Follow all the advice given and if you can swing it, land an internship! If in fact you are at the UW or WSU or even SU, you will have a great opportunity through internships (you have an internship coordinator on your campus- this I am sure of). Most larger firms will recruit on campus and hire interns. If you do well in your internship you will most likely be given a conditional job offer after you graduate. Having a degree plus some real life experience will make you oh so much more marketable!
Do it Now!

Family leave is a benefit just like health insurance, 401K, short-term disability and a free bus pass. If your employer offers it, how are you taking advantage by accepting it? Some employers require that you work for a year before some of these benefits vest, so you'll want to find that out. And remember, if it takes you a few months after you start the job to get pregnant, you'll have been at your job for a year before you actually take the leave.

You'll likely get a lot of pushback here, and among your friends and colleagues about taking a job right before you know you're going to take leave. Short-term disability (which is how many employers who offer paid leave actually pay for it) and family leave benefits can be used for a multiple of reasons. Guy who spends his weekends skiing double diamonds at Alpental? He may have to have emergency knee surgery and be out for a few weeks. Employee with a sick spouse or other relative with cancer? Probably going to have to take time off, and may not be able to plan for it. Women having babies may be able to plan those things, so it may appear to be "taking advantage" to set up your life so that you have stable job and benefits. But you also get to plan for and set up your position so that things are taken care of while you're out, and drop back in to take over when you get back. And, the world gets a new person out of the deal, and that new person gets to be raised in a financially stable environment. That's a win/win for all of us, I think.

The complaints are just petty sexist BS.

The judgement as to whether or not you are a bad employee or if you are taking advantage of the system will have to be made by you. You could plan to get a solid year with your new employer and then try for the new addition to the family. That said, if it was to occur I would suggest you inform your employer and indicate that this was unplanned at the time but still a welcome event for you and your husband and work from there.

As to the questions about what can be asked or needs to be admitted to in an interview please review this list of just that kind of information:

http://www.stat.washington.edu/jobs/questions/

No, it's really none of your employer's business if you should get pregnant... UNLESS, he asked you in the interview what you specific plans were for starting a family, and you misled him intentionally.

I had a co-worker who swore that she didn't want kids soon, left our employ, started in a higher, better job, and discovered within two months that she is pregnant. Unplanned, but very welcome.

I'm not sure if a prospective employer can ask questions of planned pregnancy, but if it came up, I think you then have an ethical issue of your own.

Check out your school's career center. If you're at UW, get thee over to Mary Gates Hall and talk to the helpful staff there. The career center offers mock interviews which can be recorded for your benefit, plus cover-letter-writing and resume-writing skills advice/classes. Don't delay. Indeed, it will be a long search, worst-case. In the meantime, you may want to register with a headhunter.

A few tips:

-get your resume in order so that you can easily tailor it to each job.
-check out cover letter writing tips.
-be prepared for a long search. Like a really long search. My high-qualified, degree-wielding friends have had job searches of over a year for their first "in industry" job.
-Check out college job boards (as in jobs working for UW/community colleges) and city/county job boards- it seems like they usually have engineering jobs open.

Good luck!

I have a $17/hr full benefits accounting job that I got with half of an AA in Fashion Design. What helped me was that I've been taking (online, community college) accounting classes as well, even though I don't have a degree nor will I likely end up with one (possibly a certificate). I do have 3 years of relevant work experience behind me.

It's frustrating and ridiculous, but as long as you keep trying the right position will come around (I know that sounds like bs but it's legit).

I had a friend job hunting around the same time that I was, who has a BA and is going back to grad school this fall. She had 12 actual interviews before she finally got a job. I applied for a ton of jobs, didn't get ANY interviews- and then when I finally did get just one- I nailed it. It's harder for me to get a call-back, but I've only gone to one interview in my entire life where I didn't get the job.

I think that SOME relevant education counts for a lot, even if it's not a full out degree. Maybe check out some of the classes at the Experimental College that may be relevant. (https://depts.washington.edu/asuwxpcl/catalog)

I usually don't even bother applying for positions that have insane requirements (why the f would I want to work there?) But if you insist- do what you can to fill in those holes. It's a pain in the ass, but so is life.

Are you on LinkedIn? If not, set up a profile. (It's like Facebook for professionals.) You can set up your work history and interests -- it's basically a place for you to put up a resume and network with other folks. Start by connecting to people you already know (former employers, friends, profs, etc.).

Then, use the search tools in LinkedIn to find out who the people are in the companies you're wanting to join. You can message people directly, or, what I've done, is to find out if I know someone who knows someone there.

I once got an interview using this trick. It was great!

I agree with many of the suggestions already listed. And yes, applying for jobs is definitely frustrating.

What you do in ANY job can be a resume builder. I imagine, being in customer service-type roles, you've encountered many situations that have been challenging and you've handled them well. Your customer/people skills will be valuable in just about any role you target.

If you're referring to finding a part time job that is more related to your future field, then the first step (after getting clarity on what strengths/skills you have)would be to identify particular organizations or places you'd like to work, and see what kinds of things they look for. Meet with people in those organizations to find out more about their organization and the work, and listen to see where your skills already match what they might be looking for. Then ask them about part-time (or even volunteer) opportunities. Even unpaid experience is experience you can put on a resume!

It is absolutely appropriate work search behavior to go directly to the source. In fact, especially during tight markets, your ability to contact the people most interested in your background (the hiring managers) directly. As already mentioned, if they're good, they are always on the lookout for good talent, whether or not there is a posted opening.

Although an HR person can be helpful when they're is an actual opening, it is rare they will take the time to talk to someone if there is no known opening. (They're busy!)

Rather than just calling to find out about openings, consider contacting people who do the work you are interested in and find out from them what it's like, how they found their job, what works, and other questions that will give you more insigth into the field.

In addition, try and set up informational interviews with people who actually hire people like you (not HR), to find out what they look for, what additional insight into the field. Do this even if they don't have a current opening. It's a great way to learn more, get visibility and, who knows? It could lead to a position!

In any economy, and especially tight ones, it is always valuable to go direct---do it appropriately, but go directly to your best source: your future boss.

Thanks for the question.

Is it the job or the cubical that you hate? Sounds like you have a front-office support type position and those can become boring pretty quickly.

There are a number of office based positions that involve more interaction with people and more moving around.

You might consider:

Outside Sales
Inside Sales
Project Management
Human Resources
Recruiting

If you are set on working outside of cubicle-land I would definitely second Chris's advice. Take some time to figure out what you really want to do and then make it work.

You said Spanish - are you fluent? Every court needs translators, and that can actually be pretty interesting work. Some friends of mine used to do that. It's sitting, but not desk work.

You can take what you currently do, and raise it several notches by working for a small startup:

http://www.currentlyobsessed.com/2009/12/16/crucial-first-hire-the-do-it-all-office-admin/

If I were you, I'd spend some time trying to figure out where your passions lie and what you want to do with your life. Reading books like What Color Is Your Parachute can be helpful, as can taking personality tests like Myers-Briggs (and there are employment books that come specifically from a "match your personality type" point of view). Whatever you're interested in, volunteer or join pertinent clubs. Figure out what people do for a living in those areas, try to meet those people, talk to those people, get tips on how to get into that line of work, or try to get a "foot in the door" job in that industry. You'll be much more attractive to prospective employers if you have a 20- or 30-year plan (or at least seem to, or think you do).

This may not seem very helpful, because I'm basically saying "answer your own question". But really, you do have to answer your own question. No one is going to be able to give you a magic correct answer, because no one knows you like you do. You may change jobs 10 times in the next 10 years without finding a good fit, but you can save yourself a lot of bad jobs if you work on figuring this out now.

Gary,
setting up a blog is fairly easy. I have used Blogger.com in the past, but there are many free sites for setting up a personal blog. I will warn you that unless you are prepared to comment on other blogs and spend a lot of energy with social networking, your blogging efforts can feel lonely.
If you truly have the time, passion and energy to keep a blog going, it can be very worthwhile. Sharing your experience and insight about your work and life experiences with others can be theraputic for you and for your blog followers.

Nah... I see no downside to going the eager, knock-down-the-door approach.

Just be courteous and friendly about it.
Also, be slightly ambituous about which places you apply to.

Co's know that enthusiastic applicants, if inexpeience, bring energy and productivity that may not come from technically more qualified applicants.

Also, don't forget, fresh outta college, you are cheap cheap cheap to hire.

If you can do the same job, for cheaper than the competition, they should want you.

Don't take job 'requirements' too literally.

My first job outta school was not related to my major at all. They claimed that they wanted someone w/ a 'minimum of 2 years experience'.

Still, somehow, I got the job.

Hi LTF, ack! I feel your pain! Obviously this is not a sustainable situation or you wouldn't be writing to me. Some suggestions (feel free to mix and match as you see fit):

1. Meet with all three managers (or whomever was your initial contact) and tell them you can better serve the company by having one point of contact, not three. Make it about the benefits to their business (more efficient, more personalized attention, whatever) than the benefits to you. If you only meet with one of your contacts, don't badmouth the others; be diplomatic.

2. Let the client(s) know that the workflow has changed and it's no longer efficient. (Last minute requests mean you're not always available that minute or you have to do a rush - and thus, less than ideal - job.) Suggest that they funnel all requests into one daily or weekly phone meeting or email. Any other requests will have to wait until the next meeting/call.

3. Since I don't know what you're making on this gig, how many hours you've agreed to work, and how many hours you're actually working, it's hard to get super-specific on how much more money or what timeframe limitations to ask for. But clearly you're being subjected to scope creep, which can only mean one thing for a freelancer: you're working more for the same amount of money, which means you have less time for other clients and essentially are losing money. This has to stop!

Tell your client(s) that the parameters have changed and you'd like to renegotiate. You can put a time cap on the hours you devote to them each week, you can ask for more money, or you can ask to reconfigure the pay structure (instead of retainer they pay you per hour or project). If what's happening is that they expect you to be on call 40 hours a week but are only paying you for 10 hours' worth of work, I'd say you're getting the short end of the stick. If they want you on call all week long, they should give you a full-time contract.

4. Speaking of contracts, do you have one? If so, I'm guessing they're violating the terms. Even if you don't, it sounds like it's high time you mentioned - nicely - that they're not sticking to the agreement you made at the start of the project and since the parameter of the job have changed, you'd like to renegotiate. And this time, get all the terms in writing so you can point to them later if things go haywire again.

If the client finds any of these requests so unreasonable that they feel they need to hire a family member they can abuse instead, it sounds like you'll be dodging a bullet by letting them go. Think of all the time you're wasting and money you're losing on this gig. Instead you could focus those however many hours a week on replacing that client with a saner one.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that I'm actually teaching an online class on dealing with nightmare clients next month, in case you need more info. Details here: http://the-efa.org/eve/catalog.php No worries if not interested/able. Just mentioning in case it's of use to you.

Good luck with this!

I know a lot of authors, some of whom have been best-sellers. Most don't have the budget for a researcher, a publicist, a transcriptionist, or an editor, and even if they do, it's often meager. That said, here are some places you can find or hobnob with writers/authors who may need to hire a researcher:

1. Go where the writers go. Locally, we can often be found at mixers put on by the Society of Professional Journalists (http://www.spjwash.org/) and mediabistro (www.mediabistro.com). Get keep an eye on the events page of both sites and attend their next happy hour.

2. Attend a writer's conference. One of the best places to meet writers with a book in the works or agents (who may have writers who need research help). If you can't afford the admission fee, offer to volunteer for a day.

3. Put an ad on the bulletin board at Richard Hugo House (www.hugohouse.org) or 826 Seattle (http://www.826seattle.org/), both arts centers where aspiring writers take classes. If you have no direct experience doing this sort of work for authors/writers (which you will need in order to appeal to the groups mentioned in bullets #1 and #2), you might consider offering your services for free or cheap in order to land a first project or client.

4. Join some online writing communities, like http://www.shewrites.com/ and http://groups.yahoo.com/group/seattlewritergrrls/. See if you can drum up any interest in your services there. Again, you may want to do a little pro bono or discounted work to land that first client.

5. Consider purchasing a Google or Facebook ad for your services. While you're at it, build yourslf a nice web page promoting your services and skills so prospective clients know you're legit.

Good luck!

Yeah, I know....and what's this shit about wanting Master's degrees and offering $12, $13, and $14/hr? Like...you're $60K in debt and someone offers you $12/hr?

A friend of mine just sent me an email with an attachment of a want ad. In the ad, there was a list of about 20 MUSTS! including managerial experience, code and database experience, preferred graduate degree, etc. and they were offering $11.75/hr.

I want to believe it's a joke.

Some additional suggestions:

1. Biznik.com (http://www.biznik.com) - a community of entrepreneurs and self-employed professionals - has wonderful, free and low-cost networking events and workshops.

2. NW Entrepreneur Network (http://www.nwen.org/) also has low-cost classes and events.

3. Grassroots Business Assn (http://www.grassrootsbusinessassociation.com/) is another regional group with wonderful, low-cost opportunities to meet other self-employed pros and entrepreneurs.

4. Check out the parties and events for solo professionals at coworking facilities like Office Nomads (http://www.officenomads.com)

In other words, put together your own peer mentoring group. A businessperson doesn't have to have 20 years of experience on you to be a valuable mentor. In fact, someone just 2-5 years ahead of you on the entrepreneurial road may be more able to relate to and offer advice on the issues and questions you're currently facing.

I was a medical technologist for 24 years. It never hurts to submit a resume to either HR or the lab director or both. Either one almost always keeps good-looking resumes on file (for about 6 months) for when they do have an opening. Some HR departments won't accept a resume unless there is actually a posting, so mail it c/o the department supervisor. Include a brilliant cover letter.

I've seen supervisors pull resumes out of their files for openings that were never posted because they had enough resumes on file. Sometimes an opening has to be posted internally first, and if no one internally wants the position or doesn't apply or isn't qualified, then they go looking outside.

Sadly, I've also seen this (and it should be illegal): Sometimes they'll post an opening that doesn't even exist just to "see what's out there." I think that's pretty fucking cruel because no one looks for a job who doesn't (sometimes desperately) need the work.

Even if some of your resumes wind up in a trash can, it is never a bad idea to try and get one on file somewhere within the organization (IMHO). If there's a posted opening, then certainly apply for it, but don't let them scare you off because there isn't an opening listed. And when there is an opening, visit HR.

Congrats on graduating and good luck!

This job placement agency may be helpful: campuspoint.com.

I first 'heard' of them on the Worksource job board, there is a link to them there.

They work to place recent college grads into entry level permanent positions.

The feel of the whole process is similar to a temp agency but a lot better in quite a few ways. No calling every morning to say you're available. No having to take what comes along. Employers use campus point to do most the leg work to fill a position, you apply only to positions you would like. All the stuff that doesn't interest you, you don't have to bat an eye at.

I landed a job the good old fashion way before my affiliation with campus point bore any fruit. But after a few weeks with them I went on a second interview for what could of been a nice entry level admin position.

I was in the same situation...horrible job, crazy employees, etc. etc. etc. and I didn't want to work for another tech company. Now is the perfect time to start looking for a job and never give up. I made it a priority to apply for 2 jobs an evening when I got home from work. Of course I had to get my resume up to snuff. It definitely wasn't easy to do because all I wanted to do was just get in my comfy cloths and relax after a day of meaninglessness. After a couple months, I found a much better job and it came at the right time. Just keep plugging away and know that you won't be in this job forever. Something will come around, you just can't give up.

Big corporations will often scan resumes as they come in, not really giving well-written cover letters or exceptional experience a fair shake. So, if you're going to apply to a position that demands a degree, I think you'd be better off applying to smaller companies. Your cover letter and resume will stand a better chance of being reviewed by a human being.

I know a recruiter at a certain Eastside gaming company who says that even though many job descriptions at said company specify "degree required", qualified candidates without a degree are definitely considered. The key is to make sure your resume very clearly shows how your experience is relevant to the position. Don't make the people reading your resume sift through lots of irrevelent details; spell it out for them. In most cases, this will mean rewriting your resume to include wording from the job description. For example, if the job description says "tracking budgets and heavy calendaring", make sure your resume includes those phrases if you've done those tasks at a previous job.

I agree with Dan's answer. List the years you attended college and that your degree is in progress. Often it will say BA, BA means 4 years of college, which you have. Also list your GPA;and major if it is relevant to your job search.

Get yourself out there advertising on campus as a tutor in writing, literature, etc. for students working on the degree you have already earned. With the expertise you are gaining in your new program, teaching research skills and how to effectively access information could be a good addition. You can name your per hour fees and have students who have used your services write reviews of how valuable it was for them. Your reputation will grow and with referrals you probably can have the part time income you could use.

If you earned your degree here you may have some faculty contacts that could refer some struggling students to you for tutoring. Do some critical thinking beforehand about how you would structure your services so that you are really teaching students how to hone their skills and not just being asked to edit or be more involved in their assignments than would be ethical.

Sounds like he wants to work in some field related to a Library, and valuable means something that would improve his resume.

From that point, I would suggest:

1. Volunteer at a local library - any kind of experience in that area would probably help. You would get into the library world and probably have more opportunities open up to you.

2. Talk to your school - a lot of them have programs to help with things like this. Work-study programs, internships, or connections with the local community.

3. Try applying for part time work with local community colleges, four-year colleges, libraries, museums, etc. Basically, anywhere that has a library or something similar that requires your kind of skills.

To add to Dan, since you had it in all caps:

3. What does "valuable" mean to you? A good salary? A resume builder? A short commute?