I have had the opportunity to coach many fresh graduates on how to search for their first job out of college. The biggest frustration that most new graduates face is not having any work experience.
The important thing to remember is that everyone got their start somewhere. At the same time, you need to be willing to roll up your sleeves and make the job search your first full-time job. Here are some tips that can help.
1. Build your online personal brand.
As the popularity of social media sites increase, it is becoming more important than ever that you build a personal brand for yourself. Doing this the right way will allow job opportunities to find you!
The best place to start is with Linkedin.com. Linkedin is great for both networking and showcasing your talents. Take your resume and plug as much information as possible into your Linkedin profile. The profile is built like an online resume to begin with.
A powerful feature on Linkedin is the recommendations feature. People like to “buy on the approval of others” and this can help you greatly when it comes to getting job offers. Reach out to people you know on Linkedin and see if they might recommend you.
Join Linkedin groups related to your industry as well. Each group has an “opportunities” section where hiring managers and recruiters are posting open positions on a regular basis.
I would also encourage you to fill out your info on Twitter and Facebook. Be careful about the pictures you have on Facebook and the tweets that you send out on Twitter. Employers more than ever are doing a quick “background search” before making job offers and social media sites is where they go.
2. Monitor online job board aggregators.
That may be a mouthful, but let me explain. There are a few online job boards out there that collect open job opportunities from all over the web. These open positions could have originally been posted on company-owned job boards, social media sites like Linkedin, and 3rd party recruiter sites. This will give you access to more opportunities.
Two of the best job board aggregator sites are:
- Indeed.com
- SimplyHired.com
Other great job board sites include:
- Monster.com
- CareerBuilder.com
- Job.com
- Snag-a-job.com
- Beyond.com
- ExecutiveSearch.com
- Idealist.org
3. Network with people everywhere.
Networking is still one of the fastest ways to landing a job. Networking does get easier as you begin to build a reputation, but as a fresh graduate you still need to make it a focus.
One great way to network as a fresh grad is to track down former classmates. Think about the classmates that graduated a year or two before you. They are most likely working for companies that could potentially hire you as well.
The bottom line is that you need to be doing a little bit of all of the above. You never know where that first job might come from.
How did you find your first job out of college? Perhaps you’re looking for a job out of college – how’s the search been going?
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
LinkedIn is definitely a huge boost to your job search endeavors. A great profile highlighting your skills and accomplishments will get headhunters coming to YOU rather than the other way around.
I have had a lot of success with careerbuilder.com in the past and using LinkedIn is a must these days. Even if you are still in college, you should start building your brand now, it’s never too early for that.
For me, it was searching for jobs while I was in college. I went to the career fair my junior year and got an internship. At the end of the internship, they offered my a full time job. I was fortunate to have a paid internship, but if you can’t find anything that pays, take an unpaid internship. It is a great resume builder.