Molly Grant ’12

Molly writes:

I presently work for a hedge fund administrator in downtown Portland called Stone Coast Fund Services. I have been with this company for just about a year. It’s a position that’s customer service centered and also reading and writing intensive. My department works with hedge fund managers and high net worth investors, acting as the books and records for multiple hedge funds.

I don’t have a conventional path that brought me to this current job, and I sense that a lot of graduates are in the same boat. I graduated in 2012 and majored in history, which did not get me a job right out of school. I was so naive, but I’m told that’s part of the process. Post grad, I continued on to get my masters in historic preservation through the Boston Architectural College (mostly online), which also did not get me a job.

What finally did get me a job was me working hard. I worked two jobs (food services at Maine Medical Center and at a nursing home in the activities department) at 50+ hours a week and applied to about 4-5 jobs a week. I also put my resume onMonster.com and created a LinkedIn. I attended the monthly Historic Preservation board meetings in Portland to network. This was my world for the first two years out of college.

I was contacted by a recruiter who saw my resume on Monster.com, and I took a leap of faith and began a temporary position with Prudential Financial. I was eventually hired and honed my customer service skills for the next two years. Still “networking” – not being shy and making eye contact when I speak – everywhere I go, I was invited by one of my neighbors to the open house that my current employer held last May and applied. Again, taking a leap of faith.

Without writing you a novel, I’ll end with this last bit of advice for grads: apply to jobs like that is your job; don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to people and be vocal about looking for a job; take chances because you might end up in a much better place than you could have ever imagined.