Things I Wish I Knew Before Graduating College
Getting a job is difficult in the current market. Every company wants you to have experience, but how do you apply for jobs with no experience, if you need experience? It’s a catch-22.
And as much as the world has come to love remote jobs, this has made the job market that much tougher, as these positions are now open to practically the whole world. Again, this leads you to struggling to stand out without experience. The biggest lesson I learned was to start the job search process as early as possible, before graduating.
Networking After College
After graduating and moving to a different state, I really felt lost in my job search. I knew I had a lot to offer but couldn’t seem to show that to employers. I started working at a restaurant and taking a Google Analytics course just to have something to do to make me feel productive.
I was willing to take any job that had marketing in the title just to get experience. Taking jobs not necessarily on your path can still help you to get connections until you land your dream job. You should always network wherever you go. I met Stepfani while I was working at a local restaurant, and it resulted in me getting a job at SKC Creative, doing exactly what I wanted to do.
Knowing people, and often times luck, really play a role in the job process. At events and gatherings, I would always let people know what I am doing career wise because you never know when you can meet the right person at the right time.
Setting Goals For Yourself
I recommend giving yourself realistic timelines to your job search. I graduated a semester early so I gave myself the goal of applying to 7 positions a week and to (hopefully) land a job in the first 5 months of applying.
The job search process can be very time consuming. You will realistically hear back from a third of the companies you applied for, and in my case they were 95-percent rejection letters saying I didn’t have enough experience. As unfortunate as it is not getting a job you really wanted, you shouldn’t be ashamed of the rejection. Think about all the other jobs you have the opportunity to get now.
Small tip: don’t tell people you’re applying for certain jobs you really want because if you don’t get it, it makes you feel much worse - trust me I learned from experience!
Resumes & Resources
After you graduate, there should still be some resources open to you from your school. I went to virtual meetings with our center for career and professional development to go over my resume and how to maximize the experience I do have, even if it wasn’t directly related to marketing.
Internships are important for your resume but can be just as hard to get if you don’t like interviewing like me. To improve your resume, pull out qualities and tasks from past jobs that align with the requirements from the job position you’re applying for.
The Interview Process
As an anxious person, interviewing truly can be your worst nightmare. I want the interviewer to see how hardworking and dedicated I would be to my job, but it’s hard to do in a 15 minute interview where they ask you stereotypical job hiring questions.
I do recommend creating some sort of personal connection before the interview even starts, this way the interviewer will remember you. Although, I did have some tough interviewers where it was hard to form this connection because they were just reading a script of questions off a paper.
I’m sure you’ve heard this a million times, but make sure you are doing your part before the interview, preparing your answers to common questions and doing your research on the company you’re applying with. It will reduce your stress over the interview drastically.
If you are feeling anxious or stuck during the job search process, remember there are plenty of other people going through the same thing. It's crucial to keep in mind, too, that your current position is not a life sentence. The right opportunity often aligns with meeting the right person at the right time, and this cannot be rushed. A positive mindset and persistence is what helped me get through the challenging job search process.
You’ve got this!
