Take the Challenge Out of Finding a Graduate Job
Is how to get a job after college worrying you?
It is no secret that the job market is tough for recent graduates. But it doesn’t have to be. With a little hard work and a strategic approach, you can land your perfect job after graduation in a matter of weeks.
6 Reasons Why Recent Graduates Find Getting a Job Challenging
Before you devise your job search strategy, you should figure out why it’s going to be challenging for you. We’ve analyzed a few of the main reasons ─ but your challenge will be unique to you because the weight of difficulty isn’t the same across all these areas.
1. Competition from Other Graduates
There are more students in college than ever, and when an entire college year graduates, that’s a lot of competition for jobs. This makes it difficult to stand out.
2. Competition for Popular Jobs
Not all jobs are equally popular. If you wish to work in banking or finance, you’ll find the competition is going to be a lot stiffer than if you wish to enter healthcare, for example.
3. Little Work Experience and Lack of Skills
With baby-boomers in the middle of their retirement cycle, there is a lot of experience leaving the workplace. Consequently, many employers desire experience from their new hires ─ this reduces their costs and helps their teams be more efficient and productive.
If you have little or no experience and few skills that are learned on the job, this makes you less attractive as a new hire.
4. A Poor Personal Network
Often, the power of becoming employed lies in the strength of your network, and the connections you make. Those students whose network is poor tend to find it more difficult to land that first job.
5. Poor Interview Skills
When was the last time you interviewed? How many times have you interviewed? Interviewing is a skill. Get it right, and you will shine. Get it wrong, and you will flunk.
6. You Don’t Follow Up
Employers want to know that you are enthusiastic. One way they measure this is by taking note of those who follow up ─ and most graduates are too concerned about moving on to the next opportunity to do so.
10 Tactics to Help You Stand Out in the Graduate Job Market
How do you mitigate each of these challenges? Build your job search strategy around these 10 tactics, and you’ll power ahead of your competition.
1. Start Your Job Search Efforts Early
It’s important to start your job search efforts early, and it’s never too soon. There are many things you can do to prepare yourself for the job hunt, from researching potential employers, to taking part-time work that will help you gain skills and experience, to developing your network. The sooner you begin, and the more strategic you are, the greater your chances of landing your ideal role when you graduate.
2. Work on Your Resume
Make it a monthly habit to update your resume ─ even if you don’t think there is much to add. When reviewing resumes, employers look for relevant experience, skills, and achievements. Consider this, too: many employers use applicant tracking systems. One way these work is by scanning your resume for keywords ─ so, take note of the main keywords in the job description, and be sure to include these in your resume.
3. Know What is Needed to Stand out For Your Target Jobs and Attain Those Skills
Remain acquainted with the latest skills needed for your target jobs, and gain those skills however you can. This may be by taking extra classes, vocational experience, or work experience. For example, if your preferred jobs require web design, build a portfolio of websites you have helped to build.
4. Work on Networking
Don’t limit yourself to a network that only includes your closest college friends. Expand your horizons. Use LinkedIn to its full advantage, and join professional groups that will enhance your professional network. Make sure to attend college-organized networking events.
5. Brush up Your Interview Technique
Interviewing is a skill that can be learned and practiced. There are several things that you can do to improve your interviewing skills and get the job that you want, including:
- Preparing answers for questions that are likely to be asked
- Preparing questions to ask the interviewer
- Practicing with friends
- Focusing on body language
- Minding good interview etiquette
Remember, interviewers often ask behavioral questions. They want to get a feeling for how you would react in different situations ─ so be prepared to demonstrate your personality, honesty, and integrity.
6. Always Follow Up
Always follow up after an interview. Send an email to thank the interviewer for his or her time. Encourage a positive response by asking a question that you ‘overlooked to ask’ at your interview. Show them you are keen about the job and thinking about it.
7. Register With a Staffing Agency
Why is registering with a staffing agency so important for graduates? At TECHEAD, we help recent graduates with all the above tactics.
We take the time to learn about you and your ambitions and objectives, and then we’ll help you to present yourself in the best way possible on your resume, making sure that you possess or are working on the skills you need to become the standout candidate for your preferred job.
We can also help you to gain the experience and skills you need, through temporary work placements that will complement your existing skills and knowledge.
And when we land you interviews ─ which we will ─ we make sure to coach you on your technique and the types of questions you are likely to be asked. Then we’ll follow up for you, get valuable feedback, and we also help you negotiate the best offer.
You’ll find we have some of the best graduate jobs with some of the best employers ─ and we are always looking for exceptional graduates to fill them. Submit your resume to TECHEAD today.