The
labor market may be tough for new college grads – but it’s not hopeless.
Here are some of the popular tips university career experts offered for
those who are still searching.
Don’t quit before you’ve started. Some students are
so frustrated by the state of the economy they haven’t bothered to look
for a job. “I tell them, ‘Look that’s a self-fulfilling prophesy,’” said
Kitty McGrath, executive director of career services at Arizona State
University. “If you don’t look then you know you won’t have a job.”
Prioritize. “Is it likely that you’re going to get
your A, No. 1, first job and see lots of those? No,” said ASU’s McGrath.
Decide in advance how much time you’ll spend pursuing your first choice
— a month for example — and then expand the search to include other
positions, McGrath said.
Search across industries. “The major doesn’t
necessarily equal their career,” said Katharine Brooks, director of the
career center for the Liberal Arts college at the University of Texas at
Austin. “They really need to focus on the value of what they’ve learned
and be able to articulate that to an employer.”
Rely on networking. “More and more of our employers
are providing full-time job offers to their interns as a first choice,”
Wayne Wallace, director of the career resources center at the University
of Florida in Gainesville. So stay in touch with former internship
employers and devote more time to expanding your professional network
than searching online job sites.
Only opt for graduate school if you have a plan.
“There are students who are, what I would say, punting and saying ‘Why
don’t I get the graduate degree?’” said Matthew Berndt, director of
career services for the Communications school at the University of Texas
at Austin. But that only makes sense if students know what they’re
going to study and how it will help them get a better position once
they’re finished. If that’s not clear, then “you’re still not any more
capable of telling an employer what you want to do and why you want to
work for them,” Berndt said.
Be willing to relocate. “Those students who are
willing to migrate and to take a chance on a new part of the country and
take a chance on a brand new job have more options,” said Florida’s
Wallace.
Do your research. If you’re meeting with an
employer, be knowledgeable about the business and be able to articulate
why you’re a good fit for the position and the company.
Remember: A new job is only the first step. “The first job they get
out of college in almost every single case is just one step on the path
to their eventual career,” said Rebecca Sparrow, director of career
services at Cornell University. So don’t “try to think too much about
this needing to be the perfect thing. Most people are not going to stay
in that first job for 10 years,” Sparrow said.
This is an article from WSJ.You may follow the link below for more info.
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/04/03/job-search-tips-for-new-college-graduates/
