There’s been some talk lately about new graduates and their struggles in finding a job in this economy.
While there was a period of job creation, the unemployment rate of new graduates and students rose in the past month, and this comes as no surprise to most people. It’s always been a bit of a catch 22 in most fields; you get a degree but nobody will hire you without experience. You can’t get experience unless somebody hires you.
I spent a lot of time fretting about this in my first and second year of college; I had to work, but was stuck in a retail job instead of working at something that would enhance my resume because I didn’t have enough experience for anybody to take me seriously.
Here are some tips for new grads (and students graduating soon) around how to get a job after graduation.
Volunteer
You know what drives me mad? People that say “volunteer in anything!” No. Don’t. That’s a waste of your time if you are looking for work experience (though I would strongly encourage you to volunteer in this way to give back to the community).
A recruiter looking at your resume for a position in IT isn’t going to think “Oh, great. Jane walked dogs for the SPCA. That gives her the skills necessary for reprogramming XYZ”. The recruiter might think of you as a better person, but the bottom line is, your resume will be going straight to the shredder if walking poochies once a week is your idea of volunteering for experience.
Instead of volunteering in something unrelated, contact not-for-profit societies (there are probably a ton of them in your area) and offer up help that directly relates to your education. So, maybe you are a web designer and the XYZ Dog Rescue Society has a terribly designed website. Volunteer your services for free.
It will help build your portfolio, and your resume, and at the end of the day, nobody has to know it was a volunteer position.
Intern
Movies and tv shows portray interns as the lackies that run back and forth from the coffee shop to the photocopier, but that’s not real life so you can just push that out of your head.
If you can find an organization to take you on as an intern in your field – and there should be tons of them, because who doesn’t want free labour? – that’s really great experience.
There are many paid internships out there too, but even if they weren’t paid, try to find a way to do them. They can help land you a job after your done your term.
As far as finding an internship, you can find some tips at this other post I wrote.
Take a Temporary Gig
There are a lot of temporary gigs out there to be had. Many more experienced professionals have no interest in taking them, but as a new grad, it will give you experience and help build your skills.
You can find temp work on any job board, and it’s usually term specific. Sometimes it’s there for the duration of a project, or sometimes the incumbent is going on a leave of absence and they need somebody to fill the role.
Do Something You Don’t Want to Do
As a newbie in your field, you should push aside your pride and entitlement issues, bite the bullet, and do the things you need to do to gain extra experience for your resume.
One thing that jumps to mind is commuting.
If you have an opportunity an hour drive from your house, take it. Because at the end of the day, no job is ever going to be perfect and the chances are that your willingness to go the extra mile (literally) will put you in a favorable light to any potential employers.
I once had an internship that took me 75 minutes each way to drive to it. After my internship, I was able to score a real job in the company, and don’t have to commute for that long anymore.
Ask The Company You Currently Work For
Especially for those new business grads, the company for which you currently work may have some opportunities that may help you build your portfolio. They won’t know that you’re looking until you say so, and especially if you offer to help the department you are interested in with something aside from your normal work time, they’ll usually let you (as long as you are a good employee).
Brand Yourself
In school, (almost) everyone does projects that can be considered experience. Make sure to recognize that and market yourself to show that. Put those skills that you learned in school that are directly related to your field on your resume.
Make business cards with your name, photo, and contact information on it so that people can remember you.
Make sure you have a LinkedIn account or other professional networking method. Start a blog on the topic in your field; put yourself out there and make yourself known.
Putting yourself out there is sometimes hard, especially if you lack confidence because you don’t have experience. But while it may seem impossible to get a job after graduation, it’s not.
If you recently graduated, how did you find your job? What were the crucial steps you took?
All these are great tips. Especially volunteering because it opens doors for other opportunities like networking 🙂 . For those who are still in school, it’s highly recommended to take advantage of any co-op or similar programs that gives you real work experience
. Took me 3 months after school to find my first job. Submitted my resume to over 20 companies, got 4 interviews with no success, but finally found a willing employer. Totally worth the effort.
I definitely agree with your list! If you can’t find something immediately, then volunteer, take a temp job, etc. Your time is valuable!
This is such an important topic. Thanks for providing some great tips for Generation Y. I will be releasing a post about the other side of this tomorrow.
Excellent tips. College grads will (should) learn that their dream job is years away. It’s a hard reality, but once you come to grips with it, you’ll be on your way.
I think you really hit on the key with “push aside your pride and entitlement issues.” I think that’s a big problem that people have. They get a degree and think they ‘deserve’ a huge job with a huge salary, and that they’re extra special. But if everyone feels that way then, well, it just doesn’t work out. If people can move past those entitlement issues, I think they’d have a much easier time “putting in the time” doing grunt work for a year or two before getting promoted and getting in to what they want!
Thank you for including volunteering, and for being clear about what they should be trying to do as a volunteer. I work in nonprofit and it is such an under utilized resource to gain experience! My only addition to that is if they commit to a volunteer project, COMMIT to it. I often see people sign up to volunteer but as soon as something else comes along, they drop it, leaving the nonprofit stuck.
I have a girlfriend who landed an internship at a local news station and she’s having such a blast! She went into it thinking she would be helping out behind the scenes, but has already in her couple of months there reported 3 stories! I’m so proud of her. I hope she gets offered a full-time position there.
I highly recommend internships. 9 years ago, I started as an intern for the company I work for now. Luckily, it was and still is a paid intern position. Now, that I’m in the position of hiring people, I always looks for candidates with some kind of work experience.
The lesson is definitely expect to do something for free or intern. That’s how I got a great job (it was paid, though). People want experience as much as a resume, which is tough, but doable.
I think these are good tips, but really what you should focus on is that you don’t deserve a good job — you need to earn the right to get one! So temp/volunteer/intern — do whatever you have to do, and get that chip off your shoulder! (Not you, Daisy, the “you” in general)
Yes, yes, yes, and yes. The one thing I would stress is that you shouldn’t even be thinking of getting a job in your last year or right before you graduate. In my opinion, that’s why the system fails. People need to start thinking of careers in high school and right when they go to college. Choose the right major, volunteer at relevant places, intern at as many relevant places you need to, and hopefully places where you WANT to work at in the future, and network network network. Use school resources during those 4-5 years in college so by the time you are about to graduate, you have built a hefty resume. Most entry level jobs here require 2-3 years of experience. Even if you worked part-time, this would still count as experience!
You can’t go wrong with volunteering and internships. Those are two great ways to get your feet wet, and impress an HR manager. Your suggestion about branding yourself is correct. Today, lots of companies are researching candidates’ online activities, and love it when they see them engaged on LinkedIn and other sites.
Great tips! I landed my job because I volunteered, interned for free, worked for a start up company for pennies. But it all paid off when I got my offer for my job 🙂
Absolutely agreed on all of the above points. I got my job on a temporary three-month basis, and I did so well that they kept me permanently.
It’s pretty cool reading through the comments getting to know how everyone’s career started :cool:.
Volunteering and interning are a definite must! They may not lead to an immediate job but you will get some great work experiences and even make some new friends.
Great tips. It’s important that people don’t expect to be given a job just because they have a degree – it’s something you have to work towards. I got my job after I called up my boss from a previous summer job – I told him I was finishing up my masters and looking for a job and that I would like to go back and work for him. Actually, now that I think of it, I didn’t even send him a resume – I stopped in to visit him one day, we chatted over lunch and that’s how I got my job. I’m really glad I made an effort when I was a summer student!
Graduating and entering the big bad world can be so daunting! I was lucky to stumble across my dream job just a few months after graduating, but the stress and PRESSURE I felt (from myself, family and friends) to establish myself and begin a real career was intense.
I got my job by interning the summer before I graduated. My other piece of advice would be to network like crazy and follow up so they remember you.
I agree about getting relevant experience by offering free service just to beef up your resume.
We must also encourage entrepreneurship among college grads. If they can’t get a job they can start something their own. Not for everybody but no harm if start-up capital is not a concern.
Great tips. New grads should also use the school service and go to recruiting days if possible. Interning is a great way to get your foot in the door.
Great tips.
I recently wrote about this not too long ago, and find that working as an intern is quite important.
I’m not sure if you read about it, but I think in the Star or Globe there was a story about a young woman who spent a year being an intern in a lot of companies. A year later she has over 10 offers on the table.
I would also say that it’s really important to have practice interviewing. You’re going to have to make a polished impression on the group you’re interviewing with, and it’s really (in my opinion) a skill that is best learned through practice with mock interviews, career counselors, etc.
Volunteering is an option that not many people would think of but it can lead to some great opportunities because it also shows your character.