Tips for Getting Hired from a Millennial

The job market is tough, especially for us millennials who are fresh out of college and have little experience.   As a fairly recent college grad, I’ve suffered in the seemingly endless abyss of job applications, but from my position now, I can tell you, there is hope.  Here’s what made all the difference for me and can help you too.



1. Prioritize. 
You’re not going to get everything immediately.
● Look at how you’re living
● How you’d like it to change
● Determine what you need to do first.

When I graduated from college, I wanted everything to be perfect: a job in my field and an apartment on my own.  After applying to 20 positions, I received a seasonal part-time (30 hours a week) position in my field.  While working part-time, I applied to 80 positions (and received 9 responses). As the season ended, I quickly realized that I was going to be unemployed and threw my expectations out the window.  My first goal was to be able to pay my bills.  Once I did that, I found a job where I would work in a heavily populated area, which would, at the very least, put me in an area with more opportunities. I was then offered a job where I was able to afford an apartment.

Is it what I thought I’d be doing? No.  Is it the arts? No.  Am I making a million dollars?  No.  Maybe one day I’ll try for those, but right now, I am happy where I am. I work at a place where they pay enough that I’ve been able to accomplish some big goals (plus I work with some great people).  It’s enough that I can move my focus onto some other goals in my life.  Besides, if I had never taken a chance and gone into a different direction just to accomplish a smaller goal, I may never have stumbled into a job I was surprised to find that I really enjoy.

2. Sacrifice.
● Put all of your focus into achieving your goal
● Abandon Perfection
● Volunteer / Intern
● Don’t let any challenge stand in your way

My part-time seasonal position was a 20-30 minute commute and paid $2 over minimum wage.  I then found a Christmas retail part-time position paid minimum wage and was a 40 minute commute.  After two weeks, I received a temp job that paid $4 over minimum wage, but was an hour and a half commute each direction through rush hour traffic in Pittsburgh.  Once I paid my bills from college and put gas in my car.  I didn’t have money to do much of anything. Spending 1-3 hours a day commuting and 8 hours working, I didn’t have much time to do anything anyway, but I still had to apply for jobs.  I was stressed out, exhausted, and didn’t seem to have much to show for it. Ultimately, it worked.

3. Work hard. 
It doesn’t matter if you’re working at McDonald’s or volunteering.  Do the best job you can.    When you’re not in your ideal situation, it can lower your motivation.  If you work hard, you’ll be respected by your coworkers and management and ultimately you will respect yourself more. You don’t want your hardworking skills to get rusty and it never hurts to have too many job references.  You’re building a network and you never know where that one job might lead you.  After 4 months, my temporary position led to an offer for a full-time position and I’ve been officially employed with my company for almost 2 years.

For me, a lot of it was luck, but don’t give up. Embrace your support system. When you’ve done everything you possibly can do, sooner or later, you’re going to be in the right place at the right time and someone’s going to notice.


I’d love to hear some other advice from all generations!  Baby boomers! Millennials!  What’s the best advice you can give someone looking for a job?