Job-hunting blues.

So yeah, I have just a few weeks before my college life comes to an end, and that it's time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life (which is finding a job, what else).

So came the Job Fair in Ateneo. In my previous entry, I was ranting about on how the Job Fair was, to an extent, biased towards SoM students. As a response, the people from the Placement Office (of which I do have friends there) made some efforts to make the Job Fair as unbiased and unbalanced as possible, and I would commend them for putting in their efforts on it, despite the rains that occurred in the duration of the Job Fair.

Speaking of Job-hunting, I applied (as of this writing) to a total of four companies, namely: Thomson Reuters, ABS-Corporation, Nielsen Media, and Summit Media. And yes, none of them have anything to do with my Major (unless you count journalism in politics as one, in the case of ABS-CBN and Reuters, and that my photography skills do count, as for Summit Media). So finding a job is indeed a challenge as of the meantime.

Although I am hoping (and praying) that I get into ABS-CBN, it does not hurt to have alternative plans, so that is why I applied to other companies as well. Worst case scenario? I can be a freelance photographer, but that will make me a starving artist with an unstable income, and that is not good especially in the world that we live in.

Honestly speaking, I am scared of what will happen after college, and that is why I am starting to act all panicky in terms of finding a job. For some strange reason, I fear of being a bum (or being JUST a freelance photographer of some sorts). I fear about what will happen one these last few weeks of college is finally put to an end.

And to think I'm drowning with papers, field works, and the hope of finding that job.

And no, love life is not a concern for me as of the moment. Hee.

On the Job Fair.

NOTE: This note is simply states my opinions and sentiments on the Ateneo Job Fair, and I am not saying that we should be against or to boycott the Job Fair.

Sure sure sure.

The Ateneo Job Fair is coming next week. Graduating and undergrad students looking for a job after graduation or looking for internships and on-the-job trainings are looking forward to this event that is said to be full of opportunities.

And I tell this upfront: I have mixed feelings on the Ateneo Job Fair.

Not that I do not like the thrill of searching for job opportunities, given the fact that I am going to graduate real soon (and that I do have to find a job), but what the Ateneo Job Fair offers is not equal and fair entirely to everyone here in my school.

Just so you know, there are four schools in Ateneo, namely School of Humanities (SoH), School of Science and Engineering (SoSE), School of Social Sciences (SoSS), and School of Management (SoM). Population-wise, SoM has the highest population, while SoH has the lowest population. And this will make sense on why I hate the Job Fair, especially given the fact that I am studying under a course that is part of SoSS.

Yesterday, a good friend of mine was also ranting about the Job Fair as well. We had the same sentiments about it, with the Job fair being too SoM-oriented, and that it does not really give out any opportunities for the other three schools (well, maybe, I mean MAYBE, SoSE students and a select few SoSS students could grab the opportunity as well). As I glanced through the list of who are participating for the Job Fair, my disappointments on the Job Fair have just been further elaborated.

Most, if not all, of the companies participating in the Job fair are oriented towards business and corporate categories. There are none for media. None for education. None for NGOs. None for governance. Not even for advertising.

Now who benefits from this? SoM people would benefit from these opportunities (to my friends in SoM: take advantage of this opportunity in the Job Fair AND don’t waste it!). But how about those from SoSE, SoSS, and SoH? I am not sure in what manner they would benefit from it.

I do understand that there is a bias towards SoM majors when it comes to the opportunities for the upcoming Job Fair, but to be considerate of things (in behalf of people organizing the Ateneo Job Fair), there are factors that we have to consider as well (and this are based on what my friends said about it).

First is the fact that we live in a world where money makes the world go round. As my friend would put it, “the ones who can effectively attract, wield, and use cash will survive.” This is why most people would like to take up courses such as management, as there is a lot of opportunities in the world of corporate and business. Yet we can’t live on money alone mind you; hence, my friend adds that it is a misnomer that there are no job opportunities for SoSS, SoH, SoSE; there are job opportunities for them, but it just happens that it is these powerful and influential companies that have the capacity to shell out money and be part of these job fairs.

In relation to the first argument, another factor that can be considered is the costing of actually participating in a job fair. Being a participant in job fairs is not cheap; you have to pay for booth rentals, for paraphernalia, for the people manning the booth, for electricity, for food, and the like. Ateneo just happens to charge a high price with their job fairs, which is why the big corporate companies are the ones who are able to participate in the Ateneo Job Fair.

Another factor (and something that I may or may not agree when a friend told me this), is that of surveys. According to surveys, there is a high rate of job preferences for the business and corporate industry, which is why it happens most of the time that companies like Nestle, Procter and Gamble, and Unilever are the ones who would participate in these Job fairs. Sure that may be the case, but I do think the voices of those coming from other schools are not heard that well, or not addressed properly.

But it does not mean the Job Fair is inclined more to SoM students that those from the other schools should lose hope; in fact, the Job Fair, said by a friend of mine, should be an opportunity for those from SoSS, SoSE, and SoH to creatively strut off their skills in applying for these companies. After all, nothing is really impossible as long as you are determined for it. It is challenging indeed, but of course you can’t get a job without starting somewhere.

I may hate the Ateneo Job Fair, but that does not mean I am going to sit down and wander, hoping for an opportunity to just come along. We all need to work hard if we want to get good jobs. The Job Fair is just one opportunity; there are a lot of opportunities out there. Kailangang lang maging matiyaga sa paghahanap ng trabaho.