Job Search Advice To A New College Graduate

On our LinkedIn Group a young lady that just graduated in Dec 2010 with a degree in religious studies asked for feedback on her "resume." This is what I wrote:

As the Instructor of Harsh Reality (and since you asked) you really don't have a resume. You're a new college graduate with a history of good grades in a niche degree in a tough economy. You are going to have to make your own way or accept an entry-level position in a company that will take you on to prove yourself. 

You need to focus on exactly where you want to work and what you want to do because I don't think you want to know of "anything" out there because there are lots of minimum wage jobs that you could start on tomorrow but you probably wouldn't want to do. 

However, having supervised, lead, interviewed, hired, fired and trained thousands of people since 1992 I can tell you the cream does rise to the top. If you have to take a minimum wage job to get your foot in the door at a company you like with room to grow then take it. 

Most companies promote from within and having an entry level person that can pass a drug test, learn the job quickly, show up on time, not steal anything, put in a full 8 hours, not gossip or cause strife amongst the staff, recommend areas and ideas for improvement, wear appropriate attire, have minimal or zero (obscene) tattoos and/or piercings in painful places and smells good will be promoted rapidly and repeatedly with comparable raises tied to the promotions. 

You'll be in management and earning an income commiserate with your abilities before your classmates can submit their 10,000th resume online to the vacuum of the job search internet. 

I've mowed lawns, roofed houses, insulated commercial buildings, bagged groceries, mopped floors, plunged toilets, crawled through mud, shined shoes and donned chemical warfare gear while deployed thousands of miles from home on repeated holidays and I've learned and earned and grown from every experience. 

If you have to eat a frog, there's no use in staring at it. In other words, do this "crappy" stuff while you're young. 

Live your day by the clock and your life with a vision. That means do everything on purpose so that everything you takes you closer to your bigger purpose. 

Keep the faith. 
Wes