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When I entered college, I considered a number of varying majors and figured I would take several different introductory courses during my freshman year to get a feel for which subjects interested me the most. I was pretty good at math and science in high school, so I thought maybe I would try to major in mechanical engineering.
However, I also realized that many students changed their majors once they got to college, and many did not even select a major until their sophomore year. Knowing this fact, I was not in a hurry to declare a major as I wanted to explore all of my options before making a decision that was going to affect the rest of my life.
Ultimately, I ended up majoring in Sociology. I changed my mind about becoming a mechanical engineer when I realized I did not like the math and science courses I was required to take and the overall competitiveness of the classes. After taking several introductory sociology and psychology courses, I was hooked on the idea of being able to think freely and discuss social and personal problems within a specific context.
A typical day in college was filled with a lot of reading. Most of my courses had several textbooks and course packs that we were required to read on a nightly basis. After spending time in lecture for each class, I would head to a quiet spot in the library to get my course reading done. It seemed as if every week there was an essay or term paper due, so I also spent a lot of time writing papers.
There were many aspects that I enjoyed about my college experience, but what I enjoyed most was being able to make long lasting friendships while learning things about human behavior that I had not thought of before.
Making The Transition From College To Career
I took a few steps to find a job before graduation, but was not in a big rush to join the “real world.” After a tough senior year, I was looking forward to a couple months of relaxation before joining the workforce.
However, I did attend several job fairs on campus to get a feel for the job interview process and start to make some professional connections. I knew the job interviewing process would be something I had never experienced before and wanted to learn what it was about so I could properly prepare myself for when my ideal job presented itself.
My life changed dramatically after graduation. While I had responsibilities while in college, they were less important than the responsibilities you face after graduation. When you are in college, you are able to take a break from your studies whenever you feel like it.
As long as you are keeping up with your required reading and papers, you can go out with your friends on a Tuesday night. This is not the case in the working world as you are required to be at work early in the morning and ready to do your job efficiently every day of the week. You cannot take a day off here or there as you might be able to when you are in college.
It was not too difficult for me to adapt to the working world. I graduated just as the economy was starting to go on its downturn, so I had a hard time finding a job right away. I forced myself to treat my job search as my full time job during the day so that helped prepare me a little bit for the working world. Once I accepted a full time position it was easy to transition into this role and join the nine to five workforce.
One thing I would have done differently in college is try to network a little more. Networking has helped me gain access to new job offers that I otherwise would not have been privy to. Graduating from a large university has helped increase my networking circle, also.
If I could go back and do it all over again, I would try to attend more networking events on campus where alumni come back and either speak to students or a meet and greet is set up. You never know when your path will cross with other alumni so it is best to try and meet as many of them as you can.
My story of how I thought I was going to major in mechanical engineering in college only to change my major to Sociology. Once I had my degree, I quickly found that networking among alumni can pay huge dividends in the working world and open up many career opportunities.
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Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
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This article was originally published at an earlier date.
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