If you have recently graduated college and have not found permanent employment, you will find yourself associated with a large volume of your peers who are in the same boat. While the job market is still not what it used to be, there are plenty of things you can do to help yourself stand out amongst the crowd.
Network:
- If you completed any internships during school, you should consider contacting your former supervisors. It’s possible the company you interned with has new openings that you would not find by yourself. If you enjoyed your internship and left on a positive note, your former supervisor would probably be willing to consider you for any new or current openings with the company. Applying for positions with companies you interned for will give you an edge up on any competition. The hiring manager will already know what you’re capable of and you clearly have appropriate experience.
- Friends or relatives might also know of positions you might not be able to find on your own. For example, if you have a family friend who works in the industry you are trying to break into, they might have advice based on their own experiences.
- Professors can also be valuable resources in your job search. Professors are typically very involved and experienced in the fields they teach in, and are usually well connected. Any of the professors you had for your core classes could have connections to major players in the industry you seek to work in. Even if it has been a while since you graduated, it wouldn’t hurt to get in touch with some of your former professors and ask for any guidance or assistance they can give you.
Consider temping:
- Temping is a great option for recent college grads, because it helps them gain knowledge and experience prior to joining the workforce full time. Temping would also help you pay your bills and occupy some of your free time while you pursue a permanent position.
- Working as a temp is also ideal for any recent college grads that don’t have much office experience on their resume. If you are looking to work in a corporate or office environment permanently, it helps to be able to go into a job interview with visible experience on your resume.
- Temping is also a great option because it prevents you from having large gaps on your resume. If you graduate in May and are still searching for permanent work in October, you can go into an interview and show a hiring manger that you have been consistently working since graduation. Employers would much rather see that you’ve been actively involved in the workforce than spending all your time at home applying for jobs.
Applying for jobs day in and day out may not be enough to help you land your dream job, so make sure you think outside the box. With such tough competition out there in the job market today, don’t leave any resource untapped. Differentiate yourself and your resume from the rest of the recent graduates you will be competing against, and you will be sure to come out on top.
