Entry level jobs

[Omar Silva]

I just came out of college with a computer engineering degree and I haven't landed a job in five months. I have done everything from looking in the web to knocking on companies door. Can anybody tell me what should be my next move or where to look. I have not had any luck finding an entry level position. I'm in Florida and I'm thinking of starting my certifacation. If anybody could give me some advice it will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Omar

[Rufus BugleWeed]

.Net

[Frances Cheung]

Dear Omar,
Some of my schoolmates landed jobs after job hunting for over 5 months, 8 months. I heard one guy finally landed job after 13 months. They have master's degree in Computer Science and don't have working experiences. And they need sponsorships.
I understand it's frustrating, I am looking for a job too. I think we need more patience now. Don't give up! Keep sending out resumes while keeping studying.
Are you willing to relocate? Did you try federal jobs? Also I saw many hirings from US Navy. Assume you are young enough.
Best
Frances

[Jon McDonald]

Hey,
First question, are you in a major city? If you're in the middle of nowhere you will probably have more trouble finding a job. You may wan't (or need) to consider relocating to a bigger city if not.
Second, have you contacted your career center and former teachers. I know at my University a lot of people got their positions though conections the companies had established through the CS department. Others got it through the career center. Lots of career centers seem to give some resources to alumni.
Third, consider going directly to company web sites and looking for jobs. Especially non-profits, perhaps even your own university, I gotten beaten out of a job at a university a few months ago because the other canidate was an alum.
Fourth, are you looking strictly for programming gigs or are you willing to expand your search. Some smaller companies (especially non-profits) need a jack-of-all-trades type.
Fifth, check out government jobs, specifically federal government. The pay isn't great, but they need trained people right now. This is assuming that you are a U.S. citizen or Permanent resident. If you need sponsership, I don't know
what to tell you.
Sixth, customize your resum� for each company you send it out to. You would be absolutely shocked how much this helps in getting an interview. When I did this, the number of resum�s I sent out droped but the number of interviews I got jumped up dramatically.
Seventh, get a book that deals with how to write a good resum�, preferably IT and or recent grad resum�s. Once again, dramatic results (in my experience at least).
Eighth, get a book on interviewing (especially interviewing questions) Your first company interview will probably be with the HR person and the questions they ask are pretty much the same no matter what type of job or company you're applying for. My favorite is "what is your biggest weakness/fault". Now this is something I did not do, and I know that it cost me in a few interviews, I'll be sure to do it when I'm back on the job hunt.
Hope this helps.
Jon
Hope this helps.

[Edward Farrow]

ninth, start networking. one place to start would be your local java user's group.
Cheers,
Edward
[ August 28, 2002: Message edited by: Edward Farrow ]

[Jason Menard]

As others have mentioned, I would recommend checking out federal jobs, assuming you are a US citizen. See this thread for more information.
Federal jobs may be particularly attractive for a recent graduate. Although they may tend to pay a little less, they are often more willing to hire entry level candidates. Also, federal workers are often in a good position to make contacts in the private sector (government contractors) and can usually easily land such a job should they decide to leave the government. I believe the benefits packages the government offers are often better than what you can get in private idustry, particularly in terms of vacation time. Also, and not to be understated in this economy, there is a bit more stability and job security.
Also if I may correct an implication made by a previous poster, the US armed forces also hire civilians for many support positions, such as IT work. Not everybody who works for the Navy for example has joined the Navy, so it doesn't matter if you are "young enough".
[ August 28, 2002: Message edited by: Jason Menard ]

[Omar Silva]

Thank you for your help and support this is a cool chat room and I've been getting alot of help.

Thank you,
Omar Silva