As I approach my final semester of college, I’ve realized how underprepared I feel as I go into the “real world.” With the advice of my professors and advisors, I knew this holiday season that I needed to focus on polishing up my résumé and online persona, but I never really understood the extent to which everything mattered, until now.
As a student growing up in this technological era, I was taught how to prepare for life after college only from personal experience. I never formally learned how to build a résumé, manage an online persona professionally, or even write a cover letter. Not to mention, no one ever discussed my options post-grad or how to take the next steps. With my own research and trial/error, I have compiled some useful tips to use if you want to know how to perfect your professional image and prepare yourself for the job market.
My first recommendation is to create a strong and professional résumé. There are many examples online of clean and useful templates you can use to create a base résumé. Following this, remember to keep your résumé up to date with new achievements and changes that may occur. I urge you to try to update it at least every month to avoid getting overwhelmed or forgetting specific accomplishments. When it comes time to apply for positions, it will be a lot less stressful knowing that you have an organized list of all your academics, achievements and work experience.
Another suggestion is to create a professional online platform for yourself. As I first became interested in post-grad jobs, I quickly realized how important it is to present yourself professionally on all platforms. In this technological day and age, it is so important to stay connected virtually as it shows how you can easily adapt and remain flexible in the workplace, especially now. Websites like LinkedIn, Handshake and Indeed are all great places to start. I have transitioned to using these websites like a professional social media. Try to network with as many people as I can, because you never know who might have connections to your future dream job. With that being said, it is still very important to go beyond the screen and present yourself to potential employers in person to avoid being seen as just another résumé.
Lastly, my biggest piece of advice for applying to new jobs is to treat it similarly to how you treated applying to colleges. Take as much time and advice as you can get to be sure you are setting yourself up for success. Apply to as many jobs as you can. I advise you to create a list of some “out of reach” companies and some that you meet all of their requirements because in the end, you never truly know what each company is looking for. Good luck and happy job hunting!