If you’re one of the many seniors coming to the end of your time in college, you might be a little unsure about what’s next. The “real world” is fast approaching while you’re still trying to soak in your last college days.
Make the most of these final moments, but realize that an exciting transition is coming and you’ve got to be prepared.
Here are some tips from Mario Schulzke, creator of CareerSparx, to help you prepare for the job search after college. Regardless of your major or future career plans, this should help put you on the right track.
Photo credit: Nazareth College via flickr creative commons
Use the Campus Career Center
If you haven’t looked into the career services that your school provides by now, you should get on it. Many schools offer resume coaching and provide job listings for students, but this service only lasts for a set amount of time after you graduate. Make the most of what is available while you can.
You can also use the career center to contact alumni that work in the industry you’re interested in entering; they may be able to provide advice or point you to job openings that you wouldn’t have found otherwise.
Reach Out to Your Classmates and Teachers for Job Leads.
Use your last days around campus to talk to students and professors who may be able to guide you to potential job openings. Depending on your major, your professors may be working in the field or have done so at some point in their career, making them a valuable source of advice. Speak with them one-on-one or send a thoughtful email asking for help. More often than not, they will be able to help you or direct you to someone who can.
As for your classmates, they were or are in the same boat as you. Your classmates may be able to point you to job opportunities that they passed up or were unable to follow through with because they found other jobs, and you can do the same.
Gather Your Network.
Begin reaching out to friends, family, past coworkers, and anyone you know who could provide you with a potential job lead. Ask if they know anyone in the industry you’re interested in and if it would be okay for you to contact that person, mentioning the common connection.
Not only should you be thinking about what your network can do for you, but also what you can do for your network. People will be more inclined to help you if you help them. Keep an eye out for opportunities to pass along or connections you can make, because you never know when it will come back to help you in the future.
Update Your Resume and Create Your Cover Letters.
As you begin to apply for jobs, you will need an accurate, up-to-date resume as well as a customized cover letter for each job you apply for.
Spend a significant amount of time preparing these documents because they are often the first impression that you will make on a potential employer.
Point out your accomplishments rather than responsibilities and use your cover letter to tell each company why you are especially interested in them.
Clean Up Your Facebook and Get LinkedIn.
Whether you like it or not, employers are using Facebook to check on potential hires. According to a study for CareerBuilder.com, 45 percent of employers are using social networks to perform background research on potential hires.
You need to make sure that your Facebook doesn’t contain any inappropriate photos or anything that would cause a potential employer to look negatively upon you during the job search process.
If you haven’t done so already, you should create a profile on LinkedIn, a networking site that allows you to connect with your colleagues on a professional or work-related level.
Build your profile with extra care because this serves as an electronic resume that can be seen by friends and future employers alike.
Begin connecting to members in your network and use the services that LinkedIn provides to get in touch with people in your industry.
Schedule Informational Interviews.
This is a great way to begin forming connections in your industry or within the company you hope to work for. An informational interview is an opportunity for you to ask someone about his or her business or job in an informal setting.
This helps you learn more about what you want to do and where you may fit within a company. By taking the time to do some background research and prepare smart questions, you may even impress the person enough to recommend you or even offer you a full-time job.
Consider an Internship.
If you don’t have much work experience in the industry you want to be in, it can be difficult to take your job search process to the next level.
Internships allow you to get the experience you need without making a full-time commitment. Plus, it’s not uncommon for impressive interns to receive full-time offers at the end of or soon after their internships, so take the opportunity to learn while increasing your skills and experience.
Read the News on a Regular Basis.
Nothing helps your conversational skills like something to talk about. If you feel uncomfortable speaking with people in a professional setting, bringing up a current event is one way to begin a conversation. By following the news, you will begin to formulate opinions on popular topics and impress people with your knowledge of the world.
Better yet, follow the news related to your industry or future profession. This is easily accomplished with the Internet and will go a long way during your job search process. The more you learn, the more comfortable you’ll feel.
Create a Schedule and Stick to It.
Finding the right job to start your career is a full-time operation in itself. Set a schedule for applying to jobs and talking to people in your industry. Getting into a weekly routine will provide more structure to your job search.
These tips should help you begin your job search on the right foot, but in the end it all comes down to your hard work and dedication. As the American academic John M. Richardson Jr. once said, “When it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people: Those who let it happen, those who make it happen and those who wonder what happened.” Be someone who makes it happen.
Is Your Use of Social Network Sites Helping or Hurting Your Career?
Social Media and Your Career: Pros and Cons
Social media and social networking website use has accelerated dramatically in the past decade. Networks like Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, and LinkedIn have millions of users submitting new content and details every day.
What does this mean in an employment context? What should job seekers and employees do to manage their online presence so that it helps, rather than hurts, their career prospects?
The major concern that social media and social networking sites present for applicants and employees is not the mere presence of their profiles or frequency of networking activity. In fact, a highly visible profile and frequent, wise use of social network sites can be a big plus for one’s career.
The problem arises when a person exposes themselves on these sites in a negative manner. Both job seekers and current employees should be very careful with the types of content placed on social media sites.
Why the Job Seeker Should be Careful About Use of Social Network Sites
Job seekers are highly vulnerable to potential harm from negative impressions created by their activity on social networking sites. This situation is becoming more and more common: a candidate for a job sends in a cover letter and resume with seemingly stellar experience, great presentation, and potentially excellent value to the company. The candidate may even interview with the company and be an inch away from getting a job.
But when the company runs a search for the person on Facebook or Myspace, they do not look so perfect. Offensive pictures are posted, tasteless and poorly written messages are present, and the person’s friends post all kinds of inappropriate content as well. The job seeker is no longer in the running for the position, passed over only because of their careless use of social media sites.
More and more, employers are looking at social media sites in the manner described above. Some companies may look at a potential employee’s networking site before the job interview; others may do so only afterwards. Either way, the message for a job seeker is clear: have a clean and positive social media presence online, or it can be damaging to your job search.
Why the Current Employee Should Also Be Careful About Use of Social Network Sites
Some employers are also beginning to include searches of social media websites in the employee performance evaluations process. They may also conduct routine searches for references to their company or key management personnel. Companies also often monitor employee computer activity while at work, definitely including use of social network sites, which are widely viewed as productivity-killers. In addition to this time-wasting aspect, companies are increasingly wary of employee involvement in social media and social networking for two main reasons.
First, an employee may be perceived as a spokesperson for the company and its values, especially if they interact with the public a great deal in their work, such as if they are in sales. If an employee’s online postings are viewed as adverse to the company’s goals and mission, such as if they criticize the company or its management, the company fears damage to its brand and public image.
Second, in some instances the company may learn information about an employee from the employee’s online postings that it views as creating an unacceptable risk in the workplace, such as if the employee discloses drug use, racism, or a preoccupation with violence.
In most situations, a performance evaluation will not be ruined by one questionable photo or statement on Facebook, but there is always that possibility – or even the possibility of the employee getting fired. It certainly happens with some regularity.
For this reason, employees should be thinking about their performance reviews and employment security with every post made on a social network site. Also, even though something was posted in the past does not mean it cannot come back and haunt the employee much later, having been indexed and cached by search engines.
While judicious use of privacy controls can go far to achieve protection against such negative impact of online social networking on employment, this is not a perfect solution.
There is still a potential for other employees and supervisors to come across the information. It is certainly not uncommon for bosses and supervisors to add employees to their networks, and for employees to add their bosses and supervisors. Even if such a connection is not currently made, think about the future. If an employee posts something negative about a boss or co-worker and then six months later the boss or co-worker seeks an online connection or friendship, things may not end well. The boss or co-worker will either be offended by a rejection or may end up connecting and finding the adverse postings.
How to Maximize Good Information, But Not Overexpose Bad Information
Just because using a social media site or social networking site has the possibility of being a bad thing does not mean that a person should completely stay away from these types of websites. To the contrary, they have many favorable aspects for job hunting and career growth that may outweigh the bad aspects, provided they are used properly.
Twenty-first century job seekers today are at a huge advantage over job seekers in previous decades in the sense that it is far easier to broadly convey information about one’s qualifications, so that recruiters and HR teams can locate job candidates, rather than vice versa.
A job seeker should most definitely post as much positive information as possible online using social media sites, as this will reflect well on them in their job hunt. Some information that could be posted that would reflect well could be, for example, any published papers one may have, any hobbies that may relate to particular jobs, and any useful general skills such as second languages. These things typically do not find their way onto a resume, but they can certainly be found easily via social networking sites when a recruiter takes a look. Joining groups related to job skills and interests is a great idea as well, as is making sure one’s profile reflects the key words a recruiter might use to find a candidate in your field.
Employees can follow the same tips above that job seekers have available, but for a different purpose. Social media sites offer a way to present knowledge and interests that could help qualify for a promotion or transfer. For example, if an employee is looking to make a lateral transfer from information technology to information management, and their boss is connected to their social media site, the employee can begin making posts about information management news to show interest. While this will never win a promotion in and of itself, it is definitely a good way to show interest and spark conversation.
Conclusion
In closing, social media and networking is a very exciting development in today’s world generally, and it has many important impacts on employment, both positive and negative.
Because this information is so readily accessible by anyone with a computer, job seekers and employees need to be careful with the type of information and posts being made on these sites. If the wrong type of information is posted, the potential for harm is great.
On the other hand, if properly used, social media sites can and should serve as beneficial tools for obtaining jobs, solidifying employment and networking with bosses and supervisors. Social media can help create great opportunities for job seekers and employees that were never available before.
How to Win a Job Interview in a Competitive Market
The Challenge
According to a recent article published in the Wall Street Journal, nearly 17 percent of people ages 20 to 24 are unemployed.
This includes many recent college graduates — even Ivy-Leaguers — that know what they want to do with their lives but are simply unable to connect the dots and obtain that first career-worthy job. Entry-level job prospects aren’t showing any major signs of improvement so even the most accomplished graduates are left fighting.
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