Hustle and Flow, baby

You can tell your mom and dad to stop worrying—it’s not just you—it’s our whole generation. And not only in America. Joblessness around the world is affecting Quarterlifers

Bloomberg Businessweek reported that more than a quarter of China’s graduating class of 2010 has yet to find work. According to the Education Ministry, that’s about 6.3 million new Chinese college graduates who are unemployed.

In Great Britain, 18 to 24 year olds are suffering with 20 percent unemployment. And In America, our rate hovers around the same.

Yet, millions of students are going to college, hoping that their advanced degrees will help them get into the job of their dreams. The reality of it is they should just hope they get a job.

In America, the recession has wiped out about 8.2 million jobs during 2008 and 2009.

Peter Morici, an economics professor at the University of Maryland, calculates job increases would have to average 400,000 a month to return to a 6% unemployment rate by the end of 2013.

Suffice to say that those numbers are a far reach from where we are today. There was a net jobs LOSS in August of 54,000 jobs. We have a steep way up to climb to return job numbers to pre-recession levels.

What does that mean for quarterlifers? Hustle and flow baby. Hustle and flow.

No seriously, what it means is prepare to get underpaid, in a job you probably don’t love, for a while. But instead of getting down in the dumps about lack of opportunities, use this time to build work experience. This is the biggest thing that employers look for in prospective new employees. Do your job and do it to the best of your ability, and your sure to get someone to notice.

The biggest thing the recession has done has increased the supply of workers, while demand for workers has been low. In the competitive market of finding a job—you have to stand out—be someone who brings immediate value from the skills you’ve developed. For many employers, they want to see real world performance from actual work experience.

Also, in the interlude, Quaterlifers should take advantage of this time to work on personal projects that are meaningful to them. Whether it’s your music career, your great American novel, your stamp collecting, or whatever it is that you love.

The job of the Quarterlifer is to be resilient. College allowed us to put on various hats, try new things, be challenged, and tested. Now, practice is over and we must apply those tangible skills in the real world.

The refrain, “but I have a college degree…” no longer carries with it the promise of a the well-paying job. But, it does open doors and give you the opportunity to show your stuff.

Seize it.

What Do You Do?

How do you answer the question “What do you do?” It’s a decidedly quarterlife question. Until your mid-20s, most people go on the assumption that you are a student (an annoying assumption for those of us who didn’t take the collegiate route), and thus the question need not be asked. But during your post-graduate age, whenever you go out to parties, or bars, or leave your apartment at all, the question inevitably gets asked, “What do you do?”

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