By Joann Pan
Special to Relocation.com
Now that you have graduated college or are on the verge of completing your higher education, you’ll need to take the next step and garner up some experience with an internship or job. Getting your first job or internship requires work and research on your part and Relocation.com has tips to get you started.
Tips to finding opportunities:
1. Make connections. Network and talk to people you know for advice, insight and connections. Talk about your interests and where you want to end up, you never know what connections people have.
2. Look online. Specialized job websites such as Idealist, Craigslist, Monster and Indeed are a great place to start as well as job sites catered to your field.
3. Outreach. Talk to previous employers, mentors, professors and anyone else you know in the field. If you’re lucky, they will be looking for help in the classroom, with research or at a company they work with.
4. Go to events. If you are an engineer… join a group or organization that reaches out to local engineers like you [you can find some great groups on the popular site, Meetup.com.] Here, you’ll probably meet professionals that lead or guest speak at events, and you’ll talk to peers who may have experience with companies.
5. Ask for advice. Don’t be afraid to ask people for advice. People love talking about their experiences and how they have gotten to where they are. It’s really great to get tips about what where you should look or what steps you should take.
Rules for the resume:
1. Keep your resume to one page. Only list the relevant things. If I were applying to be writer, we wouldn’t list any retail experience unless it were the only thing we’ve done.
2. Give details. People love numbers when giving your resume an once-over. With short sentences and numbers that tell all, people will write away know what you’ve accomplished.
3. Make everything easy to read. Grammar and spelling errors are a major no-no's. Avoid crazy fonts, font sizes, italicizing the wrong thing and bolding other things. Read your resume over and over. Consider asking a friend of family member to read it -- an objective eye with some constructive criticism is sometimes the only thing your resume needs.
4. Check your ego. Don’t boost about being awesome at classes with your GPA in one corner and Deans List acceptances in another. Nowadays, most employers will expect that you have a decent GPA, so you don’t have to remind them. Also, if you starting out listing your clubs and special skills is fine, but limit them to the relevancy of the position you looking for.
5. Don’t waste space with objective statements. Often people don't read them. It's more important to focus making your resume look great, and defining yourself in one to two sentences.
6. Make every resume unique. Tailor your resume to the needs of the company with the job you are applying to—if they want you to “edit,” “proofread,” “fact-check,” “use CMS,” “be diligent,” then use their words if they apply in describing your experience.
7. List your experience first and then your education background.
Interview:
Congratulations on that call or e-mail -- XYZ company wants to meet with you! Even though you did a lot of work to get to this point; there is still much to do to prepare for this exciting day.
1. Research, research and more research. Obviously, we can't stress this enough but the number one rule when you finally get that interview is to know the company inside and out. First, re-read the job description and write down your experience pertaining to each skill that the job requires. Also, make a list of skills you aren't so familiar with and those you have no concept of. Don't stress about that as much, the hiring manager called you for a reason; it's just important to know where your strengths and weaknesses are. Research the company’s website, looking at their mission statement, company history, etc. See where you fit in and understand what you could bring to the company as well as to the position. Knowing this beforehand will prevent any stumbling or misdirected thoughts in the interview.
2. Rest, eat and dress the part. Make sure you get sufficient rest the day before your interview. Look over the job description and any notes that you have on the company. Be sure you feel confident about your knowledge of the company. Also, be sure to dress for the part -- wearing your favorite outfit.
3. Know where you are going. Check the address on Google maps and make sure you leave 30 minutes early. Trust us; you should NEVER be late to an interview.
4. Bring a portfolio of your work (if it pertains to your field). If you are a write, make sure to bring a portfolio of all of your writing clips that the hiring manager can kept. Although your answers are key to a successful interview, you will make yourself stand out as well as allow the hiring manager to view your work and learn more about you. Nothing speaks louder than samples of your work.
5. Go the extra mile. If this opportunity is worth it and if you know the application pool is extremely large, we would suggest going the extra step and offering to take on an assignment, something similar to what you would be doing on the job. Then that way they can see that you are capable to doing your job.
6. Say thank you. Don’t forget to send a thank you note via e-mail -- the latest should be one day after your interview. This is a common courtesy in the world of job interviews.
7. Follow up. Send a polite e-mail if individuals do not get back to you when they say they will get back to you. Remember don't be aggressive.
Jobs and opportunities come to those who are persistent and look every day. From a couple dozen requests during the period of a couple months at a time, we would only get one or two responses back. The reality is it takes persistence and luck to even be contacted, but you shouldn’t give up on opportunities you really want and hopefully with some of these tips you will be on your way to the job of your dreams.