Job Search Questions and Answers for college students and graduates from Justin Driscoll, author of 7 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Graduated.
Do college students always need to know what they want to do with
their life after they graduate?
I get this question a lot. First let me
say an emphatic no. I bet if you asked a mid-career friend they might tell you they still don't know what they want to do with their life yet.
If you can find what you are passionate about you won't have a job, you will have employment happiness. It may take one or two different jobs to realize what you are really passionate about but be patient and look for different opportunities. When you finally do figure out what you are passionate about it will be like someone flicked on a light switch and everything suddenly became clear.
If you had to search
for a job today what would you do?
I would immediately open my address
book on my Mac Book and begin to email and call people I know. Yes, I probably would look at Monster, Hot Jobs, and all of the major job boards, but networking would be my number one priority.
Then I would try to attend events where professionals hang out so I could get their business cards and learn what is going on in the industry. Sitting in your dorm room applying for hundreds of jobs online is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
The other thing I would do is start talking to recruiters who recruit in my industry, they have a create pulse on the industry. Get out there and network, you will be amazed at what you find and how open people are with talking to you.
Does it take time?
Yes of course. If it were easy
everyone would be doing it.
What is one piece of advice you could give
students if you only had five minutes?
I would strongly recommend you
"specialize" in something. Students typically come out of college being "the jack of all trades and the master of nothing." That isn't the way business works any more. When a recruiter is looking at your resume they are looking for keywords and very specific information.
Their hiring managers or clients gave them a list of items to look for when sourcing resumes. If your resume doesn't meet those standards you will never even get a call back. The more you can learn about an industry you hope to work in the better off you will be. Simply being good at IT won't get you an IT job.
Know the keywords, talk with recruiters, hiring managers to learn about what they are looking for so you know what to put on your resume. Be specific about your track and the jobs will be easier to find.
