New Graduate Employment Tips
Are you graduating soon or a new graduate seeking employment? If so, I suggest that you assess your skills, develop a plan of action, and then execute. Why? Preparation is the key to success, and you will find suitable employment much faster if you have a plan. To assist, this article provides new-graduate employment tips.
Along with today’s business leaders, most of us know that this is not the easiest time to find work, which means that new college graduates really need to stand out. A couple of ways you can accomplish this include excelling in your communications skills and (2) defining your job search to cover a broader path. In doing so, you will identify opportunities outside of your college major, but within the scope of your competencies.
Below are four new-graduate employment tips to assist in your job search:
Be Open to Change – Broaden Your Job Search
There are many stories of successful people who hold positions in government and business that they never planned or desired. Their message teaches us that life will take you on a journey, but when you’re open to change you can see beyond the horizon.
Be flexible in your plans, which will enable you to identify suitable career opportunities outside of your chosen major. Consider this, a marketing executive who is also a life coach and a writer.
“Soft Skills” Matter – Employers Expect to see Soft Skills on Your Resume
“Soft skills” describe an employee’s ability to navigate the workplace, to include displaying leadership skills, demonstrating professionalism, and communicating effectively. These personality traits are transferrable and vital to your success. Hiring managers insist that graduates who highlight and demonstrate relevant soft skills are more likely to be successful in attaining and maintaining a job.
Note: Be sure to list soft skills acquired while working as an intern. Here’s why…more than 80 percent of hiring managers source for new graduates who have completed formal internships, and 100 percent want to hire graduates who can communicate with authority figures, manage projects, and work in diverse groups (Time).
“Be Ambitious” – Make Decisions that will Shape your Future
“Be ambitious, there probably will not be another time in your life when you will have such freedom of opportunity,” insightful words from Richard Branson, Virgin Group founder, in his address to the Graduating Class of 2013 (Forbes).
In short, evaluate your strengths, talents, and passions, and seize moments to pursue available opportunities or create them.
Network and Continue to Network
Networking is invaluable tool that career coaches, resume writers, and other career experts continually promote. Many graduates develop anxiety while looking for work, and they sometimes forget the power of networking.
If you’re a recent college graduate, answer the following:
- Have you visited your Career Services Office or sought out a qualified Career Coach to help with your resume, cover letter, or interviewing skills?
- Are you networking with right people, including professors, friends, associates, and family members?
- Is your LinkedIn profile current and congruent with all other career documentation?
- Do you attend and actively engage in your college alumni networking events?
The correct response to all of the above should be “yes,” as these activities can be instrumental in helping you identify new career opportunities.
Now that you have graduated or will soon graduate, assess your skills (all of them), and then develop a career-search plan. As mentioned earlier, identify jobs that you are qualified for and be willing to expand your employment search. If you follow these new-graduate employment tips, you will enhance your ability to capitalize on other unique career opportunities.