So, after four long years of tests, papers, all-nighters, and turning down countless opportunities to hang out with your friends, you’ve finally made it—graduation. With a diploma in your hand and the whole world spread out in front of you, there’s not much that you can’t accomplish, right? Fast forward to the day after your graduation ceremony: your boxes from your dorm room or apartment are packed, your summer is beginning to look endless, and your starting to realize that unless you want to move back into your parent’s basement, you’re going to need to find a job. All of a sudden, the relief and accomplishment you felt for completing your degree has gone down the drain, only to be replaced by worry and stress. What’s a recent college grad to do?
The answer: don’t panic. And then: use your brain. Although it can be tempting to get into a spiral of “what if I don’t find a job” and “what am I doing with my life”, try to avoid going down those thought paths. It might take a little time, but you’ve just done something incredibly difficult that required years of focus and dedication. Don’t let something like finding a job deter you.
First of all, if you haven’t already done so, take a look at your resume. Revise, update, and polish it up until it looks professional and worthy of you and your new degree. Keep it concise (preferably one page, but two at the maximum), make sure it looks mature, and double check the wording you use on everything. If the task seems a bit daunting, or you don’t know where to start, simply use an internet search engine to find examples of resumes and you can even find resume templates that allow you to fill your information in.
Second, take a look at your connections. Networking is one of the best ways to find a job, especially in the field you’re hoping for. You probably made at least one acquaintance with someone in your department at school—use that connection! Get in touch with them and ask if they know of any open opportunities, and whether they would be willing to pass your information along to anyone that might have a job position that needs filling. Many colleges also have a Career Development department that is completely devoted to helping students and alumni find employment opportunities. There are often people who are willing to go through a resume and job search with you, and they also have a database of connections in your field. This is probably one of the best resources that you have available to you—the university will be able to highly recommend you, and you will have a solid lead to go off of.
Finally, when all else fails, hit the streets (literally and figuratively). Getting what you want often takes work, and this plays out in different ways depending on the job you want. For some, it means physically going into the offices or area that they want to work in and giving the person in charge a glimpse of them and their tenacity. For others, it means scouring the internet, writing up samples and corresponding with major players in the company you want to work for. Regardless of how you go about it, one thing remains the same in all situations: you’re only going to get what you go after. If you really want a job in a prominent company, you may have to start at the bottom and work your way up. If you really want to write for a certain publication, you may have to write, and rewrite, and rewrite again, making sure that the articles you submit are up to the level that the publication requires.
Finding a job after graduating from college and be a daunting and wearying task. However, all the hard work and effort will pay off in the end when you have found yourself working the job you wanted, spending your time doing the things you love. Just remember—persistence is the key!
