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Can't Find A Job After College? Consider Freelancing

What happens when you can’t find a job after college? You spent four years writing 15-page papers at the library all to get out and remain unemployed? Isn’t your degree worth something?

If you’re going through any of this, I know exactly how you feel. When I got out I could barely keep whoever was interviewing me from passing out. Seriously. It was debilitating to my fragile confidence, and my wallet.

It got so bad I kind of stopped trying.

But as one door closed, one door opened into something called freelancing.

First off, I would recommend freelancing to pretty much anybody. I say pretty much everybody because there’s basically no market for those who studied topics like medicine or education in college. With that said, there are tons of opportunities for those who enjoy/are knowledgeable about:

  • Writing
  • Accounting
  • Sales
  • Design/Creative Services
  • Translation
  • Legal Services
  • Web, Software, and Mobile Development
  • IT and Networking
  • Engineering

And that’s just the start of it. If you can’t find a job after college, I say make one! This turns the process on its head, gives you confidence back, and most importantly gets you working again. I’ll outline a few of the benefits.

Can’t Find A Job After College? Check Out These Freelancing Benefits

It puts something on the resume

If you didn’t complete any internships in college, your resume either looks like your front lawn after a snowstorm, or the list of sports you played in high school. Even if you did get a few internships, that’s not always a dealbreaker for employers, who normally want like 13 years of experience for college graduates. Freelancing fixes that.

Should you land a client, your resume will state you were the boss of your own clients. It changes everything. You’re no longer a wet-behind-the-ears college grad, you’re an accomplished account manager who keeps his clients happy. How’s that for an impact?

You can work from anywhere

I wrote a piece in the Huffington Post about working from home–it’s probably my favorite part of the whole thing, honestly. The changes are kind of subtle at first, though. I noticed after two weeks of freelancing that I hadn’t filled my gas tank up in a WHILE. I also noticed I had more time to work because I didn’t have to take a shower, brush my teeth, put clothes on, eat breakfast, then drive 30 minutes to my job. The only thing I had to do was walk to the kitchen table and open my laptop.

It keeps you busy between your next opportunity

If you can’t find a job after college, that’s fine–just freelance until you do! This is probably the best benefit of it all. It helps you regain confidence, earn money, and keep busy during your transition period.

Freelancing has been nothing short of a lifesaver for me. In fact, I liked it so much I kept doing it and swore I’d never apply to a corporate job again. It’s just too much fun being the boss. Anyway, consider freelancing if you can’t find a job after college. You won’t regret it!

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