Tips to Jumpstart Your Career Search

If you recently graduated and find yourself looking with envy at current college students enjoying not faced with the chore of finding a first job out of school, you’re not alone. Many recent grads are looking to the job market for the first time, but what they’re experiencing is often not what they were sold by professors or career center specialists. So, chances are you did some job hunting over the summer, but gave yourself a whole list of excuses why it was ok to not rush the process. As loan payments become due, and parents start to wonder when you’re going to move out of your childhood home, you realize you have no real clue where to start.

Career seekers should take honest stock of what you’ve done so far. Know how your passions, experiences, and education align and what you may want to do with those skills. Now start the research phase! This might mean thinking of your network – friends, family, businesses where you live, and professors who you made relationships with. Often there’s someone who knows someone who can offer you advice or point you to a company or contact that could benefit you.

New grads need to use tech for more than just social media! Tools like 1stGig allow you to make genuine connections with companies looking to hire people like you – how will you know? You’ll only be alerted to matches with career opportunities that align with you. Don’t ignore the power of LinkedIn for finding connections, and don’t be shy of shooting an email or text to a family/friend that you admire to see if they have some time to chat.

Really struggling to get motivated? TheMuse.com came up with a 10-hr plan to kick off the process by devoting an entire day to the career search. If this one-two-punch isn’t for you or you want to spread this out over a few days, ideas like networking lunches, informational interviews, and brainstorming ideal roles are solid foundations to making process.

And just because you take that route doesn’t mean that it’ll still fall into place exactly when you snap your fingers. Keep in mind the importance of consistently doing your best to insert yourself into the conversations around opportunities that you’d like to be a part of – otherwise how else will....

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