Graduating from college is an exciting time in life. You have completed your degree and are ready to finally start working at a job of your dreams. Or are you? The transition from college into career can be extremely exciting yet anxiety and stress provoking as you prepare for the real world. Going from midterms and essays to conference calls and meetings is a huge shift, but there are many things you can do to ensure that you are mentally and emotionally prepared for your career.
Prepare Your Resume
One of the first things you should do as you near your graduation date is begin preparing your resume. Your resume will be a valuable tool for applying to jobs, so you will want to take your time on it and make sure it is of the utmost quality. By writing your resume while you are still in college, you can utilize your professors and advisors as resources to help you edit and revise it.
It is important to continually keep your resume up-to-date and modify it whenever you have new job experiences, additional volunteer work, or new awards or certificates.
Network!
Outside of your college professors and advisors, networking with active professionals and industry leaders is an excellent way to land job interviews. Never turn down an opportunity to be able to mingle and network, whether it be a local career fair or a national conference. Using social media and other resources, such as LinkedIn, is another way to get in touch with members of your career community.
Practice Interview Questions
As you begin sending out your resume and are getting ready for interviews, it will be beneficial for you to practice common questions that interviews may ask. A simple Google search for typical interview questions will produce more than enough results, or other websites such as Glassdoor, will also give you ideas of what the company may ask in an interview. Start off by practicing these questions and your answers alone, then have a family member or friend help you prepare even further by having mock interviews with you.
Consider Internships
If you find that it has been a few months and you still haven’t had any luck landing a job, considering internships within companies is always a good option. An internship not only provides you with valuable skills and experience, but it may also lead to a full-time career opportunity.
No work experience will ever be wasted so trying something out may provide you with beneficial skills you would have never obtained otherwise.
Graduating college and searching for a career should be an exciting time in your life, not an overwhelming one. While the transition can test you mentally and emotionally, our tips will help to make the switch from college to career as carefree as possible. By preparing your resume, networking, practicing interview questions, and even considering internships, you will be starting off with your best foot forward and will be one step closer to scoring the career for which you have worked so hard.