With the new year and semester now in full swing, the dreaded thought about what comes after graduation is unavoidable for many final year students, including myself. Navigating the job search as an undergrad (and newly grad) can be overwhelming and daunting, particularly if you’re coming from an arts or humanities degree. Being swept up in the flurry of dissertations and exams alongside graduate job hunting is a difficult struggle, especially when potentially facing interviews, job assessments, and maybe even rejections. Going through this myself at the moment, I have tried to reflect on the experience so far, and have come up with some tips to reassure myself and others that the graduate job hunt isn’t the be all and end all, however daunting it may feel now.
- LinkedIn – be cautious!
While LinkedIn can be an incredibly helpful resource for looking for jobs, networking, and doing courses, it can be really intimidating, and, to be honest, a bit of a toxic and competitive environment. Making an account for the first time made me feel so inadequate. I was overwhelmed by my peers who had done what seemed like every internship, work experience, and volunteering ever. Definitely don’t be afraid to get stuck in the corporate world of LinkedIn, but just approach with caution (and remember a lot of people like to show off!)
- Don’t compare yourself to others
Sounds cliché, but don’t do it. LinkedIn can make it feel impossible to not compare yourself to others. But really any social media is capable of this. It’s not uncommon to see a screenshot of a job offer on someone’s Instagram story, or a photo of them on their first day at their new job on Facebook. Remember you are on your own path at your own pace.
- Update your CV
This sounds really obvious, but it’s difficult to keep track of all the skills you have learned at university and update your CV with these. Don’t forget to add all your transferable skills in the skills section, and maybe any work experience or volunteering you’ve done. Something I have learnt in the process of updating my CV is that using bullet points is probably better than big chunks of sentences, and always avoid ‘I’.
- Pursue what you love
It can be hard to feel motivated, especially if you don’t know what you want to do. And it can be worrying seeing those around us who seem to have such a clear career path. It’s okay to not know what you want to do.
Written by: Maisy Pallister
Edited by: Uta Tsukada Bright