Do I Really Need Experience?

The short answer is yes, you do. Hiring managers look for real-world experience on your resume - not that you worked as a manager at Victoria's Secret for the last 4 years.

That being said, all is not lost if you're graduating in May and don't have any experience. (If your graduation date is in December 2007 or later, pay attention so you can get a leg up on other people in your class!) There are several options:

• You can apply for summer internships. While most of the larger firms have already stopped accepting applications, there are plenty of great small agencies and other types of organizations that are still hiring. See my post about Indeed.com for finding these opportunities. If you do a great job at this internship, the organization will likely hire you or at the very least recommend you for an entry-level position somewhere else.
• You can volunteer to do PR work for free at a local organization or nonprofit. I did this at my local hhumane society during my final semester because I didn't have enough time to devote to a regular internship.

Your goal at the end of all this is to not include your management position at Victoria's Secret on your resume. As someone who made hiring decisions and reviewed resumes at my previous job, I can tell you that will send your resume immediately into the trash. Ask around, volunteer and apply for a summer internship. This might seem like your first real job out of college is that much further away, but I guarantee you will like the opportunities that open up for you after a few months of experience.

I would love to review your resume for you, so contact me off blog to have this done!