It's your last year in college. And your main goal for the year—other than spending time with friends who will be scattering in all directions in nine short months—is to find a job.
A recent survey shows that about half the members of the graduating class will have a job at graduation; 75 percent will have jobs within seven months. The average job seeker begins the job search about six months before graduation.
What can you expect from your job search? Listen to what previous graduates said in a survey of graduating students.
Get help for your job search
If you ask people who enjoy successful careers the source of their successes, they'll tell you that they enjoy their jobs.
Most students said they chose their majors because they like the kind of work it will allow them to do. About three-quarters of students surveyed said they felt prepared for the job market. That is, only a fifth of students said they don't feel prepared.
Students said that they looked for—and found—valuable assistance in their job searches from a variety of sources. The college/university career center, where students typically can find everything from workshops on how to put together a winning resume to mock interview sessions with real employers to job listings, was rated as most helpful. Second most helpful are friends, followed by faculty, parents, and relatives.
You should also know that employers find co-op and internship programs a rich source of new hires and have consistently rated the importance of relevant work experience highly and "any" work experience as a plus. It appears that college students have taken the advice seriously. Most of those surveyed said that they had worked part time during college. More than half reported summer employment and two-thirds had done volunteer work. Almost two-fifths had held internships; a third reported a work-study experience.
This means that, to raise your chances of a successful job search, take advantage of the help your college career center offers. If you haven't had some work experience in your field, look for opportunities to do so. Don't forget to network with friends, parents, and relatives. And ask faculty in your field for advice on finding your first job.
Conducting your job search
Graduates rated a number of job search resources. The top four resources students used correspond to the top four resources most valued by graduating students.
The Internet earned the highest marks as "very valuable" from more than 40 percent of respondents. Career web sites were highly rated by about a fifth of graduating students. Job postings in the career center offices and on career center web sites were a frequently-used resource.
While networking wasn't used as often as other resources, those who used networking regularly as a tool rated it as highly valuable.
While "enjoying what I do" was among the criteria for choosing an employer, students also rated other attributes for choosing their first employer. A company's integrity, for example, was the second most important factor for choosing an employer. Company stability, ethical business practices, and good benefits packages followed.
Hopefully, you've been preparing for this last year in school—and the first step in your career. College career centers are open now and ready to begin resume critiques, mock interview sessions, and other workshops that will help make your job search a success. Good luck!