Job Hunting

Looking for a job can feel frustrating, time consuming and overwhelming, but the most important thing is to not give up! To help you on your way to your graduate job, here are some tips to help you job hunt like a pro.

Take opportunities

You may have your heart set on a particular job or working for a certain company, but consider taking a different role in that company first, where you can then work your way up.

If you don’t know what you want to do with the rest of your life or you are in pursuit of a specific job, make sure you are still doing something in the meantime. You need to keep yourself (and your brain) active plus, without good reason it’s difficult to explain to an employer why you have been doing nothing. Take on some volunteering in an area you may be interested in. Volunteering is a great way to ‘test out’ a potential career path and it also demonstrates your willingness to give your time.

Improve your chances

Gain work experience or take up an internship in your desired career. Not only will this give you an insight into what the job entails but the experience you will gain will be valuable on an application. You could also enrol in a short term course to improve your skills such as administration or IT courses.

Consider widening your search area for a job. If there aren’t many career prospects close to home, consider relocating to other regions, where there may be more opportunities available.

Career Development

As a recent graduate, you would want to consider a job that helps you to develop your skills and abilities to make you better at what you do and essentially more profitable in the market.

Before applying for a job, try and find out about the company’s training strategy and development opportunities.

Keep in contact

Remember to keep in touch with your School and the University once you have graduated. Join your Alumni society in order to Network and share opportunities!

Keep your CV updated

In the years you have been at University you would have experienced so much, and it is easy to forget to capture them in your CV. For example volunteering, mentoring, internships, part-time jobs, year abroad, society involvement, work placements are all important experiences to include in your CV. These will demonstrate to a future employer that you have more than a degree to offer and that you have gone out of your way to make yourself employable.

Tailor each application

When sending 50, 70 or over 100 applications at a time, it may seem all too tempting to copy and paste the same CV and covering letter into each application. However, although it may seem that you are saving time and improving your chances, it is actually doing the opposite in order to get that all important interview.

Most job advertisements will receive in excess of 50 applicants, meaning that you need to stand out from the rest. One of the most important ways to do so is to show that you have taken the time to research the company and that you have a real interest in this particular role.

When making your application make sure you mention why you want to work for them, why you are applying for this specific role and how you think you are the ideal candidate for the job.