How do I get a job I'm qualified for?

[IFeelSoLost]

Hi All,

I've posted a few times and would love any additional feedback you might have. To sum things up- graduated in '02 with a B.A. in Sociology. Have been working as an admin/office manager since. I HATE ADMIN WORK. I still have no idea what I want to do, but I do know I am hard working, smart, and very ambitious. Since I don't know exactly what I want to do I try to apply to as many jobs that interest me. Here's the problem- I can't seem to get any. I am educated and have 4 solid years of real world work experience, but since it's admin. experience it doesn't seem like potential employers are counting it. I've taken every job I've had and made the best of it- implemented more efficient ways of doing things, taken over bookkeeping and human resources roles, and assisted in project management-the list goes on. I note this in my cover letter as I know they are transferrable skills that could apply to any job in any field.

I just feel so stuck. I want a job that you need a degree for. I feel so underused. All the other admins. I work with don't have degrees. I just want more. I feel so disappointed with myself- I don't know how I got here. I've always worked hard and did great in college. I just feel too old for this. I just turned 27 and want to feel like I'm going somewhere (even if I don't know where that is)

Any ideas on how to start making this all happen? I just can't seem to break through.

Thanks so much.

[winneythepooh7]

Hi. I am a Social Worker and a Director of a program that provides Social Work services (I am also in charge of hiring). A big problem I often see is that people with a BA in a human-services related field (I also got my BA in Sociology) who have been doing Admin stuff for awhile don't want to work the very bottom of the barrel entry-level positions they will need to work to get that kind of experience in the field. I don't know if you are considering human services, just using this as an example. I have a stack of resumes on my desk right now form people with MASTER'S degrees but no actual working experience in the human services field. When I tell them that yes, they have a degree, but no, they don't have the actual human services experience and I can only offer them an entry-level position, they get mad insulted. But my hands are tied, and for good reason.

[mallory24]

Hey,
I remember one of your other posts, and I'm in the same situation. Now I understand why: I have a BA (in Psych) from 02 also! I hate to say it, but it doesn't seem like these majors are too marketable- so many people told me in college that "your major doesn't matter". why did i listen to them? Unfortunately I don't really have much advice on ways to get out of this, b/c my only way out was to start taking classes toward my MBA. Actually, as a student I've found that there are a lot of job postings for good jobs through my school. However, I'm still waiting to see if I actually get one of those jobs and in the meantime I still have a crappy admin job. In my previous position I had done some HR/bookkeeping tasks also and I tried to emphasize that experience on my resume, but it didn't seem to help at all. Sorry to be a downer, believe me I wish I had some advice to offer. I wasn't dying to return to school but I felt like it was the only thing I could do. Have you thought about grad school at all? Even if you just take a few classes it might mean something to employers.

On another note, I think that the year you graduate also has an impact. I know people who graduated in 05 or 06 and got great entry level jobs right away. But since the job market sucked in 02, we had to settle for admin work and got pigeonholed in that. I also work w/ a lot of other admins who don't have degrees (and 8 of my 9 bosses are 05 college graduates, which makes me feel even worse). I was hired by HR and somehow wound up working for people who are right out of college themselves.

[yankeeyosh]

On another note, I think that the year you graduate also has an impact. I know people who graduated in 05 or 06 and got great entry level jobs right away. But since the job market sucked in 02, we had to settle for admin work and got pigeonholed in that. I also work w/ a lot of other admins who don't have degrees (and 8 of my 9 bosses are 05 college graduates, which makes me feel even worse). I was hired by HR and somehow wound up working for people who are right out of college themselves.

Well, I don't know...I hate to say this, but a lot of people from 02 and 03 DID get excellent jobs...starting salaries in many industries never really went down, and many got a lot of responsibility right away. HOWEVER, the big difference between your class and the class of 00...which is the benchmark, is that the job market has become a crapshoot. Yes, to many, there really was no difference between graduating in 00 and 02 or 03, but to many, many others...a lot who are very qualified; perhaps more qualified than those who did get the great jobs, didn't really luck out. It became "hit or miss"...and those who missed the boat may still be feeling the repercussions today.

That said, I am a victim of the employment crapshoot myself. I spent the first three years after graduating (in that wonderful class of 00) doing admin work...never had any success getting anywhere else despite great efforts on my part. I went to grad school, and got my master's degree, but the admin shit is still there. And considering that my field (meteorology) is totally unrelated to what I did as an admin, HR is always wondering why I even bothered to do this...and they think I can't make up my mind. Hence, I get stuck at mindless jobs...even though I *try* to tell HR that a lot of what I did is related to the job I'm applying for.

[PenforPrez]

Hi All,

I've posted a few times and would love any additional feedback you might have. To sum things up- graduated in '02 with a B.A. in Sociology. Have been working as an admin/office manager since. I HATE ADMIN WORK. I still have no idea what I want to do, but I do know I am hard working, smart, and very ambitious. Since I don't know exactly what I want to do I try to apply to as many jobs that interest me. Here's the problem- I can't seem to get any. I am educated and have 4 solid years of real world work experience, but since it's admin. experience it doesn't seem like potential employers are counting it. I've taken every job I've had and made the best of it- implemented more efficient ways of doing things, taken over bookkeeping and human resources roles, and assisted in project management-the list goes on. I note this in my cover letter as I know they are transferrable skills that could apply to any job in any field.

I just feel so stuck. I want a job that you need a degree for. I feel so underused. All the other admins. I work with don't have degrees. I just want more. I feel so disappointed with myself- I don't know how I got here. I've always worked hard and did great in college. I just feel too old for this. I just turned 27 and want to feel like I'm going somewhere (even if I don't know where that is)

Don't feel bad. I got my BA in history in '02, and I'm still trying to figure out what I'm qualified to do. I'm like you, I have a lot of transferable skills, and staffing agencies, etc., just flat out ignore them. I've been trying to get into administrative work, but I have the same problem. Pays better than cleaning hotel rooms, to be certain. ;)

I know it's no help, but you're not alone. I'm 26 and I can't move out of my parents house because I can't get a career started. That's a trapped feeling I don't like.

Paul

[winneythepooh7]

Hence, I get stuck at mindless jobs...even though I *try* to tell HR that a lot of what I did is related to the job I'm applying for.

For certain fields, no matter how much admin experience you have, doesn't mean it can be applied as a replacement for direct experience in that field. Also sometimes you just need that certain degree and training for many "specialized" fields.

[politicaljunkie]

Hey,
I remember one of your other posts, and I'm in the same situation. Now I understand why: I have a BA (in Psych) from 02 also! I hate to say it, but it doesn't seem like these majors are too marketable- so many people told me in college that "your major doesn't matter". why did i listen to them? Unfortunately I don't really have much advice on ways to get out of this, b/c my only way out was to start taking classes toward my MBA.

Unfortunately MBAs have their own marketability problems. MBAs don't actually teach you anything that employers will hire you over. They can actually hurt you if you don't already have a lot of management experience. They tend to make you overeducated for jobs you are underqualified for without that substantive management experience. Employers will see the MBA, think that they therefore have to pay you a lot, but see that you have little managment experience. This is what causes them to be more of a detriment than a benefit. They are only relevant if you have significant management experience. But even if you have that management experience, they may be relevant but they aren't useful, and the likelihood that they will help you in any substantive way (being the deciding factor in getting a job, promotion or pay increase) is very minimal. In the end, an MBA is a very poor degree to use to get into any particular field. You simply cannot teach someone to be a manager or a leader.

[gysberger4]

I am in the same boat as you are. I got my B.A. in Geography in 2004 and my M.A. in Geography/Climatology in May. I have been jobless for the last few months and cannot seem to get a break anywhere. I have four years of admin. experience and I still cannot get an admin. assistant job because my four years of experience are either not enough, too much, and I am just plain overqualified according to employers because of my Master's degree. I can't get a job in my field because I am lacking real world work experience and the majority of jobs that are in my field require a Master's degree so I am not overqualified educationally for those positions. I just got rejected for a job that is perfect for me, and in my field, today because they didn't know if I would fit into the job perfectly in the long run, who knows what that means, but I was one of the top two candidates for the job, which is supposed to make me feel better. What to do?