Before Craigslist eats your soul

“A minimum of two years experience.” This is the sentence at which most students’ eyes stop on almost every job listing page. For those of us who dove straight from high school directly into college, there really was no spare time to build up a solid two years in waitressing, cooking, barista-ing or any other working for that matter.

Recent graduates, and those about to graduate, find themselves in nearly the same position, only with the added boost of a college degree. Everything from Craigslist to Monster.com comes with its own set of roadblocks. If you don’t need two years of experience, then you better have wide-open availability—something no student really has to offer. It can be extremely discouraging.

Time and time again, it appears that the only job that is consistently hiring in this city, with huge leniency on how much experience is needed and no pressure on availability, is good old-fashioned stripping. But if you have zero rhythm, and can’t get over that whole “being naked in front of a bunch of strangers” thing, it’s not really a viable option.

Having said that, as week after week of being unemployed and trying to come up with money for tuition, food and rent pass by, the idea of taking a second glance at that ad for Mary’s begins to gain appeal. After all, there really is no other job where you can make money that quickly. Used to $10 an hour? Try $10 per three-minute play of Madonna’s “Human Nature.” Before it started to sound like a good idea, I chose to ditch Craigslisting for a while and seek out other means of finding a job.

I felt a bit daft when I realized one of the most profitable resources was right under my nose this entire time. As students, we may be stunted by our availability and how few previous jobs we’ve held, but the Career Center at Portland State  knows this. Fit with a trusty team of knowledgeable career counselors, the Career Center is prepared and willing to help students of any major get an edge in job hunting. Whether it’s an internship or a solid occupation you desire, they truly have a plethora of resources.

Starting at the very basics, the Career Center can assist you in how to write a more professional resume or an eye-catching cover letter. If getting put on the spot in an interview is what makes you sweat, they hold interviewing workshops and even conduct mock interviews.

As students, we can also take advantage of CareerConnect, a job-posting database that’s available exclusively to us. It’s a source that easily beats out Craigslist by eliminating scams and only providing legitimate job opportunities. Even if you’re not in the mode of trying to land a job at this exact point in time, counselors can help you determine what kind of work may be right for you given the major you’re currently pursuing.

The Career Center will be hosting the 23rd annual Career Information Day tomorrow, and first-ever Engineering and Technology Job Fair today. The Career Information Day will be the largest fair they have ever put on at PSU.

“Students will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from almost 120 companies over the two days,” Greg Flores, Career Center interim director, said. “Employers will be discussing current and future open positions, looking for interns, collecting resumes and answering questions from students.”

The Engineering and Technology Fair is to be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom, and the job fair geared toward all majors will take place at the same time and location tomorrow.

“These events are meant for students at all points in their education,” Flores said. “Freshmen and sophomores can gather information about different fields and find leads for internships. Juniors can look for internships and gather information about hiring practices at different companies. And seniors and graduate students can actively search for full-time positions.”

So if you’ve grown tired of scrolling through page after page of questionable job ads, take a trip to the Career Center or pop in during the fairs. And your sanity will thank you later. You can still use Craigslist for finding yourself an awesome free sofa that only ever-so-slightly smells like the inside of sock wrapped in wet cardboard.?