For some of you, the sorrow has already sunk in. You are officially done with second semester at college; keg parties will be replaced with beach parties; and you can kiss goodbye your sweet four-bedroom, off campus apartment (with a full bed) for your childhood room at your parents house with, yes, that twin bed still full of stuffed animals.  Then, the sorrow passes and anxiety and mild panic attacks begin as you are forced to come to terms with the fact that you were negligent in securing that summer internship or – even worse – applying to jobs. Hey, senior week is important!

Well, bad news for you current college grads and underclassmen: a recent CBS report stated that half of recent college graduates cannot land full time jobs. Even worse, a study by Rutgers University found more than a quarter of recent grads (27 percent) said their jobs have them working below the level of their education. And, if I didn’t depress you enough already, the median salary for recession-era grads in their first job is $27,000, about $3,000 less than those who graduated before the recession began.

But there is no reason to start pounding back bottles of wine or crying to your parents that their tuition dollars will be for naught, because you are capable of being in that other 50 percent – the 50 percent who are gainfully employed upon graduating. And I’ll tell you how.

It all starts with a killer internship. I am not talking about Wall Street (though if you can get it, go for it). I am just talking about an internship that will allow you to sink your teeth into lots of tasks, wear a lot of different hats, and build up a real relationship with your boss or CEO (so that they know more about you than just the fact that you are working for free at their company). With the economy still reeling, businesses everywhere are dying for free (or cheap) labor, so internships are plentiful and you are the prime candidate.

Set your eyes on the place you want and dive in head first. Send your resume, reach out to those already working at the company, and get ready for a 9 to 5 summer that doesn’t involve tanning during the weekdays. And, if you are really smart, you will choose something in the technology, architecture, accounting or computer science fields because apparently that’s where the jobs will be after graduation.

According to that same survey cited by CBS, employers are reportedly more likely to hire graduates with engineering (69 percent), business (63 percent), accounting (53 percent) or computer science degrees (49 percent). Why, you might ask? Because technology is booming, especially as companies look to cut corners and realize cost savings. (And because business and accounting majors will always be in hot demand since capitalism isn’t going anywhere).

Now is the time for all college grads and underclassmen to try something out of their comfort zone, or go for their dream job/internship if it is a possibility. Pad that resume with some real life experience, give 150 percent to the job, and network the hell out of the experience while you are there. I can’t promise you that you will be employed days after graduating, but your hard work and hands on experience will give you enough confidence and direction to shoot for the stars.

Here’s a shameless plug: Come join our TMCnet team this summer. We can promise you unparalleled experience, kind faces, and a supervisor who will know more than just your name .