There comes a time in every student’s life when they realize that college eventually comes to an end, and the so-called "real world" begins. It is a very scary time for every college student. It is depressing to face: parties are over, late nights with your friends on Bridge Street have come to an end. Now, it is time to find a job. But how do you do that?
Finding a job requires time, effort, resumes and repeatedly writing your name, phone number and address on both paper and digital applications. All that seems easy, but what about the stuff employers are really looking for? Experience.
As a junior at Oswego State, I find my time here dwindling down very quickly. As I scramble to find a part time job in hopes of enhancing my resume, employers turn me down repeatedly due to lack of experience. I can only ask myself, "Why wouldn’t they hire me to give me experience?" The whole point of filling out the application is to get the job in order to gain experience! This does not make sense to me and frankly, it makes me angry. How is any college student supposed to get a job in their desired field if no one will give them their first taste of experience? How will anyone get hired? Sure, working at your local restaurant or bar is a good job to start at, but eventually, most students want jobs in their related fields. We certainly do not want to be flipping burgers all our lives.
Also, employers out there, please give students a little credit. Most of us are scared of the "real world" and are still unsure of what they would like to pursue once we leave the wonderful world of "Oz." If we are unsure, then clearly we are applying for the job with hopes of finding out if that particular job is for us. We are obviously interested in the job, and would like to gain experience, otherwise, we would have not applied.
It is also belittling when you walk into a business and everyone stares as if you have five heads. Then, you ask the triggering question; "Are you hiring?" Suddenly it is like the person you are talking to just became God and they hold the power to your future, and what they say is the key to you being hired. A quick judgment of what you are wearing or how your hair is could lead to them saying "No, I’m sorry," and you have to move on. This is immediately depressing, since you have just built up enough courage to even walk through the doors, just to get shut down. Then, you do something unthinkable. You go to the next business, and do the same thing.
It gets tiring building up all that courage just to get knocked down every time. Also, for businesses that may appreciate your hairstyle that day, they may let you fill out an application, just to never have a manager take a look at it, ever.
So for any of you business owners out there, internship givers, I ask you; please do not judge us too harshly. We are just college students looking for experience. Give us a chance. Give us what we need; a job, and most importantly, experience. We cannot gain experience for bigger, better jobs without the help of a smaller, first job. So have a little sympathy and teach us your ways! This could be your chance to be a boss, a know it all and tell us what to do. We will do every single step of it because we are too scared to say no. All college students need experience! Why won’t you give it to us?
