How To Land Your First Job Out Of College

Graduating from college is a great life accomplishment.  You’ve worked hard for years and now have the chance to finally put your knowledge to the test along with your wonderful self out there for the professional world to enjoy. 
As the college parties and farewells subside new college grads inevitably come face to face with a sobering reality...
...the fact that finding their first career job isn’t easy!Ideally, students should start focusing on their careers and entrance into their industry of choosing in their junior year of college, but more than likely you’ve waited till the very last day of school to think about it.  Regardless of the situation you are in as you start to look for work it’s important to head into the process of finding a job armed with the right mental attitude and a winning game plan.
Before you start looking for a new job it’s important to understand how these common new grad thought processes below can hurt your chances of landing a job:

1. $80k out the gates (sure, there are the top 1% that will actually get a salary of $80k or higher, for the rest of new grads consider yourself lucky if you make more than $55k in your first year at work; in fact NACE which tracks national data on volumes of economic data points shared that graduates of the 2015 class experienced on average a first year salary of $50,651.)
2. Why I need more money (I’ve heard this more than a dozen times when a new grad explains to me that the reason they are looking for ‘X’ salary (a higher salary than what the market dictates for an entry level job) is because they have to pay off student loans; I hate to break it to you but companies aren’t on the hook for paying off your student loans or compensating you more just because you have bills)
3. What is taught in school is the same in the work place (while school is good for many things, such as learning theoretical knowledge and discipline, often times the academic environment falls short on giving students a real dose of what life is like in the professional workplace; the main issue here is that theoretical knowledge doesn’t necessarily translate into application; in the working world if you can’t apply what you know or have learned than you are about as useful as a Ferrari without a steering wheel)
4. Employers will hire me for my education (it’s not completely a myth, however the majority of the time companies hire new grads based on the persons culture fit, personality, grit, polished professionalism, energy, creativity, potential, etc.; many companies employ a hiring method referred to as ‘character over competency’)
5. Masters’ degrees give you a leg up (if you are graduating with a Masters’ degree and you have no work experience well then you’re starting off from the same spot everyone else is, just often times you expect more money because of your advanced education; be careful here, a Masters’ degree doesn’t necessarily make you better initially in your career, however having an advanced degree years down the road will certainly bode well for you in most careers)

Now that you’ve got a good head on your shoulders and understand a bit more of how the professional workplace functions you’ll need to do the following:

1. Spend time researching different industries (if you graduated college and already know what industry you want to work in than you’re one step ahead of the game; when researching remember that it is just as valuable if during your efforts you learn about a career or industry that you would absolutely never want to do – you can then strike that off your list and move on to better suited opportunities)
2. Have a better than average resume (your resume is a written bio of who you are, if it is sloppy in formatting, has spelling or grammar mistakes than rest assure the people on the other end who are reading it are either passing you up or making poor assumptions on your behalf; take the necessary time to build a great resume and have it proofed by at least two people who are professionals in the field you want to get into)
3. Network with people in your field before you graduate (please don’t graduate from school and think you’re going to land the sweetest gig ever without doing work ahead of time, that’s foolhardy; the best way to accomplish landing a great job is by spending time with people in the industry beforehand so you can build relationships and get to know how things work in your local area)
4. Go to as many career fairs as possible (it’s another way of networking but you’re also speaking with companies that are hiring which will give you the chance to work on your interviewing skills – which hopefully will lead to you landing that coveted job; also make sure you go to your schools career center to see what help they can lend)
5. Get an internship or co-op (this is by far the best thing you can do for yourself to land a good job; companies use internships to allow new grads to come in and learn a skill while also giving the company a chance to check out the freshest talent in the market; don’t be fooled, even if they tell you the internship isn’t designed to become a full time job you should still treat it like it as such)
6. Build a relationship with a recruiter (finding a recruiter who specializes in your field is a great way to add additional fire power to your job search as they know which companies are hiring, which companies are worth working for and can often assist you through the interview process)
7. Practice Interviewing (it doesn’t matter if you practice in front of a mirror or with your best friend, spending time practicing your answers to typical interview questions, along with body language and other mannerisms)

Landing your first job out of school is a matter of constant focus and discipline.  Take the time to prepare and make sure every interaction you have with someone in your field of work leaves that person thinking “I need her on my team!”