Nowadays, many undergrads who are finishing their studies are concerned about finding a job right before or at their graduation. That comes with no surprise since the amount of entry-level jobs available in the United States is far lower than the amount of people graduating with their Bachelor’s degree. And chances are your degree might not be from a prestigious Ivy League school that employers seek after.
If that’s the case, fear not, as there are still many ways to improve your chances at employment. From here onwards, always keep in mind that everything suggested here are ways to make you stand out from the rest. There are plenty of other ideas and suggestions out there, but these are what worked well for me, and hopefully you will do the same as well.
1. Don’t keep your local bartending/server job.
I saw this happen very often among friends when I graduated. Many friends who were magically shuffling their work schedule with the worst possible class schedules got so accustomed to it that they stayed at it post-graduation, seeking an “ideal” job. When you’re fresh off school, if you don’t get what you want, you take what you get. But what you get needs to mean that it goes in the direction which you’ve put four years (and thousands in student loans) towards. Which brings me to my next point:
2. Seek employment in small to mid-size companies.
While I have no aspirations for the time being to hold a Chief Marketing Officer title at a Fortune 100 company, it doesn’t mean you don’t. However, one pattern (that backfired) among my graduating class was the belief that they would get jobs at companies like Google and Apple right off the bat.
Unless you really have an impressive resume, you will still have a hard time getting a job at these companies as competition among entry-level people is fierce. With a small company, measure where the company stands the day you start. If you can prove on paper that you made a difference when you apply for the job you really want in 2-3 years, then you’re set! Nothing speaks more confidence than actual results!!
3. Still can’t find a job? Time to be humble and prove yourself first: Get an internship.
My first job post-graduation started as an internship. While we were talking the (minimal) compensation terms for the internship, I made sure to negotiate a full-time position within 90 days if I met certain criteria. The thought here is that if you have a chance to prove yourself to an employer, you make a strong case to be put on board. This point cannot be stressed enough, and I will take some time to write an entire article on this soon.
4. Get certified!
Compared to what you probably pay in one semester, this is a very cheap game changer on your resume. Regardless of what you studied, chances are that there is a certification for it. That means that even though you are new, someone credible vouches for you! When I got my Salesforce Certified Administrator title I saw things considerably change. Study notes were available online and the exam only set me back US$200.
These four points are again, some of the things that I’ve noticed and used to my advantage when I got out of college. Since then, I have worked two jobs, got sponsored for an H1B Visa (as an international student in the US), and now finally moved on to start my own company in a field of my choosing.
I will continue to post more articles on job seeking for undergrads, but in the meantime, if you made it this far and you are seeking an internship, please get in touch with FullOpp. We are always looking for a few extra players to our team. Please go to our Contact page and send us a note!