Advice to graduating seniors on how to plan for the future
COMMENTARY
Laura McFarland

When I graduate in May, there won’t be any more buffers between me and the real world. And it scares the heck out of me.

Depending on what career and living arrangements I have made, I may be moving to a different part of the state or the country.

While part of me is ecstatic about these changes, another part can’t help but be worried about what my prospects are going to be like.

I worry if I will find a job, and if I do, will it be a good job? Will I have to settle for a job I don’t like just to start making money to support myself?

Let’s face it, with the economy like it is right now, the job market isn’t the greatest. As of October, the national unemployment rate was 6 percent. That’s about 8.8 million people without jobs. Of those people, 2 million had been looking for work for 27 weeks or longer.

I realize that every field is different, but those figures are still daunting. So I’ve been asking several people for ideas on life after graduation and how to land a great job.

I’ve actually gotten some good advice, some of which I have decided to share since I know there are probably quite a few seniors out there who are just as worried as I am.

Some of the best advice I’ve gotten so far came from an internship class I am taking with Jack Raskopf, a former advertising and public relations professor, and talking with Bill Stowe, associate director of University Career Services. They gave me solid tips on what I should be doing right now to make sure I have a job after graduation.

Start yesterday — if you are a senior and graduating anytime soon, you should already be looking ahead to after you leave TCU and doing a job search.

Know what kind of job you’re looking for and be able to tell that to prospective employers.

Make a list of the employers that have the kind of job you are searching for and start doing some research on them.

Talk to your professors to see if they know of any job openings or ask them to keep their ears open.

Make sure your résumé is as perfect as it could possibly be. The quickest way to make the trash can instead of an interview is to have stupid spelling mistakes and typos in your résumé. To get tips on how to make it outstanding, have it reviewed by professors, and take it to University Career Services.

Take advantage of any situation you can that brings you in contact with professionals in your field. Whether it’s a guest speaker at a club meeting or representatives at a career fair, these people are being brought to campus, so we can network and pick their brains about what to expect in the job market.

I can’t promise any of these tips will be cure-alls, but they can’t hurt, and they very well could be the methods that lead us to finding the jobs of our dreams.

Laura McFarland is a senior news-editorial journalism and English major from Houston.