In October, when I mentioned that I’m starting my job search, my alum friend Jennifer replied, “May the force be with you. I spent 8 months trying to find a job.” At first, I didn’t take her fateful words seriously because I figured that a job search couldn’t be that hard.
Well.
Despite having a strong resume and doing all the things listed below (and then some), I am like millions of other job seekers who have encountered painstaking difficulty with landing a job in this recession. In the last several months, I learned a lot of valuable information from all the career experts (my dad was a recruiter), books, and first-hand experience. Since I’m done with college now, I need to share the knowledge in hopes that your job search may be a bit more bearable.
If you aspire to work upon graduation, remember to:
1. Network.
If you don’t know what that means, you better ask somebody. Then build a profile on LinkedIn.com to get you started. About 70% of job seekers find employment through a connection. Also sign up for more organizations in your prospective career field to meet more people. Now is the time to ignore your parents’ advice to “never talk to strangers”, as their network may lead you to shiny new opportunities.
2. If you study most of the time, hit PAUSE and acquire more work experience!
If you can’t find someone to pay you, then volunteer or do an unpaid internship. I gained some my most valuable work experience by stepping up to help publicize projects I was already involved in. Employers want to see proof of results and what you can bring to their company. Unlike college admissions officers, many employers don’t ask about our transcripts, or care about our A’s. Sorry.
3. Start your job search way before you graduate.
I recommend at the beginning of your final semester. It will likely require at least a couple months to research and secure a job. This includes researching companies, exploring potential careers, doing informational interviews, as well as networking. Also, be sure that you do not apply for immediate openings until you’re really close to graduation. I almost snagged two different jobs, but the companies said that my timing was off since I wasn’t out of school yet.
4. Manage your online presence, and periodically google your name.
The sad reality is that employers check Facebook, Myspace, and will run the job candidate’s name through search engines to dig up background info. It is beneficial to create a personal blog or website that relates to your career ambitions, so that they can get a better sense of your personality. With that in mind, if you wouldn’t want your current/future boss to see specific information, remove it or increase your privacy settings. Especially those pictures from that one crazy night you’d want to forget, unless you already have.
5. It’s unlikely that you will land your dream job straight out of college.
Therefore, broaden your career interests. You gotta crawl before you can walk. I just realized this as I read a job posting recently and thought, “I’m not interested in this position…well…let me keep my options open”. Needing to compromise is especially true if you’re in Liberal Arts, while a business school curriculum is obviously more focused on jobs (you lucky ducks).
6. Learn to negotiate salaries, and don’t jump at the first offer that comes to you.
I’ve heard multiple times that people regret not receiving what they’re worth, and find better jobs soon after they chose the first offer.
7. Follow-up, and follow-up again.
Avoid sending out 50 resumes, then chilling and hoping someone calls you. Call them! Email is an over-used form of communication, so always follow-up with a phone call, too. In this competitive market, you need to persistently initiate contact and be assertive in searching for a job.
8. Despite your career accomplishments, remember that we’re in a recession.
Honestly, I thought that my campus involvement, management experience, and supportive network would land me a job pretty quickly. Although it’s great that I receive compliments on my resume, call backs, and I have upcoming second interviews, I’m still seeking a job. SO, if my background seems like yours, please remain prepared for an uphill battle.
9. Be persistent and optimistic.
Amongst the rejection you’ll receive, it’s important to keep on steppin’. In job hunting it’s never been more true that one can’t accomplish anything great unless they’ve tried and tried again. My favorite quote these days is by Vince Lombardi, “it’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up.”
10. Check it:
- The most helpful book ever for college job seekers, free online: collegegrad.com/jobsearch.
…and, if all else fails, apply to grad school sooner than you planned.
Each one, teach one. Feel free to pass this along or comment.
- Court
my “professional” website
Last 5 posts by Foghorn Community
- Maffei Stars as Dons Earn Series Win over Portland - March 27th, 2013
- Letter: Pro-Life Alumna asks Pro-Choice Student Columnist what She is “Trying to Protect” - February 8th, 2013
- Dons Down Bears For Second Time in Revenge Match - September 19th, 2012
- No “Waiting on the World to Change” - September 19th, 2012
- USF DJs and Red Bull Team-Up For Contest. - September 18th, 2012
December 24th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Very good post, thanks!
January 8th, 2009 at 2:48 am
Thank you so much for this valuable insight!
January 15th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
UPDATE:
As of mid-january 2009 I found a fabulous position at a tech PR firm.
Thank you all for reading and for your kind words!
Best of luck to you,
Courtney Parham
http://courtneyparham.weebly.com
February 24th, 2012 at 1:43 am
Goodluck to all the seniors
February 25th, 2012 at 10:27 pm
wow thats really a goood advice dude
July 6th, 2012 at 10:20 am
If You want to see my website please check this out.
August 17th, 2012 at 2:21 am
I want to know more about this campus. Please tell me in brief.
August 22nd, 2012 at 10:30 pm
I think this will be nice information for me about online I will use this tips. Thanks a sharing for nice information.
August 24th, 2012 at 9:03 pm
Goodluck to all the seniors
August 24th, 2012 at 9:31 pm
This post is very informative which describes about seniors and juniors relationship in the collage. It is very informative for everyone.
August 24th, 2012 at 10:03 pm
My friend told me about this post then I visited your post here I got much information about advice for juniors and seniors of collage about job.
August 24th, 2012 at 10:49 pm
This is best option for the students. Now they can get information about how they can find the job.
August 24th, 2012 at 11:42 pm
I agree with you search job for students is very difficult task. This post help such students.
August 25th, 2012 at 1:30 am
Cool! Your style of writing post is like an experienced author. Keep posting…
August 27th, 2012 at 11:37 pm
Your post is wonderful; I hope to read more of your articles in the future. Keep up the good work!
September 4th, 2012 at 2:56 am
Your advice is an alert and welcome call to me. I should be more aware from now onwards. Thanks for your original advice.
September 19th, 2012 at 3:41 am
As a student, this advice seems very beneficial for me. I appreciate your insights on this topic.
September 19th, 2012 at 4:13 am
In this post you have done really fantastic job on ranking of school. This information is good for student. Keep posting.
September 19th, 2012 at 4:26 am
This advice can be helpful for every student’s future. They can learn many things from this advice.
September 19th, 2012 at 4:50 am
Definitely, I will apply your tips. These tips seem very useful for me.
September 19th, 2012 at 5:09 am
Recently, I have joined college. Is this advice beneficial for me?
September 19th, 2012 at 5:28 am
Who is providing this advice? Do you like to share that person’s name?
September 20th, 2012 at 9:09 pm
As a student, this information seems very beneficial for me. Really, it’s good for every student’s bright future.
September 20th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
I’m teacher. This blog will be very helpful for my profession.
September 20th, 2012 at 10:25 pm
While doing graduation, this blog will be useful for the students. They can achieve their goal very easily.
September 20th, 2012 at 11:17 pm
I’m graduate student. This blog also seems very useful for me.
September 21st, 2012 at 12:19 am
My little brother is graduate student. Definitely, I will recommend this website to him.
September 21st, 2012 at 3:10 am
I have also much need of job. Do you provide me job?
September 21st, 2012 at 3:43 am
I’m college student. This information will be quite useful for me.
September 21st, 2012 at 4:29 am
Social networking sites also plays crucial role to provide useful information to the students. I’m also regular reader of social networks.
September 21st, 2012 at 4:41 am
It’s an extremely well written article. I admire your valuable information.
September 23rd, 2012 at 8:59 pm
The points you have mentioned will always be beneficial for the job seekers. I am thankful to you that you are sharing your experience with us. Once again, thanks a lot.
September 25th, 2012 at 4:55 am
I have taken admission this year in college. It is beautiful experience for me.
October 3rd, 2012 at 3:26 am
What is the admission fee of this college? I want to get admission this year please tell me the procedure.
October 5th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
This post provides information about some sports game which you have provided in this video.
October 8th, 2012 at 8:38 pm
You have put very important point in this blog. I am very impressed from your thoughts.
October 12th, 2012 at 8:06 pm
I think these suggestions are very useful for every graduate student. It builds good relationship and understanding between junior and senior students.
October 24th, 2012 at 1:16 am
I am very impressed with the advice you have shared in this blog. I will keep these tips in my mind.
October 26th, 2012 at 1:02 am
This post is very much beneficial post for seniors and juniors because graduate students have shared informative advice for them. This might be helpful for them in their future.
October 26th, 2012 at 7:20 am
Very much taken sir, so inspiring and hope we all succeed.
November 1st, 2012 at 4:05 am
I have done my MBA last year and now I am working in Sale Company. I think you should also try on Sale Company.
November 2nd, 2012 at 3:31 am
If it is said you blog has provided a quality information then it will not be wrong.
November 5th, 2012 at 3:10 am
I want to know more about this campus. Please tell me in brief.
November 12th, 2012 at 4:32 am
Well done on a great post – I love the way that you’ve written it.
November 24th, 2012 at 2:15 am
Very engaging blog. I hope you will do some more posts on topic.
January 21st, 2013 at 12:11 am
This is what i look for. Good Job
Useful colleges advices and tips
Best wishes,
Aigan
January 21st, 2013 at 12:42 am
This is what i look for. Good Job
Useful colleges advices and tips
Best wishes,
Aigan
February 23rd, 2013 at 2:43 pm
This website certainly has all the info I wanted concerning this subject and didn’t know who to ask. |
March 9th, 2013 at 3:19 am
With havin so much written content do you ever run into any issues
of plagorism or copyright violation? My blog has a lot of exclusive content I’ve either created myself or outsourced but it looks like a lot of it is popping it up all over the web without my permission. Do you know any methods to help protect against content from being ripped off? I’d genuinely appreciate it.
March 12th, 2013 at 12:00 am
Hi to all, the contents existing at this website are really remarkable for people
knowledge, well, keep up the good work fellows.
Stop by my web-site Futurebazaar coupons
March 12th, 2013 at 7:07 pm
Thanks for the info in this post its help me a lot ..
March 17th, 2013 at 8:40 am
Good day! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this page to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!|
April 16th, 2013 at 5:18 pm
Hello, I enjoy reading all of your article post.
I wanted to write a little comment to support you.
May 1st, 2013 at 12:33 am
Fantastic beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your web site, how can i subscribe for a blog web site?
The account aided me a appropriate deal. I had been tiny bit
familiar of this your broadcast provided brilliant transparent idea
May 4th, 2013 at 9:28 pm
Howdy! I just want to give you a big thumbs up for your excellent info you’ve got right here on this post. I’ll be coming
back to your web site for more soon.