Simple advice for finding your first job out of college

Filed Under Career

So you graduated college and you still have not found a job. Are you trying hard enough? It’s time to stop going out on weekday nights and start applying to jobs instead. I am a pretty firm believer that if anyone dedicates themselves enough to finding a job, they can find one within a reasonable amount of time. I understand that certain professions are very hard to get into, but I don’t think that is the case for most entry-level business related jobs. Even if it may not be your dream job at your favorite company, stop being picky because the reality is it might take a lot of hard work and time to get to that dream job.

By now, I hope you have some idea of what field you would like to get into. If you graduated with a BS in Business, you most likely concentrated in something like Management, Marketing, Finance, Economics, or Accounting. There are many others concentrations and even other business related fields like IT, but you get the idea of what I am talking about.

Here is some simple advice to help you with the job search process.

1. Prepare Resume and Cover Letter

I will not go into detail here, just do a Google search such as “college graduate resume tips” and follow the proper guidelines to make sure your resume is clean and professional. Being a recent graduate, some people might find it very hard to fill up a page of accomplishments, but you will have to get creative with this. Use filler like your major courses, any retail positions, and worthwhile involvement in any college organizations and clubs.

Once you think your resume is complete, I urge you to have other people review it. The best resume advice I have gotten has been from professors, co-workers while interning, and my older sister. Any of these people will be able to catch corrections and give you great tips on strengthening your resume.

Do a search for sample cover letters and have those handy when it comes time to write one for a specific job. With my experience, cover letters are not absolutely necessary, but if the job posting requests one then definitely supply one. If done right, it can really make you stand out. The first thing I was told when I went on the interview for the internship I got was how they really liked my cover letter.

2. Search & Apply

First, take your major and find out what kind of job titles correlate to entry-level positions in that field. For instance, a Marketing major might look for “Marketing Assistant” or an Accounting major might look for “Entry Level Accountant”. The key words (which are quite obvious) being Assistant and Entry-Level. Mashable has a great list of pretty much all the job search sites available online. My favorite site is probably Indeed because it’s simple and searches many of the popular sites at once. It also has good filtering options to narrow down results.

Posting your resume on Monster and CareerBuilder is also a good way to get employers to find you. Be careful though because you will most likely get many calls from shady companies or recruiters. There are many good business recruiters out there that would love to help you find your first job, just be clear with them of what you are looking for or else they will just try to push you into the job that will make them the most money.

Find out what companies are the best and biggest in your area. Generally, they will pay the best salaries, but also be the hardest to get into. But it doesn’t hurt to try if they have entry-level positions open. If you know someone that already works for a company you want to apply to, it also helps very much to have them submit your resume for any open positions your interested in. Most of the time, they will be more than willing to help you, especially since most companies provide referral bonuses.

By using sites like Monster, CareerBuilder, and Indeed, you can browse and see which companies you recognize and appeal to you. I like to also go directly to the companies career websites if they have one. Going directly to their site makes it easier to see all their open positions at once and their sites usually provide complete job descriptions and all the qualifications for every open position.

3. Wait & Pray

The first call will usually be from Human Resources telling you they are interested in setting up an interview. If you do not hear from any of the positions you applied for within 2 weeks, move on and apply to more jobs. There is really not much you can do if you don’t get a call at all. Most likely they reviewed your resume right after you submitted it and decided you were not qualified for the job. Just move on.

4. Interview Tips

Do a search for common interview questions and behavioral interview questions. Pick at least 20-25 questions and practice your answers until you are confident you could answer them without getting nervous, but make sure you don’t sound too rehearsed. Try to stay as honest as possible, while tailoring your answer to what the employer will want to hear. If you are unsure on how to answer a certain question, Google the whole question and start reading tips and sample responses like this one. Look at samples and tailor them to your own experiences and characteristics.

I hope I don’t need to tell you how to dress professional, arrive early, ask good questions, and bring extra copies of your resume.

5. Thank You Email

Try to get business cards from everyone you interview with. I like to send a short email, maybe 3-4 sentences with simple “thank you for the opportunity” and “looking forward to the next step” type statements. Again, search for some examples of thank you emails for guidance. Some of the examples you find could be lengthy. It is up to you to decide how long you want your email to be but my advice would be to keep it short.

6. Wait & Pray

Very similar to Step 3, except now you are waiting for a call where they tell you they are going to make you an offer.

7. Offers

Take the time to think about an offer and review it over a day or two before you respond. Take everything into consideration and not just compensation. Try the commute during rush hours to see how traffic is and ask yourself if you could handle the commute everyday. Usually there is not much room for salary negotiation for your first job so don’t get too greedy. Companies normally start all entry-level employees at the same salary depending solely on the position.

In Conclusion…

Your first job will give you a chance to show what you are capable of so take it seriously and network with as many people as possible. If you are not happy right away, give it some time before you decide it’s not for you. It may take years to finally settle into a job you enjoy so it’s important to make sure you are accepting the right job in the first place. Of course, you may think it’s right for you at the time and end up not enjoying it, but that is part of the learning experience that comes with being new to the job market. Just remember, any experience is always better than no experience.

This is obviously not meant to be a complete guide, but just some general quick tips that will hopefully be helpful to you in some way. Be smart and be patient. If your lucky, the whole process from applying, getting a callback, interviewing, to getting the first offer could take 2-3 weeks.

If you are unable to find a job within a month of applying to many positions, then I would start questioning “Why?”. Search for more advice, talk to more experienced people, make the proper adjustments, and try again. If all else fails, start your own business or go back to college.