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You need to remember that there are thousands of other new grads out there looking to jumpstart their careers too. And there aren’t many ‘amazing’ jobs on offer to people who have minimal experience. You may find that there are limited opportunities on offer with your preferred company or in your ideal role. Be flexible in this case. Look for
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opportunities that vary slightly from these ideals. By all means, stay true to your interests and background. Just don’t be too narrow in your view of how you can apply your skills and experience. The point is to look for opportunities that are relevant to the career path you foresee for yourself. This may also mean pursuing unpaid
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internship opportunities as a potential starting point with a company or career path. Internships often lead to full-time, paid roles; and worst-case, an internship offers you valuable experience that you can use to help secure employment elsewhere.
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Before you start your job search, you had better make sure you have a resume or CV that you can send along to recruiters or other contacts. You won’t find too many organizations that don’t require you to submit one or the other as part of their hiring process. As a new grad, if you’re serious about landing a professional job, your resume or CV should
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look the part. So throw away that Word document you created five years ago when you applied for a job as a restaurant server, and upgrade to a modern version. You will want to give careful attention to layout and design so that you can make a visual impact on recruiters. A resume builder can help on that front. But even more important is
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the content you include. As a new grad, your best strategy for developing a resume/CV is to create an initial version that you can alter to fit the different positions you will be applying for. Don’t make the mistake of using the same resume/CV over and over again for every application.
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the content you include. One of the most common mistakes new grads make when searching for work is relying strictly on online search. Yes, many companies post jobs on their own websites, and these jobs get aggregated on sites like Indeed or listed on LinkedIn. However, what you find online represents just a fraction of the jobs out there.
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A lot of companies choose to hire new people through referral channels or word of mouth. Plus, the process of searching and applying for jobs through online applications can be tedious. There is a more efficient way of going about it, and it’s called the “disruptive job search”. The idea here is that you research the companies or
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positions that interest you, and then identify a networking path that will lead you to that job. In other words, you bypass the online application process by proactively connecting with employers. Every new grad needs to harness the power of networking as part of their job search. By building relationships you will get your
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name and aspirations known by people who can help you get the job you want.
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Since you are no longer in university, and you want a professional job, it’s time to look and play the part. That means being extra conscious of the image you project, particularly online. You can be certain that as you go about networking and connecting with recruiters, they will be looking you up online. We’ve talked a lot before
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about how to use social media to find a job, so definitely harness its power as part of your job search. But be very careful with the content you leave open for public access. Before you start circulating applications to organizations, do a full audit of any of your online profiles and review your privacy settings so you know what potential employers might be seeing if they search your name.
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While you’re at it, why not upgrade your LinkedIn profile with the content you’ve developed for your resume or CV? A professional headshot is a must-have for LinkedIn too. One final point: try not to let the job search overwhelm you. It’s easy to feel torn by the many potential paths you can pursue as a new grad. And watching friends around you find jobs
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may up the pressure on you. Just remember that this is just the start of your career, and chances are high that you will switch jobs multiple times over the course of your working life.