Job Search Advice For A Recent Graduate
By Carl Mueller
A recent graduate can have a tough time finding
their first job and getting their career on
track.
When I finished university, I found it difficult
to find my first job. Through university I’d
worked in a factory so I didn’t have any office
experience that I could point to that would
indicate to a potential employer that I could
do everything I said I could do.
I kept thinking that even though I was a
recent graduate with no relevant experience,
if only I could somehow convince potential
employers what I was capable of, I would prove
my capabilities to them.
How can you convince an employer what
you are capable of when you seem to have
no experience?
In other words, how can you get experience
when no one will give you any experience?
When you are a recent college graduate
looking for your first job, it can be
a difficult time to get your foot in the
door. Here are some suggestions to get
your job search rolling:
1. Start job searching early. Don’t wait
until one month before school ends to
start your job search. When I was in university,
some employers began interviewing and
hiring right after the school year started.
So some of my classmates who weren’t graduating
until April, had a job offer in hand before
Christmas. No need to rush around looking
for a job the next summer if you can get
hired the previous year, right?
2. Ensure that your resume highlights
any relevant skills that you honed during
college and that you demonstrated during
your time in school. Include evidence
of presentation skills, problem-solving
skills, teamwork skills and other relevant
skills that most employers would find
useful that people often leave out from
their resume.
3. Look for networking opportunities
that your college offers. Take advantage
of all career fairs and campus visits
by employers whether they are of interest
to you or not. The college recruiters
that are sent to your campus are often
graduates of your school and might have
some advice that helps you get your foot
in the door with their company. At a minimum,
employer campus visits are great networking
opportunities.
4. Ensure you utilize at least several
job search options and ensure you do each
of them well. Other than attending career
fairs as mentioned above, use other networking
methods, search Internet job boards, search
the career section on websites of companies
you’d like to work for, search college
job boards and contact employers directly
that you’d like to work for regardless
of whether they are advertising a suitable
opening or not. At the beginning of your
career, you really do need to get your
name out there to a certain extent, especially
if you have no relevant experience yet.
5. Consider working for free for a limited
time. I’ve seen some recent graduates
work for a company for a period of time
(ie. 2-4 weeks) for free to prove to the
company what they are capable of. The
recent graduate offers their services
to a company for free for a period of
time if they can’t convince the company
of their skills up front. If you have
the financial means to work and not get
paid for perhaps one month, you might
try this option.
When you are recent graduate, you might
not get a lot of help from professional
recruiters. As a recruiter, I find that
companies tend to fill entry-level jobs
themselves and don’t always pay recruiters
to find recent graduates like yourself.
Having said that, when I graduated from
university, I managed to luck out by dropping
into a recruiter’s office unannounced
and speaking with a recruiter who knew
an employer who was looking for a recent
graduate like myself. As a favor to the
employer the recruiter passed my resume
onto them. I got an entry level job with
the company and worked there fulltime
for 3 years.
If you are able to find a recruiter who
is willing to help a recent graduate like
yourself, it could be a great way to supplement
your own job search if you have them keeping
their eyes open for a suitable opening
for you.
Carl Mueller is an Internet entrepreneur
and professional recruiter who wants to
help you find your dream career.
Visit Carl's website to separate yourself
from other job searchers: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com
Sign up for The Effective Career Planner,
Carl’s free 5-day course: http://www.find-your-dream-career.com/effective-career-planner.html
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