As summer starts to wind down and our May graduates who have taken the summer off are hopefully starting to think about their careers, I am offering a career series of information to my readers.

Often, I am contacted by desperate parents seeking assistance to get their recently graduated child out of the house and into the workforce. I hear it all. “They’ve sent out hundreds of resumes and are not getting a response.” “They are looking everywhere but there are no jobs.” “The workforce is so tough and they are doing everything they can.”

So, let me debunk some of these “excuses.”

• If you have sent out hundreds of resumes and have not received a response then, most likely, your resume needs a lot of work.
• Sending out resumes without follow up and a pro-active plan to actually get an interview is a waste of time.
• You are not looking everywhere. It seems today’s college grads believe that an active job search consists of browsing on indeed.com, careerbuilder.com, etc., and when they do not see anything, they claim there are no jobs. Only 5% to 10% of jobs available are ever advertised.  That leaves 90% to 95% of jobs that they haven’t even found.

There are jobs.

There is hope.  🙂

Keep reading.  Over the next two weeks, we will explore:

• How to create a compelling marketing tool (resume) that will attract the attention of a potential employer.
• How to track and plan your job search.
• Networking techniques and tapping into the “hidden job-market.”
• Alternatives to the “perfect job.”