College years can be tough to many but it’s what comes after that terrifies most students. No matter how good students’ grades are, they still might not be enough to get a dream job – and, as some might fear, to get a job at all.
Of course, it’s not that harsh. No matter how tight the labor market is, there’s always a place for talented graduates. However, you still need to position yourself right to persuade the interviewers that you’re the one who deserves to be hired.
Here are five tips that will hopefully help you do so.
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1. Think about your future career:
By the moment you graduate, you probably already know how you want to earn a living (for the next couple of years, at least). However, it’s important not only to have a certain vision but to make this vision as detailed as possible.
Think of how exactly you want to develop professionally. Do you want to stick to one position for a certain period of time or do you hope to be promoted as soon as possible? Moreover, some positions allow building multiple skills – in this case, you should think of what skills do you want to build.
The interviewers like when the candidates know exactly what they want. This shows the interviewers that you have the ambitions and a certain vision already. Moreover, this will help you choose the job that seems the most appealing and would help you reach your professional goals.
2. Remember that every experience counts:
Sure, the candidates that already have some work experience are most likely to land a certain job. However, some students forget that they can have some valuable experience and skills despite they never had a job before.
For example, volunteering and participating in various college activities can help you build many skills that are highly appreciated by the employers: for example, organizational, communicational, and writing ones.
Moreover, there are students who build valuable skills simply because they like doing something: for example, drawing, designing, writing, etc. Not all of them actually consider turning one of their hobbies into a job – but actually, it’s quite possible, especially if you already have an impressive portfolio.
These days your social media can speak for you in a way your resume doesn’t. Many researchers ask the candidates to attach links to their social media profiles – and some search for such profiles on their own.
It’s important to remember that your social media accounts can play a huge role in the hiring process and work hard to make the most out of it. For example, you can highlight some of your professional skills with the help of social media. You can also demonstrate your knowledge by joining some groups related to your professional niche and communicating with people there.
Also, social media give you an opportunity to track open job positions in the companies you would like to work for: most of these companies to share information about new job offers in their social media, so you can learn about them quickly if you subscribe to these companies’ official pages. You can also try reaching out to leaders of the industry this way.
4. Work on your resume and cover letter:
Effective and informative cover letter, followed by a high-quality resume, can greatly increase your chances of standing out among other recent graduates and getting invited to a job interview. You have to remember that the interviewers usually don’t have much time to spend on reading each cover letter and resume, so it’s important to present the information briefly and avoid using cliches and stating the obvious at the same time.
Always make sure to highlight skills and experience that are the most relevant for a certain job. Just like you can find definition essay examples online, you can find resume and cover letter ones – but be careful with them. Don’t copy them blindly – instead, try to use your own language.
Also, make sure that your cover letter and resume are well-structured and tailored to the company you’re applying to. Try to make them as personalized as possible – for example, address the HR manager by their name instead of using plain «Sir» or «Madam».
5. Start as early as possible:
Many students start looking for a job as soon as they graduate. This might seem like a wise decision but if you do want to avoid huge competition, it’s always better to start looking for a job as early as possible – which is even before you graduate, preferably.
If you have a whole year before you graduate, that’s even better. This way you are able to start networking and building all the necessary skills right now and achieve impressive results by the end of the year.
Another thing it’s important to remember is that you should be flexible in your job search. If time goes and you don’t become closer to getting a job you want, consider grabbing every opportunity that comes your way. Sometimes it’s better to land a job that didn’t seem very appealing only to get some valuable experience – and resume your job search in a half of year, for example, when the competition won’t be as high and you’ll have strong skills to demonstrate to the potential employers.
Finding your first real job after graduation definitely isn’t easy. You have to learn how to position and sell yourself, which could be a real challenge for many. However, you should remember that there’s no trial period. You can try and learn from experience, and try again – until you finally succeed.
I hope that these tips will make the whole search process much easier for you and will help you get a job you want. Good luck with that!
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