Careers, Featured, Your Career
5 DOs and DON’Ts for Landing Your First Job After College
Michael Clark
So, to acquire your first job, you must do the right things and prevent potential blunders. Landing on the job is essential!
5 DOs for successfully landing in your first job
Create a LinkedIn Profile
This is one of the first tasks you should complete as soon as you arrive at college. Creating a network of like-minded professionals is incredibly inspiring, and you may do by utilizing the LinkedIn platform. When establishing the profile, take special care to include only genuine information and not any fluff. Be active and frequently write about the seminars you’re attending or what you’re learning for your career.
Begin by incorporating honors or accolades, a review of your talents, and a synopsis of the kind of careers that may interest you; it’s a good idea to start early. Include internships you’ve held; they demonstrate that you’re ambitious and capable of taking on responsibilities. You can delete your early jobs and add new ones as you gain experience and move up in your career.
Research about the future perspectives
You should research your future perspectives on the career opportunities before finalizing anything. The internet provides answers to any inquiries people may have. For example, a graduate seeking a position as Paleontologist would discover that just a few people successfully crack a job in their discipline. This information helps her in the future and impacts her final decision.
Build a strong resume
There are still so many people who do not have a solid CV, even though you might assume everyone knows this. All they do is scribble down all the points in haste. Instead, update your resume, check for spelling and grammatical issues, and personalize it each time you apply for a job to increase your chances of being seen. Another option is to design a visual resume builder to help your CV stand out. Check that your references are still up to date and reachable at the email and phone numbers mentioned, and always add a personal cover letter when applying for a job.
A generic ‘to whom it may concern’ greeting will no longer suffice in today’s tech-savvy world when all it takes to find out who your application is destined for is a quick Google search.
Create your portfolio
Sometimes your resume is simply not enough. Your portfolio is your ultimate rescuer in these times. Nowadays, most recruiting managers want you to demonstrate your website or portfolio of works. You should be prepared. Personal websites address many interview questions, putting you ahead of the competition.
Actively follow the placement cell of your college
Even though this appears to be the most obvious path to get career advice, according to the report, just 29 percent of students visit their college’s placement cell. They are the ones that work tirelessly every month to guarantee that as many students from the college as possible get placed. Consequently, you should never overlook them.
They will connect you with an alum who works in your subject of interest and can help you find a job. The alumni database is the most powerful resource for helping with résumé and cover letter development and job interview preparation.
5 DON’Ts for successfully landing in your first job
Don’t wait till graduation to start applying
You may believe that you should first complete your graduation and then look for employment, but this is the most common error that you can make that severely limits your career prospects. You should start the process of applying as soon as you enter your last year. You will require a lot of time to figure out your preparation level and how much additional work you need to do on them. It is unlikely that you will be picked after the first interview. So, keep an eye on the clock.
Don’t ignore your CGPA
Ignoring CGPA is one of the most common blunders made by pupils. They believe that CGPA is unimportant and ignore the coursework. Don’t make this error. Most recruiting companies use a CGPA as a criterion for only applying. If you do not match that criterion, you will be rejected at the admission stage.
Don’t ignore interview preparation
Have you gone through your interview questions yet? Have you prepared a list of follow-up questions? You are not ready for an interview if you answered no to any or all these questions! Don’t allow performance anxiety to ruin your prospects once you’ve gotten through the door for an interview, especially if you lack formal experience.
Don’t stay an introvert
Most organizations require the ability to communicate clearly and effectively both in-person and in print. Employers search for this in applicants, especially entry-level workers. An applicant with a solid résumé but weak communication skills may lose out to a less qualified candidate who knows how to communicate their argument properly. So, don’t stay an introvert. Communicate with everyone around you.
Don’t ignore internships
Getting an internship at a company is never too early or too late. According to the research, students do not recognize the benefits of internships and cannot obtain them. So, anytime you come across an internship opportunity, take advantage of it. Don’t overthink about the eligibility criteria. Apply to anything and everything.
Conclusion
Applying for jobs doesn’t guarantee you’ll get them all, but that’s not the point. There is only one job available, and it must be the proper one. If you have a solid CV, cover letter, LinkedIn profile, and well-developed cover letter and interview approach, you’re well on your way to the next step of your career.