You just graduated or are graduating and are needing to get a job in line. Where do you start?
My Experience
I graduated during the recession. I hustled and networked to land unpaid internships, small gigs and part time positions. I was happy with any real experience and substantial work that I could put on my resume that was in line with my major and career goals. Which brings me to the point that I can't underestimate the importance of internships and a job. When I graduated, it was incredibly difficult to land a job in the field I wanted. I got so many rejections. My friends decided to go to grad school and just keep applying. I took the first position I got a call back for that was a little more in line with what I wanted to do. It paid the least of all the positions I applied for and yet I was happy to have a job a month after graduating. Was it my favorite job? No. However, it was one of the best career decisions I made. I learned how to work with people I did not get along with, people that did not have the same level of education as me, reported to a manager that was not there to be my friend, and I learned how HR, time cards and vacation days worked. I learned to how network within that company and excel in my position. I learned to be vocal about where I wanted to grow and the positions I was interested in and I was very upfront with my boss about my career goals.
After serving 10 months at that company I moved to a position more in line with my career goals and I did not regret taking that first position. I thank the person who gave me the advice to just get my foot in the door at the best option till my next opportunity comes along.
MY TOP TIPS!
Start Early as this will take a little bit of time but very well worth it in the end!
Resume: Prepare your resume, have SEVERAL people proofread it. Don't be embarrassed. Show everyone, your professors, career advisers, random classmates, English majors and any older relative you have that is in a similar position to you. Take notes on their feedback. Some of the feedback will clash and you will have to just do a trial by error approach.
Apply Early! Start applying as early as your freshman year. Every little project or internship/externship you work on will be beneficial. Working at a retail store? Take up projects or apply your learnings from school to small projects at your current employer. That is all experience you can use. Don't forget to record it and file and save it on google drive for when you are creating your resume.
Social Media: Make your personal social media accounts private and make sure your profile photos are updated to a professional photo. Not one that was taken at a party. You can have a public account if your posts are in line with your career. However, my personal advice is to keep your life Private. A public social media account is encouraged as long as it's in line with your career goals.
Professional Accounts: Set up your Linkedin! I still have colleagues that don't have a LinkedIn account because they are still employed and enjoy their job. How will you know there isn't a better offer if you don't have an account. I personally use it as an online presence since I can't remember to bring my business cards sometimes or where i store the ones I receive at Networking events.
Online Presence: Create a small website that will showcase your work or an explanation of your skills. Think you don't have skills as a recent college grad? Upload some of your top projects you did during senior year. There are so many free services you can use to build your own website! My favorites are: Squarespace, Tap.Bio, and Wordpress. This will also impress your future employer and manager as they will be impressed that you took the time to create this in your personal time!
Network! Network Network!: Network with professors, customers that you come across in your side hustle/ retail job during college, and other colleagues. This is not a time to be shy! Trust me! The number of people I talked to during my retail days truly helped pave my path towards the decisions i made during and after college. You could even make a friend that will help refer you since they want the referral bonus at the company.
Take an Etiquette Workshop: I cannot emphasize how important it is to take an etiquette workshop. Specifically, a dining etiquette class. You may have been taught different etiquette than the standard American ones. I took a few courses and still refer to my handouts as a refresher. I highly recommend an in person class and usually Universities offer these for free. Again, network with your colleagues and join different organizations so you can get that invite! This will come in handy when you have a lunch or dinner interview! That being said, I would also start practicing and improving your conversational English. The manner in which we speak to our friends in school is much different than how we should speak at an interview. Practicing early will help you ease up in the interview and not worry about every word coming out of your mouth. You will naturally get used to speaking more appropriately.
Now go get started! Do something. Take one step forward and everything will start coming together more seamlessly. The hardest part is that first step!
(I will continue to add to this list as I have more suggestions)