Getting a job right after graduation is no easy task unless you get on-campus recruitment. It could go crazy if the process of job hunting is not organized, especially if you are looking for highest paying jobs for freshers.
Below are a few action items you need to keep in mind to find a job after graduation.
Steps to Follow to Secure a Job after Graduation
1) Check with Your College Career Center
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. You can begin by tapping these resources right from college and you can opt for career counselling if you are unsure of your career path.
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.
If you are in a reputed college your placement cell will hold visits from recruiters, host career fairs and sponsor alumni networking programs all of which can help us get your job. Read our article to know about the best career options after graduation.
2) Start Networking
Networking helps to tap into the hidden job market. As per the reports, 80% of the jobs are never advertised or published in job portals. Networking helps to find out where those jobs exist and to reach them. A survey was done by LinkedIn, which revealed that 85% of all jobs are obtained through networking.
The best approach is to go indirect, i.e., reaching out to contacts who are working in the company to gather information rather than directly talking to the hiring team. By taking this indirect approach, you need to speak to professionals and get information on the skills required in your target company. You can then prepare briefly and slight edit your resume accordingly to suit the company’s requirements.
Networking includes keeping in touch with your alumni association, attending professional networking events. Touching base with past employers, colleagues, or managers helps you stand a better chance as they have witnessed your productive potential. Professional networking on digital platforms like LinkedIn is also worth a shot.
3) Make a Complete LinkedIn Profile
In addition to professional networking, LinkedIn helps to build a professional brand, search for jobs and apply, connect with hiring managers or recruiters, etc. You can join LinkedIn groups for increasing your reach and visibility.
The graduates of today need to have a complete LinkedIn profile as most recruiters use LinkedIn to find job candidates and validate the candidate’s authenticity. LinkedIn has come up with an option of EasyApply by which you can share your LinkedIn profile as a resume while applying for jobs. LinkedIn profile today thus serves as an add-on to your resume.
4) Creating a Personal Website
Your website is a space where you can express yourself with your branding. According to Forbes, more than 50% of the hiring managers are impressed by a candidate’s website than any other form of marketing.
You can also demonstrate your knowledge by writing a blog on your personal website. Most people buy a domain and link it to tools like Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, or Blogger to create the website and blog. Remember that job hunting is all about standing out, and having a website helps you gain that edge over the rest.
5) Join a Professional Group
Joining a group helps in building connections, gaining knowledge, and showcasing experience. Professional associations usually put up meetup conferences where you can participate and share knowledge with expert professionals in your field who are generally eager to help the newbies. This is an excellent learning opportunity as you can connect and have conversations with industry experts. You can also choose your mentors and role models from such professional meetups.
6) Target Your Resume and Cover Letter
Keep revising your resume to target specific jobs. You cannot have one single resume with which you apply for several positions. Instead, showcase the skills, experiences, and work that are most relevant to the job you are applying. Of course, practicing this will create countless versions of your resume, and you might even lose track. But do believe that it’s worth it. Read about how to make a career objective in resume.
7) Do an Internship
According to a report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), 60% of paid internships will lead to a full-time job. An internship is a way of gaining hands-on knowledge and increasing your experience. If you are right out of college and hunting for a job, you will not do not have much experience.
Internship helps your resume outshine the rest with relevant industry experience. Interns usually get very low payment, so while you are on an internship your only motive should be to gain experience to sharpen your resume so that it is ready for the big leap. An internship is a seemingly worthless step but it can contribute to a giant leap later on in your career.
Check out upGrad’s HDFC Life Insurance Post Graduate Program.
8) Find Companies You Would Like to Work For
Depending on your career specialization there will be big brand firms in your niche. You would love to work for your dream company. Identify those employers and visit the careers section of their website and look for positions opened for freshers.
You can also check with your college to see if there is an alumni working in your dream company and ask advice for applying for a job and cracking interviews. You can also sign up on the job site to check the job listing of the companies you are targeting at.
9) Organize Your Job Search
The best way to find a job is to do it as a job. Imagine you are working on a job from 9 am to 5 pm and the job you have to do is to find yourself a job. Think about the consequences of you failing at this job. This can get you more focused and organized at the job search you are doing. Schedule some time per day for job hunting alone and stick to it.
10) 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. Doing the below can help you say up to date
- Read professional publications and journals
- Join professional social media groups
- Follow social media feeds of companies and industry brands
11) Prepare Yourself for an Interview
even before you get the call.
If your resume gets shortlisted, the next thing you need to do is to crack the interview. Your confidence will skyrocket if you have ready answers for all common interview questions of your field.
Conclusions
These are a few things you can do to 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 focused on it and we hope this article becomes an asset for your job search.