Here’s the video for Week 5 of my career search! With graduation only about 4 weeks away, the days seem to be going faster and faster, but I’m still doing everything I can to secure a position following graduation.
A couple weeks ago I visited Staffing Solutions, Inc., a local placement firm in St. Louis, to interview them about the St. Louis job market. It was a great opportunity because they had some fantastic suggestions for job seekers like me.
To check out all the videos from our interview, CLICK HERE.
I found an article in The New York Timestoday that talks about the growing popularity of being “cheap.” Kellee Sikes of Kirkwood was interviewed and she shared how she’s been saving money: by no longer using paper napkins. To read the full article, CLICK HERE.
As more and more people find themselves facing unemployment or reduced hours (or they fear that they may soon be in that position), it’s now popular to be frugal. I know I’ve tried to group together errands so I can save money on gas, and my friends and I don’t go out to dinner anymore. So my question to you is, how have you been saving money in this recession? If you have a story or a tip to share, leave a comment–we’d love to hear from you!
Week 4 of my career search is wrapping up, so it’s time for another video!
I’ve been checking out a lot of company websites, and more often than not there aren’t any openings. It’s tempting to get frustrated or discouraged, but instead I’m going to take this time to do my research and to make sure when the job market improves, I’m ready.
It’s the end of Week 3 of my career search, so here’s another video! I had a lot of schoolwork this week, so I didn’t get a chance to apply to as many companies as I wanted–my goal is 5 per week–but I did have the chance to do some research so I can send in more resumes this weekend.
I still haven’t heard back from the companies I’d applied to over spring break, but I’m staying optimistic–I need to apply to as many places as I can, and I can’t lose my focus.
It’s week 2 of my career search, so here’s another video. Last week was spring break, and I took the time off to apply to 15 jobs. Unfortunately, the only response I got was to tell me that one of the companies I’d applied to wasn’t hiring.
At first, I was pretty disappointed, but I’m not going to let it get me down. I’m going to stay positive, and I’m going to keep trying and keep applying to jobs.
As we continue our Community Voices series, we gave one of our partners, Beyond Housing, a Flip video camera so they could record their responses to President Obama’s new home foreclosure plan.Chris Krehmeyer, President and CEO of Beyond Housing, and Linda Ingram, Director of Foreclosure Prevention Services at Beyond Housing, both talk about the plan and what it could mean for St. Louis.
Below we’ve featured one of the videos.To see the other videos from Linda and Chris, you can visit our YouTube channel, or the Community Voices section of our site.
In January 2009, KETC/Channel 9 gave students from St. Louis University Flip cameras to interview their friends and peers about their visions of the American Dream. The videos are fantastic, and what I like most is the optimism of the students. They realize that times are tough right now and that the economy isn’t doing well, but instead of viewing this as a roadblock, many students think the economy is just an obstacle–something that, with hard work, can be overcome.
To check out the videos, visit the American Dream section of our website where we’ve featured a few of the videos, including the Living St. Louis segment by producer Patrick Murphy. To see all of the videos, check out our YouTube channel.
Hi, my name is Lauren and I’m one of the interns for Facing the Financial Crisis. I’m a senior at Washington University, and working on this project has hit especially close to home for me. Though I won’t be graduating until May, I’ve begun my job search, and it’s definitely not what I thought it would be. For four years I’ve been preparing to enter the “real world,” to find my dream job, to move out on my own. But then the financial crisis hit. The unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in years, and more and more companies aren’t hiring.
I’ve sent out a lot of resumes and cover letters, and I’ve had a few good responses—by good, I mean the company liked my resume, but they’d just had to lay off some of their employees, so they’re not looking to hire. I’m determined to stay optimistic through all of this. It’s a tough job market for everyone, but we’ll get through this.
In times like these, it’s good to know you’re not alone. That’s why we’ll be starting a new series here where students share a little about their job searches in this tough economy. For the first video, I talk a little bit about my own search. Keep an eye out for new videos we’ll be posting in the coming weeks.
Even though we’re facing an economic crisis, now more than ever I think it’s important to be optimistic—but as the media constantly talks about how bad the economy is, it makes it more and more difficult to try to stay positive.As a graduating college senior, I’m just beginning my job search, and every day it’s harder to think about looking for a job in this market.But today I ran across an article on CNN.com that made me feel a little better.
The article basically says that if you’re looking for a job, you need to ignore the negative news.The economy may be tough, but now is the time to be proactive—because there are fewer jobs available, the sooner you get started on your job hunt, the better.Experts interviewed for the article say it’s important to be flexible—that means possibly moving, taking a part-time job instead of a full-time one (for the time being), or changing industries.The article also noted a few industries where there are more jobs available: agriculture, government, education, and health care.
St. Louis has been hard-hit by the financial crisis—as of December 2008 the unemployment rate here was 7.1%, and it’s only gotten worse in the past couple months.But like the article says, we have to try and look past the bad news, and instead focus our job searches and get a little creative.
If you’re looking for a job, you can check out some of our partners’ employment services:
Below is a story from a resident of the St. Louis community named Amy Doll. Amy has counseled many couples with their mortgage problems and shares stories of “good people” that have lost their homes due to circumstance; “It’s a bigger issue than just mortgages” she says.
Posted by lschwarze 
Posted by lschwarze 
Posted by lschwarze 
