What NOT To Say To A Recent Grad

Unless this is the first time reading my blog, you already know I recently graduated from grad school and, like all grads, am looking for a job.  I also get ask a lot of the same questions over and over again and after the first 10 times, gets really repetitive so much so that I have essentially memorized responses to the questions.  So, if you come across someone in my position here are things that you should NOT say to them.

1. Have you found a job yet?

• More than likely, the answer is no.  Most grads are out of the job for more than a couple months after graduation.
• New grads have a disadvantage in their field: they don't have much experience outside of work study or internships they had during school.  Which means unless employers are specifically looking for new grads (or someone willing to work for less than the job normally pays) employers will lean towards someone with experience.  In fact, most jobs I've seen posted require 3 or  more years experience (which I have been convincing myself all the internships I had while in grad school count).
• The economy still sucks for a lot of fields grads have gone into.  This means more competition for jobs where grads are not only competing against each other, but also against veterans in the field (veterans meaning those with experience not an actual war veteran, though they can be looking for jobs as well).
• The EXCEPTION: if you are a professor, you are more than welcome to ask.  
• The exception to the exception: if you don't like the person or could care less what happens to the student afterwords.  Don't waste their time or yours.

2. Do you think you'll go back for a masters/PhD/MD/PharmD/flying unicorns?

• They just got out of school.  The last thing they want to really think about is applying to go back to school.  Plus if they wanted to do it, they would have already been accepted into a program.  If they were rejected, this is a sore subject because no one wants to say "I want to but I was rejected".
• Bonus advice: if they do say they were rejected DO NOT say "Well you can always try next year."  No really?  I thought it was a one time deal.  I still hate that people ask me if I'm going to try to get into pharmacy school again. I do not want to, I have no interest in it anymore, I'm already $80,000+ in debt let's not add another $100,000 to it please.  If you couldn't tell, this aggravates me.
• They probably have a lot of loans too that they won't want to add to for a while.
• The EXCEPTION: if you are in a position to and are willing to if asked, to write a letter of recommendation for said program.  So in other words, if you are the person's supervisor, professor, or colleague.

3. So how many jobs have you applied to?

• Apparently not enough to get hired is my typical response because the number of jobs you apply to doesn't really matter.  One could apply to 100 jobs and not even have one interview offer (spoiler alert: there may be something wrong with your resume or cover letter).  One can land a job at the first and only place they apply to as well.  In the end, you can only have one job-job.
• The EXCEPTION: if you are interviewing this person for a job.  True story, I've been asked at interviews.  I guess the nice professors can ask this too.

4. What was it exactly you went to school for? OR What kind of job can you get now?

• If you didn't know what the person went to school for: asking this question automatically forbids you from asking any subsequent questions.  Why?
• You don't know that much about them obviously.
• It becomes a game of 20 questions.
• The new grad has probably already played more rounds of 20 questions than they really want to at this point.
• It kind of makes the person feel bad that they went through all the work and graduated only to have the people they know have no clue what they were doing with their life for x number of years.  Makes you feel less important to know someone really didn't care to ask while you were in school.
• As for the what kind of job can you get?  One that is in the field that they studied (here's your sign).
• The EXCEPTION: you have alzheimer's.

5. What are you fellow classmates doing now?

• It doesn't matter what the field is that the person is in.  The answer is always the same: some people found jobs, some people are looking for jobs, some people moved back to their native country, some people went back to school for another degree.  Okay?  No one on the planet needs to ask this question anymore.  

There are some more questions but even though I'm off work for a week, I have a LOT going on.