Class of 2012: How we got our jobs after college!

Many in the Class of 2012 find themselves without work after their college graduation. But those who landed jobs say internships are key.

Networking on an airplane
Networking on an airplane
Name: Katie Williams
Major: Chemical engineering
College: University of Tulsa, Ok.

I knew that I needed at least one internship with a company before graduation, so I started looking the fall of my junior year. I had lots of interviews, both in person and over the phone; I even was flown to Houston for a second interview, but never got a single call back. By March of 2011, I had pretty much given up.

I was actually on the plane back from my interview in Houston when I got to talking to one of my fellow passengers. Turns out he was an engineer as well! I thought I had exhausted all my options for companies, but he rattled off a whole list of them that I hadn't even considered.

Over the next week, I basically spammed the Internet with my resume, including Honeywell's career website. About two weeks before the end of my junior year, I received a call from Honeywell, asking me to do a phone interview then and there. I got the job.

About halfway through the summer, I was encouraged to apply for a full-time position within Honeywell. I finished my internship in early August of 2011, and around the end of the month I received a phone call saying that I got the full-time position I had asked for. I was the first person in my graduating class to find a job. I am going to be working as an energy engineer at the Honeywell plant in Hopewell, Va.


By Tami Luhby @CNNMoney - Last updated May 24 2012: 9:52 AM ET

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