From the looks of it, graduating seniors couldn’t be going into the real world at a scarier time.

With the stock market tumbling down a couple hundred points every day and job markets drying up like Carrot Top’s dignity, walking off a stage with a degree is an event some students are beginning to fear.

All the hours we’ve spent studying and racking our brains trying to better ourselves, on the surface, appear to have been in vain.

I went to job fair for journalists a couple of weeks ago. The idea was to sit with newspaper editors from across Indiana and interview with them as you would for a job opening.

It was a lot like what I imagine speed dating is like, as well as disappointing as I’d expect. After showing my resume and work to several potential employers, all but one told me they didn’t have any openings.

My heart sank a little and I’m sure many of the seniors there with me felt the same way. It’s hard to be energetic after you’ve driven 90 miles out of your way to be told your industry isn’t hiring.

However, the optimist in me keeps saying it wasn’t a total bust.

Actually, it wasn’t.

I had an opportunity to learn what would be expected of me if the jobs were available. I learned what skills I lack and what I can build on in the meantime.

Talk to professors or people working the field you’re studying. Get an edge on what the trends are in your industry and begin learning more about those skills.

Did I just suggest spending even more time in school? Why would I even bring up spending more hours in classrooms and adding on thousands of dollars in more loans?

Many of us are young enough to bounce back if we decide to get more education or even pursue another degree.

Maybe keeping the jobs we already have will be too much to worry about after graduating, and spending more money on classes and books isn’t a reasonable solution. In that case, think about a skill you want to expand on, and buy a book about it. Use the discipline you’ve gained in college to teach yourself something new.

Even if I don’t decide to go back to school, I talked to one editor who said something about the grim market he was entering in the early ’80s.

He said there seemed to be 300 applicants for every job and it appeared just as scary then as it does now. But he was young, “didn’t give a rat’s ass” and went for it anyway. He now helps run a media company that puts out several publications.

Sometimes, just staying positive is enough to affect everything and everyone around you. Keeping your wits about you and staying optimistic just might be enough to keep you going until the economy begins to pick up and jobs start opening.

The world isn’t over, it just happens to be changing. Start thinking about what changes you can make to give yourself an advantage.

By JEROD CLAPP
Senior Editor
jlclapp@ius.edu