Already a member?
Welcome to Brazen Careerist!
Emily Ma is using Brazen Careerist to share ideas. Join now to become a member and start networking with Emily Ma and other professionals just like you. Learn more.
Brazen careerist
Where ambitious young professionals connect and grow
Email
Print
Everywhere you turn, you can’t avoid headlines like “Note to College Seniors” or “2009 a tough year for new grads” or my favorite “Graduating in 2009? Might as well take a year off in Tahiti!”
I see a lot of talk about graduating this year and our grim job prospects, but I’m kind of tired of talk and every new related article I see makes me a li
For more timely, relevant, and engaging articles,
subscribe to Brazen Careerist.
- How To Find a Writing Partner Who Can Help You Achieve Your Goals and Make More Money
- Continuing Education: Extending Learning Beyond Your Campus Years
- Why You Might Be Better Off Without a Job After College
- A New Kind of Business Mover and Shaker
- The Anti-Stalker’s Guide for Converting Online Contact into Real World Collaboration
Comments
03.06.09
I already put a comment on your blog but I have to say I am extremely happy to see this post being featured smack in people's face.
I'm also fed up of the media fear-mongering because 20-somethings are supposed to be the most risk-averse group around. I understand that young adults aren't untouchable but leave the "stability" crap or whatever is left of it for retired folks and people with mortgages & kids.
MSN and Yahoo make me oh so TIRED.
03.06.09
Good for you! Yes there is a recession, but you can't stop that from living your life. Many people are using the recession as an excuse because they may be too fearful or lazy to put forth the effort and deviate from their original plan (my blog post Life is NOT an ATM touches on this subject).
Instead people need to use the current situation as an opportunity for growth. It forces you to work harder, but the rewards of doing so are priceless. You're able to discover talents and skills you might otherwise not have known. Nisha, I know you are totally going to kick butt -success is inevitable with people who have your mindset.
03.06.09
This is an awesome post. One of the best I've ever seen on Brazen. You are 100% correct. You will get through the recession. The recession won't last forever. And, I speak from experience on this one, when you graduate in a recession it makes you strong and your career will benefit from it.
03.06.09
Yes! Can we just move on from the Recessionitis already?!? I couldn't agree more. I'm seeing plenty of people getting jobs. Check out Mari's story. A December college grad who got her dream job in 2 months. It can be done, but attitude is the key...
03.06.09
What a great article! Just what I needed to read. I decided last night that I'm not going to fall into a depression just because I'm unemployed right now after just graduating from law school. I also decided that I am going to take steps such as not watching the news in order to keep me in a better mood.
I agree, the media is so doom and gloom and that is not helping. If anything, it is contributing to the downward spiral of the economy.
It's easy to be optimistic now but take a guess how many people lose their optimism after months of unemployment.
The optimism of young people is amazing...and it saddens me that as we get older, once optimistic people like myself who generally have a positive attitude tend to get jaded and less optimistic. I guess that is a result of experience and reality.
@ GenerationXpert:
Thanks for reminding me that graduating from a recession makes you strong - When I graduated from college, it was also during a recession or at least a very bad economy. And indeed, I got through it. I think the difference is that this time around, I have more student loan debt than before.
03.06.09
Nisha - Thank you! These are tough times, we are all aware. But contrary to what (many) will have us believe, all hope is not lost. I graduated in May of last year and things really weren't much better then - but attitude is SO important when job hunting. In addition, persistence and being proactive are the two crucial aspects to being successful. Make connections, be bold and step outside of your boundaries. Don't just email, call, actually go INTO the places you are interested in. Show that you are more proactive than the other 90% of people who just send out emails to every company and agency in town.
I ended up at an awesome Ad agency and am getting some outstanding experience. If I can do it, so can you, and everyone who's reading this. Stop worrying and start doing! Great post!
03.06.09
Oh man I just wrote a huge response to all these comments, and then my internet connection died and I lost the whole thing. So I can't rewrite it, but thanks everyone for the comments. And Matt -- you should write a post on how you got a job in a recession.
03.06.09
Nisha. Tip: Write in Word, transfer to Brazen, I have had the internet commit suicide far too many times.
Thanks for the blog tip - I think I might whip up something in the next week or two. Thanks for the inspirational words above, maintaining a positive attitude is priority #1!
03.06.09
And if you get a job that doesn't fit into your grand scheme, so what? At most, it's a couple of years. In the course of an entire career, that's a blip.
03.06.09
Thank you so much for posting this. This is actually so true that people need to stop trying to scare us. The truth is, life ain't that bad, is it?
03.06.09
@kathleen, I think the media's main job is to scare people. It certainly seems to be what they put most of their time into.
And I agree, life ain't that bad. It's not always perfect, either, but that's not the end of the world.
03.06.09
Great post Nisha! I agree, I'm tired of being told that I'm not going to find a job in this recession. I'm tired of people telling me to go to grad school because it's a safer bet than looking for a job. Most of all, I'm tired of hearing about the recession, period.
People, we're part of Gen Y! Isn't this what this website is all about? And since we're Gen Y, we should be focusing on optimism, on being ever positive about our future prospects. We're motivated young people and we need to tap into some of that confidence that characterizes Gen Y again. We can get jobs even during a recession, and we need to focus on the positive aspects of that.
03.06.09
"And since we're Gen Y, we should be focusing on optimism, on being ever positive about our future prospects."
@Akhila, I wouldn't limit that to Gen Y. But I would say that sometimes it helps to be ever positive about your future prospects, while remaining pragmatic about the short-term. Bad times don't last forever. But sometimes you get through them with a less-than-optimal job. That doesn't have to last forever, either.
Work hard at making yourself the best candidate you can be, recession or no. And then when you find a job, even if it isn't your dream job, be the best employee you can be. If you hate the job, do both at the same time and find a better job.
03.06.09
Like i said before
life will teach you some things..... if you let it
these are the times that help define your character
just work on making yourself the most marketable
polish up your rough edges and let it do what it do baby
just my $.02 worth
agile.. mobile.. hostile
03.06.09
@Kat -- life is not so bad. At least, I think life is great!
@Kate -- thanks for all the comments. you;re right the media does scare people and that's their job -- they sell more news that way.
@Akhila -- hell yea! Our generation should be WAY more optimistic. I'm glad you share that perspective.
@rattlerman -- you're right, we should definitely work on making ourselves the most marketable.
@Matt -- you're right. I've had enough internet troubles that I should really know by now... and I do hope you write that post! Looking forward to reading it.
03.07.09
@Kate - Of course, you're right. We should definitely be pragmatic. Of course if it's impossible to get the ideal job you should keep other options open. But optimism is important, and it's important to at least continue to try and follow your passions rather than just saying, "it's a bad economy, so i'm not going to look for jobs and just go to grad school instead." Sure we need to have backup options if we just can't make it work, but optimism is important because it urges us to at least try and still progress on our hopes and dreams.
03.07.09
@Akhila, I think that it's also optimistic to say, "Doing X isn't what I'd imagined, but it'll be a chance for me to learn about something new, even if I don't do it for all that long."
And who knows? Maybe you'll (generic you) like it better than whatever you thought your dream job was. I spent more than a decade in a career I didn't really know existed when I got hired; I improved existing skills, identified new ones, met interesting people, and learned how to manage people and how not to manage them.
There are lots of ways to be optimistic. Most of them aren't preconceived notions, so why not stay open to them?
03.07.09
This is just a FANTASTIC post! I can't even begin to say it enough! Aside from the media attempting to scare everyone with this, I see more and more young people getting caught in a vicious cycle of "woe is me, look at the life being foisted onto me."
90% of life isn't what happens to you, it's what you DO with what happens to you. As someone who graduated when the bubble burst I watched a bunch of friends and colleagues fall into a rut, blaming the situation for their job/retirement/economic life. Most of them are still working in low-level positions like they had 8 years ago. Those of us that floundered but decided to make the most of it...well...we managed to somehow rise above. Good luck to you, I think you'll most definitely rise. :)
03.07.09
Great post! Nothing is lost! The future is ours. The generational playing field is being leveled, and we, young people, have a chance to take advantage of the burst of the bubble. We need to be optimistic in order to be able to achieve our goals.
Greetings from Generation 700 euros G700
Greece
03.07.09
Yayy! its so refreshing to hear people who arent interested in playing chicken little and instead want to use this as an opportunity to think better, act smarter and preform more strategically. Attitudes like yours won't go unnoticed or unrewarded. Snaps.
03.07.09
Take heart! What's happening has been coming a long while...and many of us have been awaiting it with real hope.
I've actually been waiting since 1995 for this time to arrive when "business as usual" would be blatantly "defunct" -- beyond denial. Some things require breakdown in order to next become the platform for break-through. This 'tis one of such.
That's where I see the USA workforce right now -- with the best chance in literally decades and decades for real opportunity for change that matters. It is not coincidental you've helped usher it in -- and my only sorrow is some of you are also caught in the backwash of it.
Rather than the stock-market, or even investment real-estate -- right NOW, I'm putting my confidence in what seems the most blue-chip to me:
- the power of transparency and increasingly authentic communication via Social Media
- the capacity of the Millennials, Gen-Y'ers -- (or whatever (maybe unfortunate) categories folk clump you'll into) ***to stick to your ground*** and ride out the cultural shift that HAS occurred -- and we're just feeling the back-ripples right now
- getting increasingly clear about what ARE your own responsibilities - and willingness to adapt, change, whatever else it is that is necessary to lead in the new way-of-work (it will require more than maybe has ever yet been asked of each of you, I realize)
- establishing true models those teens coming beyond you can genuinely WANT to follow and can trust if they do so (whether you know it or not, you have a HUGE legacy option here)
- NOT throw out all that HAS worked across time and the existing generations -- by mistake, and from impatience when you don't understand wisdom and understated brilliance when it shows up (going back to Aristotle and Socrates cultures have said them same though about THEIR youth that is being said now about our own -- that's well documented)
*** Well...let me stop right here. My intention is to RIFF on this - not tumble into
a RANT. ***
The point...keep on keepin' on -- much of the rest of the world will figure out you're heading (naturally) into some really great directions.
Meanwhile, I'm most glad to have recently discovered BrazenCareerist -- and to begin to get to know a few of you as of this weekend.
Sherry in Austin Texas USA...
And...hoping to meet at least a FEW of you who may be making it down here to SXSW this month!
03.08.09
Elisa -- I think you're absolutely right that so much of life is about what we choose to do, not about what happens to us.
G700 -- great to hear you share the same outlook :)
Sarah -- thanks, I hope more people do start seeing it as a growth opportunity rather than the end of the world.
Sherry -- thanks for the comment. I agree -- I hope that if people just keep on going, the world will move on naturally in whatever direction it needs to go in order to survive the recession. Glad you're enjoying Brazen. And I will be in Austin this week! Hope to see you there.
Got Something To Say?
Got Something To Say?
Not a Member? Brazen Careerist is a career management tool for next-generation professionals. Set up a free account today to comment on this post and start sharing your ideas. Learn more.
Login to view your networks!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
