You’ve put in the hard work and finished your qualification. Congratulations, celebrations are in order! Now that the final exam period dust has settled, after framing and hanging your credentials, you’re thinking about hitting the ground running with a job in your field. While this might be a daunting task to tackle, Affirmative Portfolios have the best tips for finding your first job after varsity. So, set your mind at ease – your dream job is just around the corner!
Take a Temporary Job
There’s no use sitting around the house waiting for a CEO to come knocking on your door. Finding the right job after university often takes a while, and doing nothing in the interim will only leave you unhappy and without motivation (not to mention broke). Consider taking a temporary job while you are job hunting. If you’re lucky, you could land an internship at a company with services in your field. This is an ideal situation, as you could end up being bumped up to permanent if you work hard enough. If you can’t find an internship – don’t stress! Take a temporary job that you know you’ll be able to do and see it as merely a stepping stone to your permanent dream job. This way, you are able to earn money and keep yourself busy.
Tailor Your CV to the Job
You’ve probably already added your qualification to your resume, listing your modules passed and your marks for each. Keep in mind that companies aren’t interested in EVERYTHING you’ve done in terms of studies and work experience, but only look at specific modules and activities that pertain to the specific job they are recruiting for. Ensure that your CV lists only things you know will be beneficial to your specific job application. If you’re casting more than one line into the job pool, looking at one or two different positions that you believe you could fill, customise separate versions of your resume for each. See our five steps to a job-winning CV for advice on developing the perfect resume.
Connect with Professionals
Living in the information age really does have its advantages. Connecting with people is easier now than ever before, and individuals that seem out of reach are actually just a few clicks and key strokes away. There must have been people you looked up to while studying in your field, whether they were lecturers from far-flung countries or professionals working for huge corporations. Everyone has an email address these days, so why not look up and make contact with people who know your chosen field well? Best case scenario: They’ll reply and answer any questions you may have asked them. Worst case scenario: They ignore your emails and you find another professional to connect with. If you don’t try, you’ll never know!
Research Your Chosen Career
It’s the age-old conundrum; how to get experience in a field when you’ve just come from full-time studying? While many companies require years of experience, the amount of knowledge you have in the field could just land you the job anyway. This is where your studying skills come in. Research everything there is to know about the job you are looking to apply for – from the basics to the tough stuff. Walking into an interview with a wealth of knowledge about the position will show your potential future employees that you have taken the time to prepare, growing your knowledge. This will also give you an understanding of the job scope so you aren’t as green on your first day as your colleagues might think!
Contact Specialists in Recruitment
Why not allow a team of specialists in recruitment, with years of experience in staffing solutions, to source your dream job for you? Affirmative Portfolios are skilled at recruiting temporary and permanent staff, and we take the utmost pride in our candidates that we assist. Download our app, submit your CV, and let us do the rest!
