I Do
I say this because in my short but varied career, I have yet to get a full time position that I was technically qualified for with my bachelors degree in Natural Resources Management.* The natural resources field and the permanent full time positions that most of us are after has become much more narrow and competitive in recent years.
While I am not a economist it can probably be safely said that this is a direct result of the economic crash in 2008. The crashed caused a ripple effect through this field that most people didn't see coming. It did two things that really affected the job market in our field,
- Many current employees kept working because their retirements went POOOOF.
- The budgets for the agencies and private organizations shrank considerably and full time position were cut back.
With the choke hold on the jobs and the increasing competitiveness of the field what can a fresh graduate do to stand out? Well the options are limited to just a couple that I have discovered so far. You can either volunteer to build up appropriate experience and do just a little bit of networking. Or you can try your best to work seasonally in the part of the field you think you want to end up in.
Both options are not really savory to someone that is fresh out of college with OMG debt preparing to come crashing down on their heads, but it really is the only way. If you can afford it volunteering can give you variety and a broad experience base depending on the agency and location. But it also looks good to get paid doing something in your field as well, who would say no to a paycheck when they have student loans looming.
If you are really lucky sometimes you can work for one agency and volunteer for another at the same time to really build up connections and experience. That unfortunately leaves no time for a funny thing called sleep or a life, but sacrifices must be made. I myself worked for almost two years doing a job that didn't fit me well just so I could play off my student loans and put some money in savings.
So anyways back to concept of applying for positions lower than your qualifications. With the need to have better qualifications than a degree to get positions, sometimes you need to sell yourself short. For example in my personal work history I have worked a GS-3 Biological Science Aid position after I graduated with a Bachelors degree, which technically qualified me to be hired as a GS-5. But because of the market and my previous not useful experience as a park ranger I couldn't get my application to hiring manger as a GS-5. But because I also took the time to send in a application as GS-3 I was able to get hired and got a season full of great experience. The experience has since lead to being hired as GS-5 Biological Science Technician for the upcoming summer season. The step up is dramatic but it accurately reflects my current education and experience levels. If all things go well I should be able to use the GS-5 credentials to rise even higher as time goes by.
To sum it all up don't be to proud to apply low and volunteer to get the experience you need to get somewhere in your field.
Good Luck on you Job Hunt
Working for the Earth
* I did have a full time position in my field after graduating, but it was a training program position so I was hired with the understanding that I would need to be fully trained.
Sources:
http://www.oecd.org/