# Graduating in December, need advice finding a job!!



## jsanchez0510 (Jan 14, 2012)

I am senior ME student in my last year as an undergrad. I am located in central Florida

I am hooping to get an internship this summer but have not had any luck thus far, all I have to show on my resume is research that I currently do at the university and work in the hospitality industry.

My cumulative GPA is 2.7 and from conferences and career fairs I have attended all companies turn me down because of my GPA.

What company can I look for that will give me the opportunity?? what am I supposed to do?

I was initially scheduled to graduate in May but after attending a conference in October I found out that companies don't want recent grads without any experience in industry (internships, co-ops); I had three interviews but no offers. That's why I decided to postpone graduation but I still can't get an internship with my GPA, worse case scenario I don't get an internship this summer, I graduate and then I can find full-time employment. I am a very frustrated and close to a depressive state. I made terrible mistakes with my grades when I first started college, I can't do nothing about the past, I'm can only work to make a better future for me and my family.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for reading


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## solomonb (Jan 14, 2012)

OK, there is no use beating yourself down about what you should have done as a freshman--it is water over the dam and you cannot do anything about it. SO-- where do we go from here? For the student just graduating, the GPA is the only measure of merit there is, however, that does not mean that you cannot find a job.

You are going to need to sell yourself to everyone you meet-- if the GPA question comes up, point out that you worked hard, and would be valuable addition to any team that needs someone with your skills. Yes, there are other candidates that have better GPA's, however, attitude and enthusiasm will take you a long way, trust me.

Yes, it is very discouraging in today's world to not find a job, or even an interview or work study/coop assignment. Just keep pushing, each and every day-- the more no answers you receive, the closer you are to getting a yes answer. It is just that simple. Attitude and enthusiasm will cover almost anything else--get out and get going, don't feel sorry for yourself, something good is going happen.


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## EnvEngineer (Jan 16, 2012)

I agree with solo, I dont see you qualifications as that bad but it is an issue with some employers.

First I dont understand why recient grads put their GPA on their resume, my son did this and I took it off. I asked him has anyone brought this up and he said no one has asked. I dont think there is anything wrong leaving your GPA off. I would also look for an alternate to the overall GPA, is you GPA in your engineering classes higher? That is more important and you can answere with that.

Overall job advice, no that you have delayed your graduation you really need to get on a project. Another source of experience is public agencies and also local groups looking for volunteers. An example we have a local group that wants a dam removed, they may need someone to do some simple engineering or review. This could be good experience. I would also approach your state, county and city agencies and see if you can do an unpaid internship, I know of graduates from last year that are doing that now.

Final bit of advice, when someone reads your resume does it say what you can do for them or is it a listing of classes and other boring infomation. The resumes I see have been done in a very lazy fashion, no thought of what I need or how you can help, just I went to this class and I went to this class and I graduated. SO what, I dont care. I need information that will want me to at least talk more to you. It is difficult but if you can put together a letter and resume which is directed at the job in question, I would put your resume on the top of the pile. FYI, if I see 100 resumes, there is probably only one or two like I have described. This means 98 to 99 people wasted their time and my time.

Sorry I could not help myself, if you are depending on job listings and *career fairs *as a source for job leads you will have a long search. You got to get outside the box, career fairs are so we can give the human resources department some paperwork the mess with, think about it, what are the odds that they have a job that you will be qualified for on the date of the career fair???


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## knight1fox3 (Jan 16, 2012)

EnvEngineer said:


> First I dont understand why recient grads put their GPA on their resume, my son did this and I took it off. I asked him has anyone brought this up and he said no one has asked. I dont think there is anything wrong leaving your GPA off. I would also look for an alternate to the overall GPA, is you GPA in your engineering classes higher? That is more important and you can answere with that.


+1. I was in a similar situation near the end of my undergrad. Instead of showing my overall GPA I showed my degree core GPA. But this was only in looking for internships and/or co-ops. Once you have that degree in hand, I don't think you will encounter a potential employer specifically requesting your GPA. And lately the resumes coming across my desk haven't had any mention of GPA. Even for some of the interns applying at my company for internships. Perhaps having your GPA on a resume has become a thing of the past.



EnvEngineer said:


> Final bit of advice, when someone reads your resume does it say what you can do for them or is it a listing of classes and other boring infomation. The resumes I see have been done in a very lazy fashion, no thought of what I need or how you can help, just I went to this class and I went to this class and I graduated. SO what, I dont care. I need information that will want me to at least talk more to you. It is difficult but if you can put together a letter and resume which is directed at the job in question, I would put your resume on the top of the pile. FYI, if I see 100 resumes, there is probably only one or two like I have described. This means 98 to 99 people wasted their time and my time.


Another +1 here as this is a very good point. In this day and age with the large number of online resume submissions, you really have to doctor your resume to the position you are applying for. You want your resume to stand out in the bunch and point out what you can bring to the table for the company you are seeking employment for.


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## jsanchez0510 (Jan 17, 2012)

Thank you for responding.

I wonder what companies is it that you work for, everyone that I apply to always asks for the GPA!! Right now I am doing a questionnaire for Sensata Technologies abd it is the third question down, they have it in bold and everything "what is your *cumulative GPA*" As for the resume I have been told to always put it otherwise it simply gets tossed without any further consideration

It seems like all of you are intelligent, smart choice individuals who did not go through this dilemma. Is there somebody out there that had to overcome this situation??

And yes, I have put up my major GPA on my resume (which unfortunately is only slightly higher than my cumulative), I have also had it reviewed by many professionals in both industry and HR representatives, it has gone through many changes and phases and I think unless I start making up experience that I don't have this is as good as my resume can get.

I have gone to the career fairs and conferences hoping to get something but that still has not helped. I will be attending another one in February, I will continue to apply but I wonder if there is another way to get there.


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## EnvEngineer (Jan 18, 2012)

The tossing of resumes is just a bunch of crap, who in their right mind would take the time to go through resumes just to toss some of the best over a petty issue like GPA.

1. it is fine to fill out these online forms and send your resume to online adds, just dont expect to get a job. These are set up to keep the human resouces department busy, nothing else.

2. Go to the career fairs and have alot of fun, but dont expect to get a job, see above.

3. If you really want to get a job, fill out the information below

A. What firms do the kind of work you can help them with in an area (relocate) that you are willing to live. Notice I have said where you are willing to live. If there are 3 firms near your house and that is as far as you are willing to go it may be a long wait for a job.

B. What department in the firm would appreciate what you do?

C. Who is the head of that department? As difficult as this may seem it is not. Search the internet for the business, you may find him/her, look on linkedin, they may be there, call the office and ask who it is, they may not forward your call but they will give you their name, if they forward your call tell them you are researching their company for possible employment and would like to forward your resume. If you are a type A like me, ask when you can drop it by would tuesday at 10 be ok. otherwise go to D

D. Send them a letter/resume.

E. Give them 2-3 days to get the letter, call to followup. call at least 3 times before you leave a message, call early in the morning, most answere their phone for a while and then get busy.

F. After you have done this about 100 times and still dont have a job, fill out some forms with your GPA.


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## EnvEngineer (Jan 18, 2012)

BTW there are 1101 contacts for Sensata Technologies on linked in. Interesting that I did learn something myself. I have not accepted all the requests to link with me but that may not be a good strategy, you can only get full information of people at are at least 2nd generation links, all of Sensata are 3rd. You can still fish around and get their names just not directly. You can also send them a message


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## jsanchez0510 (Jan 19, 2012)

Thanks for the advice, I'll continue to look. And I like the approach of contacting the manager directly. I'll give it a shot with a few companies


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## lady_j (Jan 20, 2012)

1. If you haven't alreadyy, start up a linked in account! Recruiters that I know say this is one of the only things they use. Seriously, start one!

2. Do some research for a prof to gain experience. Is there any prof that you connected with in your classes? Perhaps pursue this option and co-author a paper to get your name out there

3. I agree with everyone else; you need to hit the pavement. Ask around, keep asking about job opportunities. And don't hesitate to throw into a conversation with people you meet that you are a "graduating Engineer looking for work".

4. What are the courses you took where you got the highest grades? You could put these courses on your resume (if they are applicable to the job your are applying for) and it will seem impressive.

5. Don't be afraid to list extra-curriculars on your resume. This could make you memorable and set you apart from others.

Good luck!


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## treyjay (Jan 21, 2012)

you need to look outside of the campus recruiters...they are looking for the best students (always have), so if you are not one of them, don't waste your time (but it is a good way to sharpen your "rap" and learn to accept rejection without looking like a pitiful fool).

consider taking a job with a government entity or maybe with a mechanical contractor. you may have to settle for less money than the superstars in your class, but you will get great experience.

don't worry, after a couple of years nobody will really care about your GPA (except for university graduate programs) and the only discriminator is relevant experience.

I don't know what your interests are in mechanical engineering, but if I was you I would look to go to work for an industrial mechanical contractor. They are less interested in GPA because they what folks who are willing to deal with the field (getting the job done, travel, getting dirty, dealing with customers, etc.) and they pay decent. The industrial market is hot right now and never suffers the down times as badly as other markets do. You will get plenty of engineering experience.

I was in your shoes once...relax &amp; good luck!


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