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Leaving your collegiette days behind can be a real bummer, especially when your first rent check comes in the mail and you realize just how badly you need a job! Of course, being ambitious, well-educated collegiettes, we’d rather not be filling out applications for jobs that make you ask, “do you want fries with that?” So a professional job search will soon be underway, complete with resumes, networking, and all that other fun stuff you read about in pamphlets at your school’s career center. But how exactly do you find a job in The Real World? The best place to start is with these simple but crucial tips for any former collegiette’s budding job search.
1. Update your LinkedIn profile.
LinkedIn may not be quite as fun as Facebook, but that’s no reason to ignore it, especially when you’re looking for a job. Don’t be shy about asking your connections to introduce you to other connections they have who you might be interested in working for. It could pay off (literally)!
Of course, your profile won’t do you much good if you haven’t updated it since you answered phones in your mom’s office freshman year. Make sure all of your listed achievements are recent, concise, and impressive, just like they are on your resume. In addition to all your past jobs and volunteer positions, update your contact info if you’ve gotten a new e-mail or mailing address since you graduated. No one can offer you a job interview if they don’t know how to get in touch with you! Still need to get a professional email address? Outlook.com is free and easy to use, and it can sync contacts and updates from all of your social networks (including LinkedIn!).
2. Save your resume and other important files to the cloud.
Since your resume is super critical to your job search, you’ll want to make sure nothing happens to it—there are few things more frustrating than losing that precious document file to the abyss of your computer’s trash bin. The best way to keep this crucial document safe is to keep it backed up online, along with any cover letters or portfolio items you might need for your job search. SkyDrive is a great way to back up, edit, and share your files online to keep them safe. It’s free to use and comes complete with seven gigabytes of storage space that can be accessed anytime, anywhere – just in case you happen to run into a hiring manager in an elevator. And, the integrated Office Web Apps automatically format your files into a Word doc!
3. Be open to opportunities that aren’t your dream job.
A lot of soon-to-be-former-collegiettes panic about finding The Perfect Job. This singular, ideal position will supposedly put you on the career ladder of success, allowing you to skyrocket to the top of your chosen industry, earning you not only complete personal fulfillment but also (hopefully) millions of dollars. Unfortunately, this job will be pretty difficult to obtain right out of college (if it even exists). And, even if you think you know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life, there are probably hundreds of other amazing career opportunities that you haven’t even considered because you’ve been fixating on The Perfect Job. So make sure you have a lot of paper in your printer tray, because you’re about to print out a TON of different resumes.
If you’re not sure where to start with your job search, ask around with friends, family, and former supervisors, and explore online job boards. If you see a job that looks at all interesting, figure out which of your skills and experiences are applicable to that job, tailor your resume to that position, and send it along to the hiring manager. Windows 8 even lets you “pin” the job boards and social networks for companies you’re interested in right to your computer’s Start screen, so you can quickly check real-time updates and job opportunities. Remember that you have your whole life ahead of you, which means you could have multiple careers throughout your lifetime—why restrict yourself to just one now?
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4. Reach out to old supervisors.
The hours you devoted to unpaid internships will finally pay off now that you’re out in the job market. Your former supervisors will remember all the great work you did and will be glad to write you a letter of recommendation to send out with your next resume. Or, even better, they might be able to offer you a permanent position! After all, having experience with how the company operates and what their mission statement consists of is a huge plus for employers.
Even if they don’t have a job for you, your former supervisors may be able to refer you to someone who does. Any resume that comes into an office with a personal recommendation is way more likely to be well received than one that comes in out of the blue.
5. Use your personal network.
As impersonal as the hiring process can feel after you start your 50th cover letter (“Dear Hiring Manager, blah blah blah…), keep in mind that jobs ultimately come down to interpersonal relations—it’s why interviews are so important! So, don’t forget about the very personal social network you’ve been building up your entire life. Of course, it’s important to contact people you’ve had professional relationships with (see our first tip!), but don’t overlook your personal life, either.
A lot of us may be too nervous to ask people we’ve known in social settings to help us out professionally. It can feel like you’re asking for a favor or special treatment, and then, if you do get the job, you may wonder if it was based more on your uncle’s kind word (and monthly donations) than your actual ability. If you’re hesitant to ask for help because of any of these reasons, remember that if a company hires you, it’s because you were the best fit for the job. Your friend or family member’s recommendation just helped you get that crucial foot in the door!
Breaking into the job market can be hard, especially after four years of being safely cocooned in a collegiette world of textbooks and frat parties. But the best way to start taking control of your new life of independence and opportunity is to remember these easy tips for making connections and nailing your next big break as a professional woman. Good luck, collegiettes!
Want to enjoy #doingmore with Windows 8 and Office 365 University? Get on Twitter and tell us how you’re #doingmore this summer and be sure to tag @HerCampus and @Windows when you do for the chance to win a shiny brand new Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook. Happy tweeting, collegiettes!