There’s little argument that finding your first job is the hardest. Oh, well. At least you’re getting the hardest career step out of the way first. With that said, many people have a difficult time getting into a long-term, full-time job. This blog post will share the many things to implement that will boost your chances of getting a fantastic first job. If you do most or all of the strategies listed, you’ll do just fine. Now let’s go get you some money… I mean let’s get you a job!
Make It Known What Kind of Job You’re Looking For
The most important part of finding a job is to let people know you’re looking. Let everyone know. Before hitting the pavement, try this approach. This approach is awesome because if you nail it, you’ll be a millionaire. It’s the strategy of letting other people come to you. It’s passive. This means you don’t have to spend tons of time networking and pitching yourself. Getting things passive (especially income!) is how rich people do things. You want to be rich don’t you? Make sure you make things passive. Letting people come to you via social media is a good first step.
Make it known on your social media profiles (especially LinkedIn). First, make sure your social media profiles show you well in a professional light. That is, remove any embarrassing photos. Try not to look like the average young person.
If your LinkedIn page is terrible and you’re at a loss what to do, hire a friend to give it a redesign. It won’t be too expensive. Or look online for someone who does this service. A good first impression will surely be worth a little upfront money. Again, it is absolutely unnecessary for hire someone. LinkedIn is pretty easy to tailor. But if you find yourself procrastinating – hire someone! You want your profiles looking good ASAP.
You’ll also want to mention to everyone you know what type of job you desire. Bring it up in nearly every conversation. You’ll be surprised who “Knows someone who knows someone who needs someone.” A few years ago, I began getting pretty fluent at web design. One morning, I thought I should take on clients. I was at the eye doctor’s when I had this idea. I mentioned it to the eye doctor when he asked what business I did online. Turns out the doctor had four businesses he wanted good websites built for. One quick mention can set the wheels in motion for you to receive thousands.
Seek Help from Your University
Universities have career services departments. Most people either don’t know of them or disregard them. That’s a mistake. Pop in. Ask if they know of anyone who’s looking for a person like yourself. They probably do. After all, businesses often contact university’s but the students are rare to respond. I’m not sure why. When I was in uni, I made good friends with the career services department. They offered to line me up in all sorts of positions. That’s actually how I got my first job.
Know How to Ace an Interview
They say primary school is a popularity contest. I have news for you. Life is a popularity contest. No one wants to hire someone they dislike. Why would they want to see a person they dislike day in and day out.
I’m not saying this is fair. I’m not saying this is right. But it happens all the time. That’s why a lot of companies have a lot of dead weight in their offices. The boss has a friend they hired. Or the maintenance guy’s son got a cushy job just to keep the maintenance guy happy and working for a pittance. It’s weird. It’s bad business. But humans are emotional creatures and we’re irrational at times.
With that said, be likable. If you can be likable, they will train you for skills. To be likable, arrive on-time and prepared. Show respect for everyone you meet. Show genuine interest in their jobs and the company culture. Be a team player. Make friends with everyone you meet. Show that you’ll fit in nicely. Be ready to talk about your hard skills. But since you’re just out of university, most employers don’t expect you to have many. You’ll be surprised how little they may care about how well you did in stats class.
Only Talk with Companies Who Genuinely Want to Talk with You
Yes, my final suggestion sounds ridiculous. But bear with me. The biggest mistake recent grads make is they sit at home, online, filling out massive job applications. Do you seriously think anyone reads those? Rarely. They merely want to throw your information into the database juuust in case half their staff gets ebola and they need fresh meat.
The better approach is to find a hiring authority and get buddy-buddy with them. Remember, HR doesn’t say who actually gets hired or fired. The boss says ‘yes’ or ‘no’. FInd the person you want to work for. Build a relationship with them. Don’t be afraid to bribe them a little. Hustle ‘til you have the job. But make sure to be genuine. Trying to outsmart the boss rarely works. And if it does, you shouldn’t want to work for them.
And that’s it. If you employ these strategies, you’ll do just fine. Good luck out there!
Bio:
Will Lipovsky is a personal finance freelance writer and internet marketer. His most embarrassing moment has been saying to a Microsoft executive, “I’ll just Google it.” You can get in touch with Will at FirstQuarterFinance.com.
