5 Hard-Earned Lessons on Finding Your First Job (When the Economy is Rough)

The job search is grueling across all seniority levels, and the economy isn’t helping. As Robert Frost wrote, the best way out is through. Back in 2010, I struggled like many recent college grads. Here is some direct advice I wish I had received.

1. Get a Job, Any Job

Your bills won’t wait for the economy to turn around. More importantly, you need to prove to others and to yourself that you can handle responsibility. I scoffed a decade ago when Stephen Key told me that customer service skills compound over time. He was right.

Even if you have to work at a retail store, a bank, or a car wash instead of that entry-level job in your field of study, do it. Each conversation compounds. While AI can do a lot, it can’t replicate the judgment, nuance, and other complexities of face-to-face communication. Get a job, but it’s better if it involves dealing with other people. You may even find that over time, clients you work with or regulars you serve may come to you with opportunities.

2. Read a Lot

Start with what’s interesting to you. Then branch out in any way you see fit. The more you read, the more you learn, and the more you learn, the more connections you make in your brain. The more connections you make, the more you have to talk about with prospective employers, new connections, or new friends.

Make yourself interesting and knowledgeable so that people listen when you have something to say. I once interviewed with a Swedish engineer for an AE position at a startup. The guy was direct and no-nonsense. I was nervous, mostly because I had no idea how I was going to pay for the BART ride back to Modesto from San Francisco. It came up that he was from Malmö. Because of my interest and reading in soccer, I knew that Zlatan Ibrahimović was from Malmö. I brought it up, and we chatted for a bit about the forthcoming Euro 2012. The mood was lighter, and I had more confidence. I made it to the next round.

3. Don’t Make Things More Difficult

It’s hard enough finding a job during tough economic times. Many of us have difficulties in our private lives: a sick parent, a sibling we’re responsible for, etc. There’s no need to go All-Madden on the difficulty level.

I turned to alcohol during the Great Recession to help me cope with disappointment and disillusionment. I felt like Kid Cudi in the “Pursuit of Happiness” video, out of my mind while everything on the outside seemed fine. Eventually, it caught up to me, and I almost ruined the start of my professional career before it even began.

Talk to someone. Get professional support if you can afford it. But above all, try your very best not to make stupid decisions.

4. Do Something Personal

Create something that is meaningful to you. Better if you can show it off or point people to it. I started a blog in college and kept it up throughout my job search in the early 2010s. It never got more than ∼200 weekly visitors, but it was fun to write about books and hip-hop. I got to interview Alexis Ohanian, Rapper Big Pooh, and other cool people from across genres and industries.

The blog was something I did for myself. However, I was pleasantly surprised when during my interview at Waze I was asked if I had any writing samples. I pulled up my blog and showed CEO Noam Bardin. I think he scrolled for two seconds before he handed me my phone back. My blog wasn’t the sole reason why they hired me. However, it definitely helped.

Maybe you don’t like writing. Perhaps your thing is vibe coding apps or writing bars over beats. Whatever it is, having something that you’ve infused your soul into can not only help you in the job search but, more importantly, it will keep you sane.

5. Change Your Expectations

I thought I’d be able to move home to Modesto, get a job, buy a house, and start “living” within a year of graduating college. There was a lot wrong with my state of mind back then, namely the idea that one can postpone living until some undefined day in the future.

In reality, it took me almost two years to find full-time work, and I had to leave Modesto to find it. It’s going to take longer than you think, and that is okay. You may work part-time at the sporting goods store for a year instead of six months. You have to work with time, not rush against it.

There is no quicker way to make yourself miserable than to wish it was the future. Believe me, I used to live there. Things get better over time, especially if you do some of the things above. Relationships lead to new opportunities. Interests lead to connections you didn’t think were possible. And the struggle you’re going through right now eventually will become the best memories that Kid Cudi also sang about.