It’s now 2016. The economy is supposedly getting slightly better with many job openings. However, college graduates still do not have immediate jobs post graduation! Why is that? There perhaps is a flaw to the school system in regards to post grad life. A recent piece from The Washington Post illustrates that many graduating students are simply not getting into their dream jobs (or finding ideal jobs waiting after graduation) because of their lack of networking skills and insufficient utilization of their school’s career centers. Unfortunately, many schools do not have enough funding for the career centers to assist the students with resources, including resume building, mock interviews, networking events, and many other services. Another big problem: most college career centers do not advertise their services broadly enough to actually get the attention of students. It could even be argued that many students do not know about these centers’ existence until late in their college tenures.

A recent study conducted by the Gallup-Purdue Index shows that out of 11,000 graduates, less than half went to their college’s career center and found it worthwhile. Also, most graduates did not know that their own professors could help them get jobs. Although many professors may claim they are not there to assist with job hunting, they can still provide recent job openings and personal networking connections to help you get your foot in the door. That’s why so many students aspire to get into the top universities, Ivy Leagues schools, and other  brand name institutions in the country – to better connect with famous/well-known alumni. Even though a vast majority of the population are not in Ivy League universities and are instead in state university systems, they can still utilize those network connections from professors and get great jobs in their fields. It may be very intimidating to do any sort of networking, especially being in a networking event by yourself; it does help a great deal to get to know at least one or a few people in the field. In today’s society, it is really about who you know, not what you know.

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About Jessica Lau

Hi, my name is Jessica Lau! I graduated from California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications with honors. During my time at CSUF, I was a reporter and editor at Titan Communications and studied abroad in Italy to produce and edit a feature-length newscast, World Press Italy. Also, I was a freelancer for the campus newspaper, The Daily Titan, where I wrote and produced editorials about campus events. After graduation, I interned for the County of Orange, where I worked as a cinematographer and editor for their local commercials and promotional videos about hazardous waste disposals. I am excited to work for High Faluter to shed light on today's pressing issues that young people care about! I am currently working on blogging topics of interest, including gender and environmental issues. In my spare time, I love to dance, sing, and write creatively.

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