move to Washington.
The sociology major hoped to find a job in policy work in the nation’s capital. But when Bryn Mawr closed its Pennsylvania campus in March as coronavirus spread, Ms. Otto found herself back at her parents’ home in Seattle, finishing classes online and revamping her job search.
Libby Otto, a sociology major who graduated from Bryn Mawr College, has been revamping her job search.
Photo: Jasmine LeeLayoffs and furloughs have put as many as 40 million people out of work in the past 90 days. With a 13.3% unemployment rate , job-seekers of all ages don’t necessarily have the luxury of holding out for a position that matches their skills—or dreams. Hiring in many sectors—and cities—remains on pause, while summer internships have been scrapped amid the pandemic and its economic fallout. That means recent college graduates may find themselves vying for positions they wouldn’t previously have applied for.
But those just beginning their careers shouldn’t make perfect the enemy of good, says Beth Hendler-Grunt, president of Next Great Step, a Livingston, N.J., firm that coaches college students and graduates on their careers. By learning and honing skills in imperfect jobs, you can parlay them into better opportunities down the road, she says.
Beth Hendler-Grunt said she has encouraged graduates ‘to be more open and more flexible to taking on opportunities that they might not have thought about previously.’
Photo: Jeffrey Grunt“I have encouraged grads to be more open and more flexible to taking on opportunities that they might not have thought about previously,” she says. “It’s your first job. It doesn’t have to be your forever job.”
Ms. Otto, who is 21 years old, had been applying for data- and policy-research openings in Washington. She has expanded her search to include administrative support roles, in hopes of getting a foot in the door of a Congressional office, think tank or nonprofit. She says she has experience doing tech support, and that companies both in D.C. and places such as Madison, Wis., have reached out about interviewing her for IT jobs. So far, Ms. Otto has resisted pursuing these roles, but she says she may eventually give in.
“I’m definitely weighing, when is the point that I start looking at those tech jobs and rethinking how I get to D.C.,” she says.
The effects of graduating during a recession can be lasting. Lisa Kahn, an economics professor at the University of Rochester, found that grads who entered the job market during the recession of the early 1980s had, 15 years after finishing college, wages that were 2.5% lower than graduates who didn’t start out in a downturn.
One factor is that grads who begin work during a recession face limited opportunities, according to Ms. Kahn’s study. As a result, they are more likely to end up in a job that is a bad fit, either because the role doesn’t use their skills or isn’t something they want to pursue in the long term, the study says. Once they land in a job that is a better match, several years of professional and wage growth may be lost.
‘There’s a lot of pressure to find your dream job right out of college,’ said Allison McLean, career service manager at online coding school Springboard.
Photo: Jeff McLeanAllison McLean, career services manager at online coding school Springboard, says that even in a better job market it isn’t unusual for new grads to find they aren’t happy in the field they have pursued.
“There’s a lot of pressure to find your dream job right out of college,” she says.
How to maximize the potential of a less-than-perfect first job—and make the pivot to the next role easier:
Identify the source of your frustration.
There can be value in using a first job to identify your own skills and talents, career services manager Allison McLean says, as well as what you like and don’t like in a work environment. If a job feels like a bad fit, it’s worth taking a moment to determine why that is before plotting your exit.
“Assess: Is it the industry? The job? My boss? My coworkers? For some people, maybe they have a horrible work culture, but they’d probably like it somewhere else,” she says.
Focus on gaining skills.
Most jobs provide learning opportunities, even if they aren’t the ones a recent grad might be expecting. “I encourage them to see every job as: ‘What can I learn here?’ ” says Beth Hendler-Grunt, president of Next Great Step.
It is important to be able to demonstrate to your next employer what you learned in a first job, she says, especially skills such as excellent writing and the ability to communicate clearly and concisely. If you are frustrated, she says, focus on: “What new thing can you get out of it that you can take somewhere else and add value to somebody else?”
Network, internally and externally.
Consistent networking is essential, both for succeeding in your first job and finding your next one. Ms. Hendler-Grunt says she asks clients who tell her they aren’t happy in their first job, “Who’s sitting around you? Ask someone for lunch or coffee. See if they need help. Think of it as, ‘How can I learn something and make use of this time while I’m here?’ ”
She also recommends that recent grads expand their circle by reaching out to alumni groups. “People hire people,” she says. “Sending 200 applications to online job boards will not get you hired, 80% of jobs are found by referral.”
Don’t immediately assume a job isn’t the right one.
It can take a few months to adjust, says Ms. McLean, so patience is key to determining whether a job is wrong for you.
“You’re not going to love every single thing, but you want an overall satisfaction level,” she says. “As long as it’s not a toxic environment, it’s worth staying for nine to 12 months. It’s really easy to not like the first couple of weeks, or first month, but give yourself some time to assess the situation.”
Share Your Thoughts?
What advice would you give on how to avoid or change a job that isn’t a good fit? Join the discussion below.
Write to Kathryn Dill at Kathryn.Dill@wsj.com
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