Hello Everyone.
To preface this, I just want to say, I am not looking for pity or a handout. I am still searching for jobs, still chatting with people, and maybe even uprooting my current location.
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Brief Background:
I come from a poor background. My parents have been sick my whole life as well as I. Mom is a cancer survivor who is in remission. Dad broke his back completely 9 years ago leaving him disabled. Neither went to college as their parents couldn’t afford it and my father was a rape child (rough upbringing).
After high school, I had scholarships to study Poli-Sci at multiple great schools. Turned down for a BBA. Studied hard, got scholarships, partied a lot, made tons of friends, lost tons of friends, held a tech internship, worked for my university. Got laid from tech off before 2022. Got into an MBA program with my skillset. Was offered a position with a company all the way in Canada to avoid doing the MBA (I’m a U.S. citizen and couldn’t leave my parents). Went with the MBA, 1 year program that I ended up getting a 4.0 GPA in. Graduated. No job offers.
Skillset:
Microsoft Programs (Excel, Access, PowerBI, SharePoint, PowerPoint/Word), ERP Systems, RTM/GTM Strategies, Python, JavaScript, HTML5/CSS3, C++, SalesForce CRM.
Yes I am a business major so I do have sales skills too along with complex mathematics/theoretical economics . Even worked in sales before the tech internship, but was always commended for my technological skills compared to people skills.
2 years retail during the year & summers of my 4 years undergrad, 3 years working for my university.
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My Jobs Search Results:
I cannot put personal information or emails of rejection (My original plan) because it violates TOS of Reddit. I do not want this post to be taken down as it can be a learning point for someone.
Job Search Stats –
1379 Applications Since 03/2022.
1379 Applications, 7 interviews.
7 interviews, 6 rejection after first round.
1 move to final round, rejected.
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LinkedIn Stats –
82 new connections from 03/2022 until 12/2022
56 new connections from 01/2023 – Present
Current Connections: 552
Average Impression Per Post – 230
Average Search Appearances – 31 appearances a week
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Resume Refining Stats –
16 people that are industry professionals have touched my resume.
15 of 16 have made changes. Only one, a CEO of a very, very new & small tech company, said he liked my resume the way it was.
Whenever the interview ended for the positions I did interview for, I would ask, “Is there anything I could improve for my resume?” The answer was always, “Move education to the bottom, and your resume is perfect.”
About $300 spent in revising/coaching services.
Another $200 spent on GPT-4.
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Coffee Chat Stats –
24 coffee chats with alumni.
4 coffee chats with previous colleagues at former employer.
4 coffee chats with established professionals in the industry.
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Recruiter Stats –
4 recruiters contacted.
3 referred me to PathRise and said I would need to take the up to the 30% loss in salary to have a shot.
Used Career Services and Handshake, but every time I would be contacted, 3 others in my cohort got messaged by the same recruiter. I would complain to career services about this just to be told that, “It’s a fair market. Work on your skills some more.”
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My Side Business Coding
I started two projects hoping they would take off just to have friends/peers bail on me.
Made me rethink business and how it is shaped.
I saw a lot of nepotism between entrepreneurs and how they would help people they knew from family or even relationships, but even with my connections, they wouldn’t help me, and even berated my ideas while they are doing something easily duplicatable with money.
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My conundrum…
I took student loans. They are due soon.
I was hoping on another delay on the loans or this Supreme Court ruling to go through to knock down the weight of it, but of course not because I am poor and nobody wants to see an underdog win I guess.
Even if McDonalds doesn’t hire me after these applications I put in 2 weeks ago with no call back (Yes I called them to check on it, but they said they would look into it), can I file for unemployment? Can I sue my university for boasting high employment ratings after graduation? What are my options?
I’ve only ever asked this question twice. Once to a professor and he only told me, “Well, they can’t repossess the piece of paper they give to you. This country will bankrupt in 10 years. I wouldn’t worry.” It didn’t help my nerves and still doesn’t as I think on it. The other time was with my final cohort members that were much, much older & wiser than me and they said, “Just go for a PhD, use the stipend to pay for your loans while you are deferred again. It’s what I would’ve done!”
Any advice? Anyone have a similar experience? I get I am smart, but the economy is making me dumber by the second. If I could beat imposter syndrome, I can beat this.