Dear College Graduates: Tips to land that first job after graduation

It's that time of year again. Four years of college sure fly by quickly. You've spent countless hours cramming for exams, studying handouts, notes and material, spending sleepless nights preparing for mid-terms and final exams. You finally have that coveted scroll of parchment in your hand. The world is at your fingertips. Your choices are endless. You have your entire, wonderful, magical life ahead of you. College life is over and real life is unfolding before you, it's time to buckle down once more; now the real work begins. It's time to focus not on classes and exams, but on getting yourself prepared to find that first job ^[1].

Many factors determine the success or failure of new college g raduates finding their first job immediately after graduation. It is important to begin the process as soon as possible, preferably BEFORE graduation to avoid the post-graduation feeding frenzy when the job market is flooded with more applicants than there are jobs ^[2].

Beginning the job hunting process.

For starters, it's extremely important to clean up your social media profiles. Most companies today (80% according to Microsoft) search the social media profiles of all applicants; so, one of the first things a college student ^[3] should do while still in college, (and this is critical) is to go through their social media profiles and postings, and delete all postings, comments, photos, shares, and comments on posts they are tagged in that could send up a red-flag to a potential employer. Students should set privacy settings on social media to alert them when they are tagged in a photo, video or comment in order to screen what is placed on his or her profile. The student then has control over what gets posted to their social media outlet and can remove the tag thereby not having it show up on his/her wall. Also, set up a LinkedIn profile containing all of your relevant degree information. You can also add your resume to your LinkedIn profile. Get rid of the cute, fun, college email address. Use a professional email address such as using your first initial and last name @gmail.com. To assist you in managing your online go to Defensive Googling (/guides/google/defensive-googling-method.shtml)

Next, get and keep your resume up to date. Keep everything relevant to the career ^[4] path you are following. Do not put in your interests such as cooking, camping, hiking, et cetera, unless it pertains directly to the job you are applying to, but do include your college activities, sports, associations, clubs, your major and minor, internships, and your GPA. If your major could take you in many directions, craft multiple resumes to fit those jobs.

Keep an open mind. Many new graduates have grandiose visions of stepping directly into that dream job right after college, but the reality is that most job seekers will have to settle, initially, for getting their foot in the door. Keep an open mind to gaining employment in different positions within the same field initially; but don't make the mistake of not focusing on one or two specific types of jobs. Focus and pinpoint you job search to drastically increase your success rate.

Put together a list of employers you want to contact. If you are in the technology field, one of the best lists of tech companies is the Deloittle Technology Fast 500 (http://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/industries/technology-media-and-telecommu...^[5] If you have a desire to work for a large corporation with a lot of advancement opportunities you might want to check out Forges 2000(http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbespr /2014/05/07/forbes-11th-annual-globa...^[6], and America's largest privately-held companies (http://www.forbes.com/largest-private-companies/list/^[7]. For smaller companies, search Inc. 5000 (http://www.inc.com/inc5000/welcome ^[8]). If you are considering a move to another state or city, consi der checking out Forbes' Best Places for Business and Careers (http://www.forbes.com/best-places-for-business/list/^[9].

Once your resume is newly crafted or up to date, and you have done your research on companies, jobs and locations you are interested in, it's time to go check out some career fairs. Job fairs will put you directly in the path of hiring managers. Take a stack of resumes and cover letters with you along with a separate list of at least three to four persons for both personal and professional references, complete with full names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers, listed alphabetically by last name for each category (professional references listed first, then your personal references) and brush up on your interview skills. Get your job hunting strategies written down in a list and check off each completed task. This will help you focus and target specific jobs, employers, locations and industries for which you want to apply. This will dramatically increase your chances of a successfully acquiring that first job.

Happy Career Hunting!

www.theresumestudios.com
www.highsierraresume.com ^[10]^[11]

References:

Joyce, S. P. (n.d.). First Job After College Graduation. In www.job-hunt.com ^[12]. Retrieved from www.job-hunt.org/onlinejobsearchguide/articles_first_job_after_college.s...^[13].

6 Tips for Finding Your First Job After College. (n.d.). In University Language Services. Retrieved from www.universitylanguage.com/job-search/job-after-college ^[14].

www.forbes.com ^[15]