Searching for your first job requires hard work, and we’re here to support you at every step. How you start your job search will determine your overall impression, enthusiasm, and future job prospects. This is too much to take lightly. Similar to any activity, you’ll improve with practice. The question of how to find a job in college cannot be answered in a few words. The following steps are designed to help you refine your search skills and achieve success in landing your desired job.
Job Hunting Tips For Students
Now we want to better develop actions that will help students stand out from the applicants. This is especially difficult to do at first, because you don’t have much experience, and often you may not have enough skills. How you present yourself can be much more important.
#1 Prepare A List Of The Most Suitable Employers
You can hardly count on the fact that large and desirable employers will take a look at you and offer you a job. Such a privilege can only go to outstanding people, such as the captain of a college football team or those who have written a successful dissertation.
What’s all this for? You should make a list of employers that suit you and contact them with an offer. Here are some valuable tips:
- State why you want to work with them. A personalized proposal can often outweigh more formulaic resumes. The reason is simple, it indicates a person’s enthusiasm that many more experienced colleagues lack.
- Be persistent, but not too persistent. Every large company reviews dozens or hundreds of candidates every day, so there is a high probability that you will be eliminated because you do not look so good compared to someone else. Come another day and try again, perhaps for a different position. This multiplies your chances.
- Study the life of the company. By visiting a company’s social media pages, you can gain insights into their day-to-day operations. If you can find common ground with the recruiter, your chances of getting the job will increase dramatically.
#2 Use the Power of AI
When it comes to corporate job openings, an average of 250 applications flood in, compelling companies to resort to technology for resume screening. Remarkably, according to Jobscan, 99% of Fortune 500 employers utilize an applicant tracking system, which is AI-powered software. It categorizes resumes into “yes” and “no” stacks based on keywords, years of experience, educational background, and other criteria. These mysterious algorithms possess immense power in shaping one’s career prospects and, consequently, their socioeconomic future. The true workings behind these algorithms remain undisclosed.
Until recently, you could only guess the magic combination of keywords and acceptable resume formats that would pass ATS scrutiny and get your application to a human hiring manager. Now, you have AI-powered tools at your disposal to remove some of the mystique—and frustration—from your job hunt. From AI-powered resume builders to keyword scanners and application tracking tools, you are increasingly empowered to use technology in what is often an exhausting, psychologically and financially taxing process: finding a job.
#3 Improve Your Resume
This is an important point, since the recruiter only has 20-30 seconds, or maybe 7 seconds, to get to know you. He should see all your strengths and merits at once. Be open to creating multiple resumes if you are applying for different types of jobs. However, always ensure to personalize your resume even when applying for the same type of position at different companies.
#4 Try to Leave Your Region
Many job-hunting strategies involve working with international companies that are also based in your country or city. You can expand your search to include companies that are not present in your country but are ready to work remotely. Try installing VeePN for iPhone and find a job exchange in another country. This practice allows you to get a better job offer, sometimes even many times more than in your local labor market.
#5 Apply to Jobs For Which You Are Not Qualified
While it is important to prioritize applying for positions aligned with your qualifications, don’t hesitate to submit applications even if you don’t meet every requirement. If you believe you are suitable for the job, the employer might consider giving you an opportunity. By refraining from applying, you will never find out. If you arrive at the right moment, you will get your position. For example, if a previous employee is burned out and the company urgently needs a person, they are even ready to train him. Or maybe the job means that you will have to retrain professionals a lot and it will be easier for the company to hire you.
#6 Update Online Profiles
Your representation on professional profiles directly affects outcomes. We understand that creating a great online profile requires time and effort. However, a well-developed profile helps build a positive professional reputation. Recruiters and hiring managers can form a negative impression from incomplete or sloppy profiles.
To achieve the best results, create or update their online professional profiles. Career Services provides resources to guide the process of developing an effective online presence.
- Utilize Handshake, the top platform for college students to find jobs.
- An effective job search necessitates a LinkedIn profile. Not only does it establish a professional presence, but it also enables students to search for jobs and connect with CU alumni groups.
- Emphasize their work and projects by building an online portfolio through BuffsCreate.
- Join the online community of fellow Buffs by creating a Forever Buffs Network profile.
#7 Speak the Same Language to HR
It will be useful for you to know what HR is thinking about. These are pretty basic and common terms, but unless you’ve worked before, you won’t know about them. Understanding the terms will give you an idea of what exactly to ask and what to look for. Plus it will help you find a common language with the recruiter.
Final Words
If you have the right expectations, go into the job search process prepared, and know how to work with out-of-state employers, your chances of getting a good job will be maximized. Of course, you still have to gain experience and develop skills, but this takes too much time. It is better to gain this experience in the workplace, so it will be closest to the real requirements of companies and quite valuable for future employers.
