Obtaining your college degree is a great achievement. However, now that you have completed graduation, your next step might seem just as daunting: How to get a job after college. However, you can take charge of the process by following a few simple tips and strategies to land a job that will help get your career off to a positive start.
- Target Your Resume and Cover Letter
The very first step and basic step is keep revising your resume to target specific jobs. You cannot have one single resume with which you apply for several positions. Many employers today use applicant tracking systems to scan resumes for keywords. Which means, if your resume doesn’t contain the right keywords, your application would be rejected automatically. If you’re applying to jobs that have different keywords, you may want to create multiple versions of your resume so that you are surfacing the most relevant skills in each application.
Because you are a recent graduate, employers will be interested in a summary of your education. Make this one of the first sections of your resume
- Check with College Placements
Most colleges have a placement cell or a career office that will help you with your career aspirations. These are resources you can use for free and are available to you as a student of the college or recent graduate. Your College placement officer will help you build your resume, prepare for interview and help you attend interview panel.
So, go ahead and meet the career advisor to discuss your aspirations and design your career path. These advisors can help you build your resume, prepare you for interviews and help you in your job search plan.
- Research potential career paths and jobs
Although you may have graduated with a specific major and career path in mind, it may not be clear how to apply what you’ve learned to the job market. Begin by researching which jobs are available and narrow in on the ones that match your skill set and interests.
You should research what the recruiting organizations are searching for. Look out for ten job descriptions and feature the list of keywords and phrases that are most normally rehashed. At that point, you can feature the skills in your resume, cover letter and during your interview.
- Start Networking
Network is an ideal approach for start job hunt. Start with relatives, companions, neighbours, colleagues and educators to ask about circumstances and get a few leads. Join networking groups and attend Job fairs and sessions related to your career. Make connections through social networking like LinkedIn as networking helps to find out where those jobs exist and to reach them. You can also include keeping in touch with your alumni association for Job search will help you understand market trends and also help to modify your skills and guide you on your path.
- Join relevant internships and volunteer programs
Getting a job after college with no experience is rather difficult. Thus, do not miss a chance to be enrolled in a related internship or volunteer program even if they are not paid. What you need to focus on while studying at college is improving skills instead of earning money. Gaining professional skills is what will make a post grad job search easier and faster. Colleges cannot teach everything necessary to start the first job, as you need to have basic practical knowledge as internship will only help to gain experience to sharpen your resume which will help to contribute to build a road map for better career. For instance, even if you do not plan to penetrate an IT field, attend some courses to improve your computer skills, as they are needed in almost every profession today
- Keep Informed of the Industry News
You have to stay on top of what’s happening in your professional field including all the news, developments and changes. When you are in the process of job hunting you need to keep yourself updated in the market. So do research on company profile and Identify employees working with them, try to understand their skills and development, join professional groups online and read their publications & Journals. Doing R& D and keeping yourself updated in going to help your career in long run. Doing the below can help you say up to date
- Practise Interview skills.
If your resume gets shortlisted, the next thing you need to do is to crack the interview. interviewing well is a skill they which can only get better with practise. You can set yourself up for success by beginning to practice for interviews even before you have one lined up. Practising Interview dress code is very crucial as you have to strike the first impression when you appear for interview, so you need to pay attention to your overall appearance along with a good body language. Take up mock interviews and prepare for common interview questions. Even if it’s a technical interview, employers are not necessarily looking for the “right” answer. In most cases, they are instead curious about how your qualifications match with requirements of the jobs and how you showcase your skills on problem solving, Team work, take responsibility or show initiative. They ask questions that they hope will give them insights into these traits and behaviours.
By preparing for common interview questions, you can get accustomed to answering in a way that helps employers understand your background and work style so they can clearly see that you are a fit.
- Focus on Building skills and learning:
Taking more classes probably won’t sound like an energizing possibility to a college graduate. In any case, taking an enormous online course can assist students with continuing to find out about topics related to their major or fill in knowledge gaps. You need to understand the competition in the market and the urge to upgrade skills and constant learning is an ongoing process.
Above mentioned tips will make your job hunt faster and easier. If you do your part, it’s not difficult to get your dream job. All you need is to be Patient, focused and positive in the process of job search.