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Job hunting as a fresh graduate is always challenging; the exercise can be extremely daunting when a fresher enters the job market. Job seekers who wish to make the most of their time will find these job-hunting tips useful for fresh graduates.
You may often wonder about the best advice for job seekers. There are several challenges, from the demands listed in job descriptions, alignment of interests, and skill sets to salary negotiations, so resorting to job-hunting tips for fresh graduates can help boost your chances of securing your dream job.
Create a Job-Hunting System
In your journey to landing your desired job, it’s imperative to create a system that is sure to bring you results; a system that makes the most use of your time and effort. Below are a few job search advice:
- First, you need to set clear goals as to what you want to achieve and write them down.
- Then, you must break down your goal backwards. This helps you organise steps in small chunks.
- Thirdly, you must decide which platform suits your needs the best and go all in.
- Next, you must customise your job search according to each platform and recruiter.
- Lastly, you must stay consistent with your efforts. And this is where most people give in. Don’t be one of them.
Practice these job search advice and you have got your basics right and are ready to learn about the next tips for job seekers.
12 Best Job-Hunting Tips for Students
If you are wondering how to job hunt effectively, here are the 10 best ways to job hunt. For fresh graduates, job-hunting can be challenging. Experience usually contributes to these challenges. However, these job-hunting tips and techniques will make it easier for you.
1. Understand the Market
One of the most important job-hunting tips for fresh graduates is research. You must know as much as possible about the market you wish to work in if you want to know how to job hunt effectively. The job market in each country looks slightly different, so job-hunting tips for fresh graduates may differ. So, one of the best job-hunting tips is to understand the market in the desired country. It will also help you gain awareness and prepare for job interviews.
2. Learn About the Working Culture
Now that you know about the market you are entering, the next thing you need to know is the acceptable working culture. How employers and recruiters look for potential candidates, the hiring and application process and the interview preparation stages differ from one country to another, from one employer to another.
For example, video interviews and assessment centres are fairly common in the UK. In India, using WhatsApp as a means of professional networking is considered normal, which may raise eyebrows in Europe. This is one of those job-hunting tips that will surely help you be one step ahead of the competition.
3. Network with Industry Professionals
One of the most incredible job-hunting tips for students, networking is an art and science that can help boost your career in more ways than one. Reaching out to professionals and conversing with them helps you build relationships. These relationships can lead to job opportunities, partnerships, speaking opportunities, help you find a mentor, student guarantor, etc.
4. Make Good Use of LinkedIn
Using your LinkedIn profile is the best way to network and one of the most effective job-hunting tips for fresh graduates. There is no better way to get in touch with hundreds of people other than social media, which makes this one of the best job-hunting tips.
If you like going the extra mile, you can start by sharing your original content. Still, you can always start by engaging with others’ posts, commenting on them, and reaching out to them over private messages to start a conversation. Regarding how to find job for fresh graduates, networking is an under-utilised tool. It is also a great way to learn how to write your resume.
5. Optimise your LinkedIn Profile
Add details about your past work experiences, along with some anecdotes about your work or lessons you may have learned in your jobs. You can also optimise your profile picture with your current employment status. You can also add an ‘about me’ section where you can mention your skills, hobbies, and interests, along with the kind of job you are applying for; these LinkedIn profile tips will make your job hunting journey easier and will also make your profile stand out.
6. Don’t Wait to Graduate
As the saying goes, don’t wait for tomorrow if it can be done today – similarly, waiting to graduate to begin your job hunt is perhaps one of the worst job-hunting tips. There is no time like now, so if you want to be one step ahead, here are simple job-hunting tips for students.
As an international student, time is of the essence for your career journey, which is why resorting to job-hunting tips for fresh graduates at the early stages of your journey while you’re at your accommodation is important. Many graduate schemes open up a year before the role starts. So if you want to work in a fresh graduates scheme in September 2024 in the UK, you need to start applying in September 2023.
7. Target Relevant Job Postings
The more specific you can be in your job and company research, the better. As an international student, you must find jobs where employers are willing to work with fresh graduates and potentially sponsor your work visa. This is where job searching platforms can help you save time, as the jobs board exclusively lists opportunities and job-hunting tips for students who are vetted and assured to sponsor your visa if you are selected.
8. Feel Free to Ask for Help
Most universities and educational institutions have a separate careers department or a career cell. Career advisors and counsellors are available to you for help with your CV, cover letters, applications, career exploration, interviews, tests, and any other job-hunting tips you may need. They can guide you about the country’s job market, provide insights on the application process for different roles, and help you write a CV from scratch.
9. Highlight your Soft Skills
Ask any employer for job-hunting tips, and they will tell you they are looking for evidence of soft skills in your application. Soft skills are interpersonal, non-technical skills that help you get better at your job. These skills, like communication, creative problem solving, conflict resolution, and critical thinking, help smoothly plan and organise work across teams and departments. If you have displayed soft skills in academic projects, volunteer work, or internships, highlight these skills in your CV and application.
10. Attend Career Fairs and Events
Career fairs are events where many employers interact with students and fresh graduates. In the UK, most universities organise career fairs to support students from the university to help them get placed in well-ranked companies and organisations that are pre-approved by the university. These fairs are a great way to understand the current market requirements and trends, helping you prepare to keep your best foot forward. Not only that, these events are one of the most effective ways to connect with industry experts.
11. Try Temping
So, this advice for job seekers will help you if you are somewhat finding it difficult to pay your bills or are looking to explore. Also, this option can give you the opportunity to land a permanent job if you excel in your temporary role; giving you an edge over other freshers who join in the same role. Also, a temporary role gives you the freedom to not finalise a position since you realise that you’ve got the opportunity to look at wider options. This fills you with confidence arising out of a variety of options.
12. Stay Positive
Now, lastly, we’d like to make you aware of the potential rejections you might face while job hunting and your responsibility to keep yourself uplifted at all times. Cause only you can monitor your thoughts completely and recognise the times when they are negative. Also, you must remind yourself that your past doesn’t define you; you are what you make of your life’s experiences, not the experiences themselves. Job hunting as fresh graduates is no child’s play. To find a job, you must put in the effort in your job hunt and be consistent. Consistency and experience in student internships are what make you noticed and build an unshakable confidence within you. So, staying optimistic throughout the process helps to stay motivated. Be patient and deploy these job-searching tips! You’ve got this.
How Long Does it Take to Find a New Job?
Generally, the amount of time taken for someone to find a job depends on various factors, some of which are –
- Applicant’s qualifications
- The job market
- The frequency at which the applicant is applying for jobs
- The industry that they are targeting
- The position that they are applying for
Places You Can Find a Job
In today’s well-connected era, it is not difficult to find places where you can find a job; you only need to recognise which one fits you best. Below we have mentioned a few such places that start our job-searching tips:
- Online Job Portals: These portals are an amalgamation of the best jobs that you can find according to your preferences.
- Company Career Pages: So, suppose you’re interested in a particular company then almost all companies post their job listing on their website.
- Professional Networking: We all know how having friends in an industry lands can land you a job, saving you valuable time and effort.
- University Career Services: So, chances are that your university has a portal or a forum where the recruitment department posts the latest job updates on the market.
- Social Media Platforms: Well, this is a new one. Nowadays many companies have adopted the practice of posting their job requirements on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, etc.
Now, that we’ve learned about the framework and the platforms, now is the time for the job-hunting tips for students. The following job search advice is gonna help you do just that.
Job hunting as fresh graduates is no child’s play. To find a job, you must put in the effort in your job hunt and be consistent. Consistency is what makes you noticed and builds an unshakable confidence within you. So, staying optimistic throughout the process helps to stay motivated. Be patient and keep hunting! You’ve got this.