Freshmen, welcome to campus. I am one of the many people who will attempt to give you advice during your college career. I hope you receive my message before you stop listening.

My counsel is for those who think your degree alone will get you hired. Sorry to break this to you, but it may not be enough by itself to land you that dream position after graduation. According to the Economic Policy Institute, recent graduates have an unemployment rate of 8.5 percent. Additionally, 16.8 percent of recent graduates who have found a job are underemployed, which means that many of those who are finding jobs are not finding ones that ?require their degrees.

But don’t start singing the blues just yet. While there is more competition than ever before for your chosen career path, there are opportunities you can accept to make yourself a winner. The following are my four suggestions on how to utilize the opportunities available at UA to make your career prospects bright.

First, make the grades. C’s may get degrees but they will not get you hired, and you certainly will not be accepted to those all-important graduate programs with a 2.0 GPA. However, if you take advantage of resources such as the Writing Center and the Center for Academic Success during your tenure at the University, you might get on the radar of one of your favorite companies.

Second, make friends in higher places. While most of us will never be able to swing a personal recommendation from a dean or President Bonner, we can certainly strive to make meaningful and lasting relationships with distinguished professors, alumni and administrators. My rule of thumb is to make at least one of these connections each semester and as many as possible with professors in your major.

Third, fill your resume with stellar involvement. There will be nothing more embarrassing than walking into a job interview with a resume that lists your GPA, your Greek organization, and nothing else. I cannot stress enough that your degree will take up only two to three lines on your resume; the rest of the page is up to you to fill with your diverse, extracurricular achievements. Use Get on Board Day to find at least one or two organizations you love, or stop by the Career Center to find a string of meaningful internships or part-time jobs that will show off your dedication, leadership skills, maturity and work ethic.

Finally, do not be afraid to switch fields. If you are not passionate about your major, employers will see right through you and you will land with the 8.5 percent unemployed. Explore majors with an open mind, and do not assume that switching to linguistics will leave you destitute, because the CIA could come calling for you.

Leigh Terry is a junior majoring in economics.