By : John Peabody
There seems to be no escape from the so-called natural progression into adulthood: go to school, apply to college, get into college, get a job. It’s a tall and demanding order to fill, not to mention a little scary. But with a little planning, it’s not impossible to achieve. The best way to make a smooth transition into a career after graduation is by preparing for it while still in school.
You already landed a poorly paid summer internship at a local business, and the possibilities seemed endless: gaining real-world knowledge, establishing contacts, acquiring new skills -- not to mention a fresh line to plop under the “Experience” section of your budding resume. Unfortunately, the internship wasn’t quite what you expected. You found yourself spending most of your productive hours fetching coffee, hauling garbage, making copies, and answering phones.
Fear not. Consider these six strategies that will help you land the job you want while still in college.
1- Pick and stick with a major
Understanding your strengths, weaknesses and intellectual passions will give you a head start in the job-search game. Staying with a major course of study (or perhaps a double major for some) not only allows you to graduate on time, but signals to potential employers that your course of study was rigorously focused. Whether you’re mechanically inclined or gifted in the arts, make sure to pursue an academic curriculum that will play to your innate abilities. Also, by sticking to one major, you will gradually come to learn about the kinds of professions and careers that utilize the skills and knowledge you have acquired. Being a jack-of-all-trades may be impressive to many, but it’s preferable to work toward becoming the master of one. Be sure to do your homework beforehand. While it’s always possible to change your mind, this “major” decision is one you can’t afford to be wishy-washy about.
2- Track the evolution of the industry
Once you have decided which kind of career you wish to pursue, it always helps to know more about the trends and developments particular to that industry. Familiarize yourself with the jargon, history and major figures that have emerged in the field. It never hurts to have a firm grasp of the lingo that is spoken by the people working in the career that interests you. If available, you might also consider subscribing to the prominent professional and trade journals that are read widely in that profession.
There’s always the option of taking the initiative and scheduling an informational interview with somebody already involved in that field. Also, try to keep in mind that pursuing courses and extracurricular activities relevant to your future career is important. For example, a future mechanical engineer probably won’t benefit very much from taking a bunch of art history courses. Understanding what skills and knowledge are valuable to an employer will give you a definite advantage over other potential applicants.
3- Build and maintain a social network
Some will argue that landing a job is not necessarily about what you know, but who you know. This point is certainly debatable. In any case, try and think of it this way: Simply knowing the right person won’t always help you get the job you want, although it may assist you in obtaining an interview more readily.
Networking requires that you build enough trust with individuals to openly share pertinent information and leads that will help facilitate the job search. Expanding your network beyond your immediate classmates and school alumni is a good idea as well. Try involving yourself with volunteer organizations located both on and off campus. If possible, try joining a professional organization while still a student; membership fees are often less expensive this way. So start early and maintain a list of personal contacts and organizations that show promise in assisting you in your future job search.
4- Build and maintain a faculty network
So-called academic professionals often get a bad rap. They are derisively labeled as “life-long students” or “know-it-alls” with little private-sector experience. While this may be true of some of the faculty members at your college and university, it is no excuse to shy away from seeking help and guidance from the “professional” professors. These are the professors who have worked in the business or industry before taking a teaching position, or perhaps work as professional consultants to augment their income.
Consider establishing a close relationship with such professors, as they can provide valuable insight into job-search strategies and the current trends in your chosen field. Remember: Faculty are more than a bunch of test-givers and paper-graders. Most are highly trained and intelligent professionals with an abundance of expert knowledge to offer those who are willing to take the time to ask.
5- Use the ties between local businesses and your school
Sometimes it’s possible to establish contacts and set up interviews with potential employers without having to venture very far from campus. Go ahead and check in with the head of your major academic department to inquire about possible job leads. (A tech company, for instance, may scout for employees within your school’s Computer Science department.) Likewise, get in the habit of attending the career fairs that are held at your college or university. Dress neatly and ready yourself to browse strategically. Ask intelligent and informed questions. Hone your interview skills, and take notes. Who knows? You might even take the initiative and choose to leave your resume with the representative of the company or business you’re interested in.
6- Start your portfolio early
Conventional wisdom holds that things like resumes and portfolios are marketing tools. With that in mind, start tailoring your resume early in order to target it to the career field you want to be in. Remember: A resume shouldn’t be a laundry list of all your job experience, awards and achievements. Rather, think of your professional resume as a concise promotional vehicle that will advertise the assets you will bring to a particular business or company. As you continue your education and involve yourself in more and more organizations and extracurricular activities, it should become easier to build your resume one line at a time. Also try to use one of the major projects assigned in a course as a representative sample of the quality work you’re able to produce. So, instead of conducting a research project solely to obtain a good grade, you can use the opportunity to learn and contribute something new and useful to your prospective industry. Crafting a resume, CV and professional portfolio as soon as possible is always a good idea; this way you will have already created something to revise, augment and polish in the future.
get a head start.
Juggling the demands imposed by college life is hard enough on its own without adding the stress of a job search. Nevertheless, by thinking about what you’re going to do after graduation and preparing in advance, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress and anxiety in the long run. The early bird is the one that catches the worm. Heck, at least you’ll have a leg up over all the other seniors who bombard the career services center looking for advice just two weeks before graduation.
Job Vacancy , Indonesia Job , Job Indonesia
There seems to be no escape from the so-called natural progression into adulthood: go to school, apply to college, get into college, get a job. It’s a tall and demanding order to fill, not to mention a little scary. But with a little planning, it’s not impossible to achieve. The best way to make a smooth transition into a career after graduation is by preparing for it while still in school.
You already landed a poorly paid summer internship at a local business, and the possibilities seemed endless: gaining real-world knowledge, establishing contacts, acquiring new skills -- not to mention a fresh line to plop under the “Experience” section of your budding resume. Unfortunately, the internship wasn’t quite what you expected. You found yourself spending most of your productive hours fetching coffee, hauling garbage, making copies, and answering phones.
Fear not. Consider these six strategies that will help you land the job you want while still in college.
1- Pick and stick with a major
Understanding your strengths, weaknesses and intellectual passions will give you a head start in the job-search game. Staying with a major course of study (or perhaps a double major for some) not only allows you to graduate on time, but signals to potential employers that your course of study was rigorously focused. Whether you’re mechanically inclined or gifted in the arts, make sure to pursue an academic curriculum that will play to your innate abilities. Also, by sticking to one major, you will gradually come to learn about the kinds of professions and careers that utilize the skills and knowledge you have acquired. Being a jack-of-all-trades may be impressive to many, but it’s preferable to work toward becoming the master of one. Be sure to do your homework beforehand. While it’s always possible to change your mind, this “major” decision is one you can’t afford to be wishy-washy about.
2- Track the evolution of the industry
Once you have decided which kind of career you wish to pursue, it always helps to know more about the trends and developments particular to that industry. Familiarize yourself with the jargon, history and major figures that have emerged in the field. It never hurts to have a firm grasp of the lingo that is spoken by the people working in the career that interests you. If available, you might also consider subscribing to the prominent professional and trade journals that are read widely in that profession.
There’s always the option of taking the initiative and scheduling an informational interview with somebody already involved in that field. Also, try to keep in mind that pursuing courses and extracurricular activities relevant to your future career is important. For example, a future mechanical engineer probably won’t benefit very much from taking a bunch of art history courses. Understanding what skills and knowledge are valuable to an employer will give you a definite advantage over other potential applicants.
3- Build and maintain a social network
Some will argue that landing a job is not necessarily about what you know, but who you know. This point is certainly debatable. In any case, try and think of it this way: Simply knowing the right person won’t always help you get the job you want, although it may assist you in obtaining an interview more readily.
Networking requires that you build enough trust with individuals to openly share pertinent information and leads that will help facilitate the job search. Expanding your network beyond your immediate classmates and school alumni is a good idea as well. Try involving yourself with volunteer organizations located both on and off campus. If possible, try joining a professional organization while still a student; membership fees are often less expensive this way. So start early and maintain a list of personal contacts and organizations that show promise in assisting you in your future job search.
4- Build and maintain a faculty network
So-called academic professionals often get a bad rap. They are derisively labeled as “life-long students” or “know-it-alls” with little private-sector experience. While this may be true of some of the faculty members at your college and university, it is no excuse to shy away from seeking help and guidance from the “professional” professors. These are the professors who have worked in the business or industry before taking a teaching position, or perhaps work as professional consultants to augment their income.
Consider establishing a close relationship with such professors, as they can provide valuable insight into job-search strategies and the current trends in your chosen field. Remember: Faculty are more than a bunch of test-givers and paper-graders. Most are highly trained and intelligent professionals with an abundance of expert knowledge to offer those who are willing to take the time to ask.
5- Use the ties between local businesses and your school
Sometimes it’s possible to establish contacts and set up interviews with potential employers without having to venture very far from campus. Go ahead and check in with the head of your major academic department to inquire about possible job leads. (A tech company, for instance, may scout for employees within your school’s Computer Science department.) Likewise, get in the habit of attending the career fairs that are held at your college or university. Dress neatly and ready yourself to browse strategically. Ask intelligent and informed questions. Hone your interview skills, and take notes. Who knows? You might even take the initiative and choose to leave your resume with the representative of the company or business you’re interested in.
6- Start your portfolio early
Conventional wisdom holds that things like resumes and portfolios are marketing tools. With that in mind, start tailoring your resume early in order to target it to the career field you want to be in. Remember: A resume shouldn’t be a laundry list of all your job experience, awards and achievements. Rather, think of your professional resume as a concise promotional vehicle that will advertise the assets you will bring to a particular business or company. As you continue your education and involve yourself in more and more organizations and extracurricular activities, it should become easier to build your resume one line at a time. Also try to use one of the major projects assigned in a course as a representative sample of the quality work you’re able to produce. So, instead of conducting a research project solely to obtain a good grade, you can use the opportunity to learn and contribute something new and useful to your prospective industry. Crafting a resume, CV and professional portfolio as soon as possible is always a good idea; this way you will have already created something to revise, augment and polish in the future.
get a head start.
Juggling the demands imposed by college life is hard enough on its own without adding the stress of a job search. Nevertheless, by thinking about what you’re going to do after graduation and preparing in advance, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress and anxiety in the long run. The early bird is the one that catches the worm. Heck, at least you’ll have a leg up over all the other seniors who bombard the career services center looking for advice just two weeks before graduation.
Job Vacancy , Indonesia Job , Job Indonesia
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