A millennial struggle: Getting hired

Like many millennials, I went through school with rose-colored glasses. I was told anything was possible once I got my degree. “The sky’s the limit!” they would say. And like a growing portion of millennials, I graduated with a bachelor’s and moved back in with my parents. All along the way thinking, “it’s only temporary - I have my degree! I can get ANY JOB I WANT!” It’s been over a year since I’ve graduated and I still have yet to receive that golden ticket to a life I thought I deserved.

It could have come down to my fault, considering I got my degree in a practically fake science — I’ll let you guess which one! With the hopes of attending law school, I even participated in collegiate mock trial. But being in school for such a long run can burn someone out and detour them from choosing to go to grad school and get just one more degree. For those my age doing this, I commend you. For the path I ultimately chose, I’m now stuck with a degree that at first sight isn’t very practical.

I moved to Olympia in hopes that I could actually use my degree in a government job — state Capitol, various state departments, associations, etc - easy as pie. It had been a year of working as a temp and no such luck at getting a permanent position. Even the “entry-level” jobs require more experience than my age or beaten path could provide me.

I am in no way saying that my situation is harder than another’s. Everyone has their own mountains and struggles to deal with in their lives. I realize that is how life is. I’m also not someone that is saying that I am entitled to get a position. I’d been working my butt off and looking for a break for what at the time seemed like forever. I’ve worked the not-fun jobs in food service and have had “specimens” be plopped down at my desk as a medical clinic receptionist. I volunteer weekly in order to better my community and stay a well rounded individual. I am aware that no job is given just because “you think you deserve it.”

For those of you who might be reading this and can relate to the current stage of life I am in, this is for you. The feeling that you have to have eight years of experience in a certain field just to begin at entry-level position (yes, I’m intentionally being hyperbolic) when you weren’t even an adult eight years ago. “They” say education is key, and that it is a necessity for life in the work force. Honestly, “they” are mostly right. Education is important, but in the transition into adulthood, and starting a career, those who went to college cannot rely on our education alone. To this day people that did not get a degree are getting better paying jobs than those of who attended a four-year university. Once we have accomplished this goal of getting a single piece of paper, it is up to us to go out and make things happen for ourselves. That’s what they don’t tell us.

Quite frankly it’s not up to “them” to do so. We have to figure it out for ourselves. We have to get right back up when we “are not selected to move forward in the hiring process.”

We millennials have so much potential and all of that hard work we’ve put in, we can’t give up on it and just say “oh well” and live with our parents forever. That’s the easy way out. That kind of attitude is making us look worse because we are succumbing to the stereotype that has been forced upon us. You do deserve the right to fight for your worth and for the life you want to live. Don’t give up. Keep fighting.

This story was originally published April 2, 2017 at 8:51 PM with the headline "A millennial struggle: Getting hired."