[starryprince]

Hey you guys. Hope everyone's Sunday is going well.

I'm 25 and I graduated last December with my masters in forensic mental health counseling. Since October 2016 I've been looking for a job in the mental health field. My goal is to help LGBT survivors of child abuse and intimate partner violence. However, that is really specific so I have just been applying for general non-specific mental health counseling jobs. I'm still unemployed and it's really beginning to weigh on me. It's making my depression flare up and I feel a lot of regret. I feel like a failure.

I've gotten some interviews but the problem almost always seems to be my lack of job experience because I went straight through high school to college to grad school without taking a break. However, I did a year long externship last year for school and it was one of the worst experiences of my life. My supervisor literally told me, "I don't like this client so I'm giving her to you." Then one day my depression was really bad and I asked for one day off, and that was big for me because I'm a bit of a perfectionist. She turned to me and said, "You're in grad school and you come here so you can't be THAT depressed, right?" My point is that I experienced a lot of things at that externship, including almost being sexually assaulted by a coworker which resulted in that coworker being let go. I gained a lot of personal and work experience there, especially since I took on a lot of clients and there were literally days when the staff was shorthanded and I had to do multiple jobs and take on even more clients, so it hurts when interviewers say that my externship isn't experience. Of course, they don't know about my personal experiences or mental health. They just know what work responsibilities I did there. But it still hurts.

So I decided to apply to jobs that require high school diplomas or bachelors degrees. I've been applying to retail jobs since I was 18. Never heard back from anything. I've been applying to case manager jobs and no luck. The problem with those jobs is that I'm overqualified in terms of my degree but underqualified because of my lack of experience.

I've been to job fairs. I even had one woman who said I was a good fit for a job and she would talk to her supervisor and to keep in contact with her. I did and I never heard back from her. At another job fair one recruitment officer looked at me resume and said my externship didn't count as experience. After that fair I went to the bathroom to cry because I felt so discouraged.

I have an employment agency helping me but the woman assigned to me has not been in contact with me. She was helping me get a counseling job. She gave me the application and I filled it out. She sent it in and was told to ask me when I was available for an interview. I told her, only for her to tell me that "there are no more room for interviews but they will be opening up room for more interviews in a month". She contacted me again about the same job and asked if I was still interested. I said yes and she said she would send in my application again. I haven't heard from her since.

I have no idea what to do right now. I've gotten so discouraged that I've temporarily stopped my job search because I don't know where to look. I've started looking out of state as a last resort. Everywhere wants social workers or you need your license. But I can't get my license unless I have 3000 work hours and no one is willing to give me a job. I'm very competent and diligent. I just need someone to give me a chance.

I'm not sure what I'm asking for here but I guess I just needed to unload my emotions somewhere. Thanks for reading. If anyone has any advice for me, that would be great. Thank you.

Hey, don’t give up! Do more follow up with the recruiters. Don’t let it drop off—they will think you lost interest! Target them and tell them why you have passion for their mission. Write follow up emails or notes with why you want to work for them.

Have a strong, confident answer for why they should hire you.

Talk about only the positive aspects of your work experience. That was really great experience!

Hang in there.

[Turtle_Rider]

Job searching is tough. Don't give up. It took me a while to get a job after graduating. I got more luck from searching job online rather than the job fair. Maybe you can try it. Taking temporary freelance job is good too for small cash.

It just my opinion. When they say your externship isn't experience, I think it just their tactic. Your job field is a tough one. Some interviewers use this tactic to see your reaction. If you down, they would think you're not suitable for the job. Be confident and tell them why the externship should be count as experience.

[reb569]

Have you looked over on the Pro section? I wonder if there may be some advice for you over there? Is there a professional organization that relates to your degree that may have some resources on getting started. How about the university that you graduated from? They should provide assistance in getting jobs. I'm sure you've thought of all these, so I am just throwing them out there.

Good luck, I hope something comes up for you soon.

[scorpiosis37]

Have you specifically searched on the job boards for psychologist jobs with "trainee" in the title? Most of the psychologists I know started out as a trainee, so they were paid a bit of a lower wage while earning the hours and supervision they needed to earn their license. Those jobs are specifically looking for someone like you who has your degree but does not yet have a license.

Hang in there. The job market is rough. I have a PhD and just quit my job and moved across the country to take care of my ill parents... so now I'm on the job market again too. It's HARD even with a PhD and 8 years of experience!

[seesaw]

I have been looking for a new job since July, and it is definitely tough out there.

Not to be a downer, but people who have gone straight through high school through grad school DO have a tougher time because they don't have as much direct experience. As a hiring manager myself I see people coming in, in my field, who want manager or high level positions who have no experience managing a team or raising the kind of gifts (I work in philanthropy) required for the position. So really pushing the point across of how your externship was REAL experience and that you do have a track record of working with clients, etc. is probably the most important thing you can do in an interview. In your cover letters, you should be playing up all the experience you gained at your externship and how that parallels the job description that you are applying for.

I agree with the other poster that you might have success looking for a trainee position. I will tell you that I came out of grad school at 25, same as you, no break in school, although I did work while I was in school, and I had to start at an entry level position. But the plus side is that I was able to move up quickly because I put the skills learned in grad school to use. I found that the grad degree didn't help me get my first job, but it did help me get a manager's position and director level positions later on in my career.

It's okay to take a break for a week or so from the job hunt... I know I've had to do that to stay fresh...but don't let it last too long and be intentional about it. You've been searching very hard for a job, take your break, then get back to it.

Are you contacting the interviewers afterwards to ask for feedback on why you weren't the final choice? That could help you figure out how to hone your interview skills so that in the next interview you can make sure you address those concerns.

Good luck!
Seesaw

[starryprince]

So sorry for replying to all of you so late. It hasn't been a good time for me.

Originally Posted by key tones

Hey, don’t give up! Do more follow up with the recruiters. Don’t let it drop off—they will think you lost interest! Target them and tell them why you have passion for their mission. Write follow up emails or notes with why you want to work for them.

Have a strong, confident answer for why they should hire you.

Talk about only the positive aspects of your work experience. That was really great experience!

Hang in there.

Thanks a lot! It was hard for me to come up with positive experiences since that externship was so awful. The clients weren't bad but the staff was and the center wasn't organized at all. So it took me a while to find positives in that experience but I did. I've followed up with a few recruiters, especially one site that is my dream place to work...but I either never hear from them again or they say they'll keep me up to date but they don't. =/ I'll try my best to hang in there.

Originally Posted by Turtle_Rider

Job searching is tough. Don't give up. It took me a while to get a job after graduating. I got more luck from searching job online rather than the job fair. Maybe you can try it. Taking temporary freelance job is good too for small cash.

It just my opinion. When they say your externship isn't experience, I think it just their tactic. Your job field is a tough one. Some interviewers use this tactic to see your reaction. If you down, they would think you're not suitable for the job. Be confident and tell them why the externship should be count as experience.

I've been using job apps way more than going to job fairs. Indeed has been my go to and the best app I've used. It's just so tough and you're right. The mental health field is very difficult. It sucks because you want to help people but no one wants to give you a chance to do that. And I agree with what you said about them using tactics. That's underhanded but I believe they do that. =/

Originally Posted by reb569

Have you looked over on the Pro section? I wonder if there may be some advice for you over there? Is there a professional organization that relates to your degree that may have some resources on getting started. How about the university that you graduated from? They should provide assistance in getting jobs. I'm sure you've thought of all these, so I am just throwing them out there.

Good luck, I hope something comes up for you soon.

Thanks a lot for the suggestion! I actually went back to my school to talk to a career adviser and they helped me with my resume and stuff but they also were confused as to why I didn't have a job yet. They gave me a few jobs to look at but it didn't work out. I found an organization for counselors where I live so I'm going to look on their site because they give you a list of supervisors you can contact. I'll definitely look over on the Pro section. I actually didn't know there was a pro section on here so thanks a lot for telling me about it!

Originally Posted by scorpiosis37

Have you specifically searched on the job boards for psychologist jobs with "trainee" in the title? Most of the psychologists I know started out as a trainee, so they were paid a bit of a lower wage while earning the hours and supervision they needed to earn their license. Those jobs are specifically looking for someone like you who has your degree but does not yet have a license.

Hang in there. The job market is rough. I have a PhD and just quit my job and moved across the country to take care of my ill parents... so now I'm on the job market again too. It's HARD even with a PhD and 8 years of experience!

Yea, I've been using the word "entry-level" in my job search and all of the jobs I applied to said counselors who were looking to get their hours and supervision should apply. Never heard from them either. I'll try using the word "trainee" and see if that makes a difference. Thank you and best of luck to you in your job search as well! It's too hard out here.

Originally Posted by seesaw

I have been looking for a new job since July, and it is definitely tough out there.

Not to be a downer, but people who have gone straight through high school through grad school DO have a tougher time because they don't have as much direct experience. As a hiring manager myself I see people coming in, in my field, who want manager or high level positions who have no experience managing a team or raising the kind of gifts (I work in philanthropy) required for the position. So really pushing the point across of how your externship was REAL experience and that you do have a track record of working with clients, etc. is probably the most important thing you can do in an interview. In your cover letters, you should be playing up all the experience you gained at your externship and how that parallels the job description that you are applying for.

I agree with the other poster that you might have success looking for a trainee position. I will tell you that I came out of grad school at 25, same as you, no break in school, although I did work while I was in school, and I had to start at an entry level position. But the plus side is that I was able to move up quickly because I put the skills learned in grad school to use. I found that the grad degree didn't help me get my first job, but it did help me get a manager's position and director level positions later on in my career.

It's okay to take a break for a week or so from the job hunt... I know I've had to do that to stay fresh...but don't let it last too long and be intentional about it. You've been searching very hard for a job, take your break, then get back to it.

Are you contacting the interviewers afterwards to ask for feedback on why you weren't the final choice? That could help you figure out how to hone your interview skills so that in the next interview you can make sure you address those concerns.

Good luck!
Seesaw

You're not being a downer at all! You're right. It's very hard because it puts you in this weird limbo state. And I'm definitely not looking for a high level, high paying job. I know I have to work up to that. I've also been applying to positions where I'm underqualified in terms of degree and seeing if I would have luck with those. But they STILL tell me I have no experience, even when I tell them of the duties I had at my externship. These are jobs who want someone with a high school diploma or a BA. So I don't know what to do.

I'll take your advice and contact them to see specifically why I wasnt chosen because "underqualified because of lack of work experience" isn't really cutting it for me anymore.

Thanks a lot for your help everyone! I appreciate it. 💕

[reb569]

I can understand where finding the good from a bad experience can be challenging. Maybe try looking at it a little differently. Instead of trying to find the good where it didn't exist, look at ways that the experience could have been better. But don't express it as a negative view of the experience. Maybe supplement those thoughts by doing some research.

For example, you could say, "I learned that strong managerial skills and organizational skills are very important in keeping a mental health team working together to help their patients get the best outcome."

It doesn't matter that you didn't see that during your externship, it only matters that it makes sense.

Good luck!

[seesaw]

Did you say how long you'd been looking? Job searches take 6-9 months lately.

Don't feel to discouraged. It's very tough and competitive out there. Just be positive with your self talk and don't let it affect your self esteem or self worth.

You will find something eventually.

Seesaw