Get a job. Any job.

If you are unemployed post-graduation, one of the best pieces of advice I can give to you is to find a job.

Any job.

You can make lattes at Starbucks. You can jump in and out of Amazon vans delivering packages. You can flip burgers at McDonald’s. Whatever transitional job you look for, do it with excellence and growth on your mind.

After I graduated from college, I returned to the retail store I had worked in since high school.

Was I excited about this? No.

Did I want to continue to work retail with a bachelor’s degree? No.

Did I need to start earning cash to support myself financially? Yes.

When my now-husband returned to the US from working abroad, he looked for a full-time position, and when doors seemingly closed, he pivoted to a barista work at Starbucks. A regular customer told him about an opening on their team, and he eventually landed a stable, full-time position at an employer down the road.

Sometimes, you just need to work. I’ve met a lot of recent college graduates who devoted their time in college to studying, extracurricular activities, and sports, but did not work any type of job.

Employers like to hire known entities. A person with zero job experience will be beat out by the candidate with job experience every single time, regardless of GPA or other traditional markers you’ve been taught to rely on. If you are not currently working, it may reinforce an employer’s bias that you are unemployable.

You might wonder, how does a job working retail have anything to do with being a marketing coordinator? Great question. Part-time, or transitional, jobs are excellent growing ground for all sorts of transferable skills including communication, teamwork, interpersonal skills, customer service, creativity, and more.

Your job is to sell that experience to the employer as you are looking for a full-time position. You can’t sell what you don’t have.

So, get out there, and work a job as you look for a full-time position.