After spending years of hard work gaining your qualification it can be deeply frustrating, demotivating and depressing to find the world of employment may not be welcoming you with open arms. Apart from the specialist techniques of creating a great CV or application form, the task of job seeking can seem like a feat of endurance whether you are looking for a position and career at home or abroad. Luckily, after graduating, there are many things you can do to keep you focused on your final goal and enhance your chances of that all-important first contact with a prospective employer. Below are some of the essential tips you need to be using track down that dream job and career:
Start Early
Graduation year can be the busiest year of your course and there may be a tendency to be focussed too much on short term needs rather than your long term career requirements. Keep the idea of prospecting for work at the forefront of your mind throughout your learning period. Networking is a great way to get your name known.
Let companies and businesses know what qualifications you are taking and when you will be graduating and – most importantly – that you are passionate about working for their company. Start sending out CV’s which detail the qualifications you are hoping to achieve long before your graduation date is on the horizon.
Know the Company
Finding the perfect employment vehicle for your career in your chosen industry is more than just communicating how wonderful you are. Businesses understand that you need to fit into the culture of the organisation. The fact that you are passionate about working for them and you understand how they work can put you streets ahead of your competition. So research the company you are approaching on the internet. When sending out prospecting letters, state how enthusiastic you are about working for them when you graduate and ask if there is a way you could visit. Information you glean from this networking, and these initial contacts will be invaluable for the interview process if you get that far.
Get Seen on The Web
In the modern digital age there is a whole arena of job prospecting opportunities available. As well as finding adverts for employment positions (on sites such as Linkedin and Peak recruitment ) you can also make instant contact with companies you may be interested in working for. At the same time head-hunters use digital media to track down talent so it is important to have an effective and professional presence on the internet. Take time to clean up your profile. Many prospective employers will use social media to glean more information about you before they invite you to interview so before putting a post-up consider – would I want a future employer to see this?
Graduates Need Career Advice Too
Many graduates close themselves off to useful career advice because they feel they believe they know where they are going and do not need guidance. This approach can isolate the job searcher, leave them out of touch with the current job market and with a weaker chance of finding a suitable career. Consider visiting a Career Guidance expert or speaking to a consultant at a recruitment agency who can match your skills, qualifications and experiences to jobs available. Still unsure of the right job and career for you? Seek out friends in your chosen industry and ask them what a day particular role would involve. This is a great filter and reality check.
Re-Visit Previous Employees and Course Jobs
In composing CV’s and application forms do not forget to re-visit past employers and places where you have done on-course work experiences. Genuine feedback from these experiences can put an extra edge to your job application. It shows you can actually practically do the job as well as just learn the theory. In the current job market there is often the dilemma for employers of deciding whether to go with great qualifications or great experience. Show you have both.
Proof Everything!
Think of it as looking excellent before you go for an interview. You would always dress to impress – give your resume the same input. A tie which is loose around the neck can speak volumes – so can bad spelling or bad grammar. You CV or app form maybe the first – and last they see of you. Spelling mistakes makes you look sloppy, lazy, uneducated (!) and maybe not totally passionate about the job you are going for. Check your text again and double check, but even better get a friend or associate to check it for you. A writer can rarely thoroughly proof their own work.
Database for Who You Have Applied For
You are likely to be sending out a lot of application forms and CV’s so you need to keep a check of who you have sent to, the dates they were sent and any other notes which will help you in making secondary contacts. Also, although each CV will be fundamentally the same, they should be angled to the unique post or company you are applying to. So make a record of how each CV differs from the original template. An excel database is perfect for this.
Follow Up You Contacts
If the job advert states the employer will contact you if your enquiry is to be taken further, then refrain from any further contact. Otherwise, do not be afraid to be pester a little. So long as you do it in a professional way and listen to their feedback when they come back to you, at the very least it will show enthusiasm and passion for the work involved.
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