Jobs, money, bills, debt and graduation. These themes seem to be a recurring around the student media office here lately.

We are all searching for jobs, and for me at least, with little luck.  

I have applied on LinkedIn, Monster and every other job site you can think of.

Am I the only one who thinks this whole process is harder than people make it out to be? My parents made looking for a job look easy, but boy, did they lead me astray.

What can we do? As far as I am concerned — stay positive. Positivity is all we have.

Last week, I had the pleasure of listening to a speaker from one of the companies I would die to work for talk about the job search. The rep from Creative Artists Agencies told all of the entertainment students in my class that positivity will keep you in the job market for the long run.

When searching for a job, students shouldn’t give up after their first rejection — they should keep trying, said Blake McDaniel, a booking agent with CAA and former UNA student.  

McDaniel said he lucked out one day after having no luck in the industry and stumbled upon a temporary job that led to his job today as a full-time agent with the leading booking company.

I am trying to stay positive and listen to McDaniel’s advice, but it’s hard to do when all you hear on the evening news is negative about the job market. With Alabama falling at the middle of the pack as far as unemployment numbers go, our prospects as future employees look slim to null.

As of December, Alabama has a 7.1 percent unemployment rate. Hopefully, this number will improve for those of us needing a job right out of school.

I talk to students every day that are equally as worried about the job market and are unsure of their futures. This whole epidemic of the horrible state of our job market is scary.

To begin with, our teachers tell us conflicting things about applying for jobs ranging from our resumes to cover letters. Do I put an objective on my resume or not? Do I write a generic cover letter? Do I apply on job sites? All of these questions continue to run through my mind daily.

Many job sites say one thing and then the other. I am going to just trust UNA’s trusty career planning office, and follow their examples.

Also, am I the only one that is confused as to why I can apply for 500 jobs and not hear back from one of the employers?

When it comes to my future career, I have started to fall into the YOLO mentality. I have applied everywhere and in every city. I will work wherever it takes to get me to the next level.

One of my professors always tells each of his classes, “If you want to go there, just go there,” when referring to where students want to live post-graduation. I think I am going to take his advice and have a U-Haul packed on graduation day.

Let’s hope the job market eases up for the sake of us all.