YOU DID IT! You graduated! You’ve had a great summer and you are still looking for the right career opportunity. Now it’s time to find a job and start your next chapter. No messing around, no waiting for a phone to ring, get to work; it is not magically going to happen. If you have been feeling overwhelmed or like you could use a hand, this blog entry is for you! We’ve all had a fear of what comes next, but no need to panic. TeamBradley is here with tips on how to start your career search on the right foot.
The first tip is organization! It may seem obvious, but the more organized you are in your career search the better you will feel about finding a position. Create lists of employers you have an interest in working with, and create a list of what you desire in company from an employee perspective. Knowing what you want, will help you narrow down your job search. We know it is easy to apply blindly to tons of jobs and then just pray for an interview. However, interviewing for a company that you realize you have no interest in working for, is not only wasting their time but your time as well. The only person who truly know what kind of culture and environment you are looking for, is you.
That brings us to our next tip, research. When you research a company because you are excited about a position, you will either realize that you are still very excited or not! It’s true, not all career opportunities turn out to be what you want to do, once you do some research. And that’s okay. Research helps you cut to the chase and zone in on opportunities you really want to interview for. And on that note, knowing where you are applying and where you are interviewing is part of tracking your research. When a company calls you back, asking who they are and what job you applied to at that their company, does not reflect well on you. With a potential employer on the phone, saying something like, I am so excited to hear from you! I recently applied to your, (fill in the blank) position. What can I do for you today? This lets the person on the other end of the phone know, you are organized, interested and ready to go!
Now it is resume time! Always have your resume prepared and up-to-date at all times because you never know when you need to send it off to your next employer. A resume in word document form is appreciated over a pdf document. So many companies have submission portals now, and the pdfs will not always upload as easily into their systems. Meaning you might lose out on an opportunity because the submission did not parse correctly. As a recruiting team we look at all the resumes that come into our database for correctness, however I cannot say the same for all companies. Make sure your resume has your name, email address and phone number on it for ease of contact. And make sure you have someone else read your resume over, to eliminate funky wording or mistakes you did not see.
Graduating is an incredible accomplishment! Congratulations on your achievement. With summer behind you and hopefully some good memories, it is time focus on your next chapter in life and get moving. With a little organization, research and a killer resume you are off to a great start in finding just the right place to get to work.
