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Job Search
"Honestly, I'm starting to feel like I'm on some kind of prank reality show. I apply for at least three jobs a day but after a year of looking for a job in my field, I didn't hear anything back from the companies I targeted..."
By Latifah Mohammed
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Youth Radio's Latifah Mohammed talks about her struggle to get a job, post college graduation. Even though Latifah maintained good grades and juggled two internships as she earned a degree, she still hasn't found a job. But Latifah's not giving up as she moves to the Big Apple to pursue her dream career in writing.
I learned a lot in college, like how to survive off of disgusting dorm food. But there's one thing college didn't teach me: how to get a job.
I thought I was doing everything right. Long before graduating I focused on my future by writing for the school newspaper, juggling two internships, and keeping my GPA at or above 3.0. I knew all this would add to my job experience and impress employers.
At least I thought it would. Honestly, I'm starting to feel like I'm on some kind of prank reality show. I apply for at least three jobs a day but after a year of looking for a job in my field, I didn't hear anything back from the companies I targeted... Nothing!
My dream is to write for a magazine in New York City, so after my graduation in California I gave away all of my furniture and moved to Northern Virginia to live with my older sister. Now that I'm only four hours away from Manhattan I'm more anxious then ever to get there. It won't be easy. According to the U.S Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for media jobs is much higher than the national average. Even so, I've decided by mid-September I'm kicking Virginia to the curb and moving to the Big Apple. Dream job or no dream job.
In the meantime, I have to make some money. So I put my pride on hold and settle for a job at a GPS tracking company, which basically monitors people who wear ankle bracelets because they're criminals. On my first day, my manager sent me home with one of the ankle bracelets so the system could track me overnight. Don't get me wrong...I'm glad to be employed, but at one o'clock in the morning I found myself wondering, did I really go to college so I could get locked up like Martha Stewart?
I know just moving to New York won't make me a writer, but writing will, and for now, life after college is giving me something to write about.
- Latifah Muhammad recently quit her GPS tracking job, and is now working as an administrative assistant at a janitorial supply company.
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