Why You’re Not Getting A Job

I know I’ve already iterated this before, but I’m going to do it again. But this time, I’m going to do it by showing you three articles that all basically say the same thing.

First and foremost, your resume sucks. CNBC puts this rather delicately, saying that employers simply don’t feel that colleges are preparing students for the workforce. Employers feel that many graduates lack the necessary soft skills and experience to complete the task at hand. But is this a fair assessment?

While our education system does a good job at preparing students academically, it never really has been very good at teaching students anything practical. Like teaching students how to think critically, be innovative, or communicate with others within the work environment. There also isn’t a whole lot of hands-on training going on either, which is also why many students are very much unprepared.

So how come colleges aren’t adjusting their curriculum to incorporate these skills?

Because college, my friend, is a business. In order to draw in students, colleges put a lot of money into campus amenities. It’s essentially a giant circus, with the only difference between one or the other is that one may have a better football team than its rival.

It’s not a bad business to be in either since schools are pushing  students so hard to go to college. And since the supply is constant and the demand for higher education is so great, colleges can afford to jack up tuition costs and spruce up the campus more to make a couple extra bucks. It’s simple economics, really.

But if they’re not improving education, then how home this business model hasn’t imploded on them already?

In the meantime, colleges are just coasting on their reputation. In the past, many prestige colleges had been renowned for their outstanding achievement of high education standards. Some of them still are, but their numbers are few. Unfortunately, no one has really questioned this until now, so many of these colleges are still making the big bucks while they continue to water down their curriculum to draw in more students.

This is why you’re not getting a job. You finished college, giving them all your money, but yet in the end, you’re still left ill-prepared. Is this the college’s fault? Not really. While many colleges have taken advantage of the system, as a knowledgeable consumer, it’s your responsibility to research which colleges are worth your time and know what employers will expect out of you once you finish college.

Try building up your portfolio, apply for a few internships. Maybe even get involved with a few organizations and do some networking in the process. Doing a couple workshops wouldn’t necessarily hurt either. It’s extra work, but in the end, you’ll be better prepared than those who blindly go through college, expecting that expensive piece of paper that they obtained to buy them a job.