When the United States entered its recession, the unemployment rate soared from 4.8% to 9.7% (more than DOUBLED) in13 short months. The employed were laid off, cut back and had an ever-present fear that come tomorrow, they would be out of work. This fear became a reality to nearly 2.6 million Americans in 2008 (a record high since 1945).  While the employed lost their jobs, the unemployed lost hope.

I graduated in December, 2009 and finally entered the big, bad job market in January, 2010. At this point in time, unemployment rates rose even further reaching 10.6%. Needless to say, I was nervous. But as I searched posts, boards, companies and listings, I found out there were TONS of jobs available. I was applying to at least 20 jobs a day for 6 months… You do the math. However, as a recent grad looking for experience, I fell behind in the job market. Although the economy is slowly improving and therefore providing countless job opportunities, the unskilled and inexperienced are still left in the dark. There are tons of jobs out there, but they are all going to the professional that lost their jobs due to the recession.

Think about it: You have your job candidates. You have the recent grads that are looking for that entry level position, and you have the professionals with prior experience in the industry. Who do you hire? The answer is obvious. Unfortunately, both sides are falling short. The inexperienced are left with ZERO opportunities to gain experience (Well… that is unless they want to work for free. But in this economy, that’s definitely not an option. I can’t even afford a $15 doctor visit and get my $21 prescriptions), and the professionals with 5+ years of experience are taking jobs for which they are highly overqualified. Neither side has a chance to grow in their profession. The experienced are pushed back to square one and the recent grad can’t even get to that square one… It’s tough.

On the bright side though, unemployment rates are slowly starting to decrease. So… here’s to hoping.

I wish all of my fellow recent grads the best of luck in finding work and may the overqualified professionals make rapid advancement in their positions to get back where they left off when the US entered it’s recession.

Never underestimate the power of patience, perseverance and an optimistic attitude.

Information gathered from:

Google Public Data

CNN Money

US Department of Labor

US Bureau of Labor Statistics