Best Job Search Tips For Freshers And Recent Graduates
March 17, 2022
The biggest question mark after you graduate is whether you have gotten a job or not. After all, there should be a place where you put your education and hard work to good use, especially in a place you like. Looking for jobs can be difficult especially in recent times due to Covid and lack of skills and placements. In such cases, it is in fact natural to be confused and look for help to find a job as a fresher as a recent graduate.
A lot of things are to be taken into consideration when you look for a job or are applying for one. As you learn how to approach the job search process it is always good to remember that even seasoned professionals are continuing to develop their job search skills. As graduation approaches, there are chances that you are starting to consider the ways you can turn your hard-earned education into a meaningful and rewarding full-time job. As you begin to plan your post-college career path, the first step is to consider which direction you would like to eventually take your educational credentials.
Here are some tips and tricks for you to start your process of looking for a job:
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Research:
The first step to anything is always research, learn about things because getting into anything without knowledge can land you into great trouble. Explore things in companies. This tool lets you see the salary trends for specific jobs. Enter the job title you are interested in learning more about and you will see the job’s salary range and the average salary at popular companies. To home in on salaries for new graduates, try including entry-level or junior in front of the job titles you are interested in. You can get national trends or select individual cities. This will help you understand what you are looking for better.
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Create a target list:
Visit a company’s website, social media pages, newsletters, etc to learn more about the day-to-day of their business. Browning, a company's website is a great way to learn about its values, products, and work culture. Pay special attention to the kind of language they use throughout and any photos or videos they may have about their staff. You can also search for recent news articles about the company so you are up-to-date on the latest developments.
Visit their careers page and their company pages to get a wealth of information like reviews, videos, and current job openings. From a company page, you can choose to “follow” that employer to get email updates when they post new jobs. Try emailing their executives to find out about openings and offers.
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Use your network:
In most cases having network and personal relations always give you brownie points and help you understand the company better. Reach out to people you know who work at the companies on your target list. It is expected that you will reach out to other people for help. To learn more about your industry or about a particular company, tap your college’s alumni network. Most colleges maintain an online alumni database that graduates can use to get contact information. In fact, some schools have already set up relationships with alumni, who are eager to offer job advice to new grads. However, you need to be strategic about how you approach alumni and be firm yet polite. Simply ask people if they are available for a quick chat on the phone so you can learn more about what they do. If the conversation goes well, the person may be willing to help you get a foot in the door.
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Resume:
Tailor your job resume according to each and every place that you apply and according to the company's requirements. See what places require what kind of skills and add that first to your resume. Many employers today use applicant tracking systems to scan resumes for keywords which makes their work easier to find an ideal candidate. This means if your resume does not contain the right keywords, your application could get tossed out automatically.
Hence it is important to add such keywords and highlight them in a way that even if it is manually read it is easier for the employer to find the same. To prevent that from happening, make tweaks to your resume to mirror the language that appears in the job posting and the same goes for the cover letter. If the job requirements include hard skills, for example, JavaScript or Python for programmer positions, make sure those terms appear the same on your resume.
- Check job postings frequently: Essentially, the best time to apply to a job is within the first 48 hours after it is posted, so you will want to check for new job postings often. To get into a good routine, start off your day by searching for new job openings each morning. You can even sign up for the company’s newsletter to receive email alerts for new job postings. Another way to get a line on job openings is to monitor prospective employers’ social media feeds to see if they plan on adding any positions or hosting any virtual recruiting events in the near future.
- Keep up with the industry news: It is important that you know about the industry you are working for and will be working in. It is a very important factor for you to be up to date with the things going on in the industry. Such things can be asked in your interviews as well and will be factored in the process of hiring you.
Learning how to get a job after college involves something you are plenty familiar with, that is research. Even though you do not have a job yet, you need to stay on top of what is going on in your field. The news can clue you into trends in hiring, companies on the rise, and companies going through rough patches. Social media, in the current scenario, is one of the best tools and is also a great resource. It is essential that you check out what leading companies are posting about and what they are looking for.
There are three basic things you should be doing to keep up with industry news:
- Read trade publications and industry journals
- Join professional social media groups
- Follow social media feeds of companies and industry influencers
- Prepare for job interviews: It is important that you are well prepared for the interview and it is best if you start right now and right away. Opportunities come knocking on the door and will leave soon if you do not grab it. You cannot be overconfident about these things either hence it is best to prepare or at least start preparing right away.
To actually snag a career after college, you obviously need to ace the interview itself. You will get a boost in confidence by preparing answers to common interview questions, such as “Where do you see yourself in five years?” and “What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
Then, you should get into detective mode and learn more about hot topics in your industry as well as the company that is interviewing you. Thoroughly research the company so you can answer questions that concern them directly, such as, “What’s your favorite product that our company makes?” or “Who do you think is our biggest competitor?” Smart answers will show them you have done your homework.
To gather information on potential employers, read the company’s website, follow them on social media, set up relevant Google alerts, and, if they are a public company, look at their annual reports. You can also get the inside scoop by checking out company profiles and employee reviews to get a sense of culture, pay, and benefits.
Lastly,
Do not discount the importance of a professional appearance. Appropriate interview attire, a mature voicemail greeting, and social media profiles that do not throw up red flags are all must-haves for finding a job after college. Leaving this stuff to the last minute is such a freshman move.
