After the celebration of graduating is over and your diploma is in hand, the real work begins, finding your first job. Don’t worry though, in today’s world there are a ton of options to secure your way into the workforce.
To help you on your way, follow these tips to land your first position in no time!
1. Apply Everyday
Spend at least an hour each day to send out a job application. This is a good habit to get into if you’re serious about looking for work. Also, vie for a daily goal on top of that, anywhere from one-five applications a day.
2. Tailor Your Resume and Cover Letter to Each Job
Don’t copy and paste the exact same document every time. Try to find a connection with the role or the company you’re applying for. Make it personalized to stand out from the dozens of generic versions hiring managers read through. There’s only one you out there, make sure to show it to employers!
3. Use Multiple Job Boards
Don’t just use the same site over and over again, especially if you aren’t seeing results. Use job boards like Indeed, Monster, FlexJobs, Glassdoor, and AngelList. Creating profiles and resumes on each site will help to extend your reach and visibility, and in turn, get you that job faster.
4. Use Social Media
Look for and apply for jobs using social media, especially LinkedIn. Build your profile, connect with your network, follow those who are in the same field as you, and let it be known what type of work you’re looking for.
5. Utilize Your Network
Whether it’s your former professors, classmates, friends, or co-workers that make up your network, make sure to ask around. See if they can point you down the right path or even hire you directly. Any relationship you’ve built over the years has the potential to be a lead for your first job.
6. Internship
If you had an internship in college, make sure you do the necessary steps to try and land a job directly from there. If you didn’t have one, consider getting an internship (yes you can still get one even after graduation). Regardless if they lead directly to employment or not, they can be great resume builders.
7. Highlight Your Skills (Not your experience)
As a fresh college grad, your experience is always going to be one of the thinnest parts of your resume. So be sure to highlight what you’ve learned and what you know how to do. That SEO knowledge or data research skills could be the difference between you and another candidate. Also, remember that unpaid experience is still experience!
8. Follow Up
Once you apply for a job, don’t just forget about it and move on. Make sure to follow up roughly 4-7 days after you submitted the application. The worst they can say to you is no (or nothing at all).
9. Identify the Specific Job Title You Desire
If there is an exact position you want, find it in your searches and put all your effort into your application. Try to make connections with those already in those positions and cater your professional appearance to fit that role.
10. Identify a Specific Company
There may be an ideal company you have in mind that you want to work for. If so, meticulously study them and their job openings. Try to make connections with people who work there. Craft your resume and cover letter until it is as perfect as you can make it. If you exert all your effort and put your best foot forward with this approach, it just might pay off.
11. Expand Your Search
If you are willing and able, look beyond where you live for work. This could include remote work which you can do from anywhere, or this could involve relocating entirely.
12. Attend Job Fairs or Networking Events
If you attend an event like this, work to get yourself in front of an employer either in person or with a video call. Practice an elevator pitch to sell yourself and highlight your abilities when you do strike up a conversation.
13. Create a Website
Nowadays, it never hurts to have an online hub to build your brand and show off your work. Feel free to include your resume and any accomplishments to stand out to employers who will visit your site.
14. Start Before You Graduate
It might be too late now for some of you reading this, but once you hit your junior year, and especially once you’ve started your last semester, enter the job hunt as if it was another class to ace. An earlier start will only give you a leg up on your fellow graduates and will give you preparation on how to search for work.
15. Participate (not just join) in Groups Related to Your Field
Whether these are groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, or even in person, make your voice and expertise heard by those in your industry. Give people a reason to listen to you or click on your profile to see who you are and what you offer.
16 Utilize Your University’s Career Center
Make sure to take advantage of the Career Center you have on your campus. Book a meeting with a professional in your field or attend a class on how to best design your resume and online presence. Most universities let you use their services even after you graduated, so don’t hesitate to contact them even months later.
17. Take a Class or Certificate Program
If you want to sharpen your skills even further, consider taking a course or certificate program. Attending more classes might sound exhausting after graduation, but it could give you an ability that puts you over the top in the job hunt. To avoid paying any more money, look for low-cost options or even free classes through Google.
18. Find A Mentor in Your Field
If you are able to find someone who is an established professional in the industry you want to join and they offer to help, make sure you say yes! This can be one of the best ways to gain practical experience, network in your field, and prove your abilities that can land you a job. Start with your professors directly and then ask them if they have any contacts willing to assist.
19. Over Prepare For Your Interview
When you get your first interview, research everything you can about the company, the position, and be ready to give quality answers to their questions. That said, remember, an interview is not an interrogation, it’s a conversation! You’re trying to find out if they are a good fit for you as much as anything. Ask them questions about why the position is open, what’s a typical workday like, and what they are offering for compensation.
20. Stay Positive!
It can be disheartening not finding a job but the effort will pay off! On average it takes 2-6 months of full commitment to land a job after graduation. Take solace in the fact that college graduates make about one million more dollars over their life than non-graduates. You’ve set yourself up for success, you just need to get the ball rolling!
21. Remember to Take a Break
All this job searching can be stressful, especially if you aren’t having immediate success. Remember to take care of your physical and mental health during the job search process. Being burned out is not how you should feel entering the workforce. Your life isn’t decided solely on the first job you get. Get outside, spend quality time with people you love, and know that eventually, the work will pay off.
Final Notes
What tip are you going to utilize today? Let me know in the comments!