Note: This first-person account is part of a larger article, Job-Hunting Lessons from the Street: A Roundup of Recent College Grad Experiences.

As you will see, this is a story about perseverance.

In college, I was a typical student, a few A's but most B's and C's (okay, a few D's also… but hey, D is the first letter in Diploma). Anyway, the thing that made my college experience out of the ordinary was the fact that I took risks. Not only did I apply for many internships (two amazing ones in totally different fields and countless others that rejected me), but I also found time to join some organizations and become headstrong for my passion (frat, keg beer).

All joking aside, it was probably my fraternity that helped teach me one of my biggest lessons that I would need for my post-college life; Networking is my friend. While in the frat house my extent of networking was to find out who was single and looking to date somebody; in the “real world” it was a lot more. Out here in the post-college life, networking can be the difference between being unemployed, having a job, and loving a job. I am in the third group because of an interesting set of circumstances.

Unlike other students, I did not have a job lined up after college (not for a lack of wanting one, but rather because I was unsure about my graduating status…once again D is for Diploma). So once I finished taking the million pictures graduates take after receiving their diplomas, I went on my job search.

At Stetson University, I was blessed to make many friends along the way. One was a dear professor of mine who not only taught me a lot, but also became a great friend along the way. The second was an alumnus of my fraternity who taught me that anybody could move heaven and earth to make things happen, they just had to be willing to put in the effort. Both of these men were great because they had heard of my plight of joblessness and decided to help me out as much as they could. Each put me in contact with a friend, one in the sports industry (my dream) while the other was the tourism industry (my brain…'very good salary'). I was lucky enough to follow both paths, and fortunately for me, a job awaited for me at the very end of the journey.

The unfortunate part was that it took over three months to finally reach that stage.

After being put in contact with people in the specific industries, both told me that “there were no jobs available but they wanted to meet me.” Due to various circumstances, I was never able to meet the tourism contact, which was great because it allowed me to focus on my “dream.” In the first interview I went on, my interviewer told me that unfortunately there were no positions available (as I had been warned), but that I had i mpressed him enough that he was going to forward my resume along. A few weeks later, I was back at the company's headquarters to have an interview with somebody who had received my resume. The person thought I was great but had just found somebody who deserved it ahead of me because they had been with the company for a long time.

At that point, I wanted to rip my hair out, say “the hell with this,” and continue working my way up at my part-time job.

But, I persevered. My second interviewer continued to circulate my resume with a note attached that I was highly recommended by two people. That led to a third interview, which much like the second; I was denied for because of outside circumstances. Shortly thereafter though, I finally found my match within the corporation when I was invited for my fourth interview. While I thought “oh great, I think the only position left is janitorial,” I was wrong. I interviewed for something I was slightly qualified for, but because of the great recommendations, I was hired.

What is my story supposed to teach? Well, if you weren't paying attention here is a list:

• Networking will help your career more than anything else (including job websites like Monster.com)
• Going to do “meet and greets” networking events can always be beneficial (as long as you leave those you meet impressed), and most importantly,
• Perseverance will always help those looking for their perfect job (but first, you must figure out what is your perfect job and what is something you would just “settle with.”).

Go back to Job-Hunting Lessons from the Street: A Roundup of Recent College Grad Experiences.