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We are coming into graduation season, and for many college seniors and graduate students in the final year of their degree program, this means finding a job. Management consulting, investment banking, general management rotational programs and select other areas hire early in the academic year. But what if you missed that early recruitment cycle or are interested in other roles that don’t hire months in advance?
If you are graduating soon without a job lined up, here are seven job-search moves to make now:
1. Visit your office of career services.
Many universities have dedicated career offices to help with your job search. Resources vary and can include job listings, resume-writing help, assessment testing to identify potential career paths, and events for networking or professional development. If you already graduated (say, you finished a semester early), many career services offices extend support to alumni. In fact, you might not even need to be a recent graduate to get help from your career services office.
2. Make an informed decision about additional schooling.
In lieu of a job, you may opt for more schooling, whether a graduate degree, certification or additional classes. There are various factors to consider (here are 10 questions to consider about graduate school in particular) including financial cost, opportunity cost of postponing work and benefit to your future career goals. The right decision depends on your individual circumstances, which is why I encourage an informed decision, after looking at all the costs and benefits, rather than encouraging you to go or not.
3. Run your numbers.
Whether you go for additional schooling or a job, you will incur costs after you graduate. Where are you going to live? How will you support yourself? Talk to your family about whether or not coming home is an option – that changes your budget considerably. If you were getting an allowance as a student, talk to your parents about if and how long this will continue – that impacts your job search deadline. If you took out student loans with a grace period while you were studying, you now need to make payments – you need to know that monthly payment number.
4. Look at temp jobs.
Depending on your financial situation, you may need to secure a paying job more quickly than an introspective job search might allow. Sign up with agencies that specialize in temp placements. Look at on-campus jobs – there may be departments who lose their student help once the academic year ends. If you have a current part-time job, see if you can continue into the summer. Temp jobs can lead to permanent jobs. However, if the temp job you secure is not related to your long-term career goal and is just a way to make ends meet, make sure that you have time and flexibility to continue your job search.
5. Tap your college network.
Your professors are not just a source of academic knowledge. Some professors are consultants to organizations off-campus . Your classmates who have already secured jobs are also good contacts for information and potentially introductions. Even classmates still in their own job search can be accountability partners with you, or you can all share information and leads. The career services office, research library, and the alumni office are other good places to network on-campus.
6. Tap into family and friends.
Your family and friends can also be helpful to your job search. These are people who know, like and trust you already , so they should be willing to help you. Help them help you by being specific about the types of roles and companies you are interested in. Inspire confidence by sharing what you are already doing to help yourself – this assures them that you’re not looking for them to solve your problem for you. Remember to share updates on your job search along they way, so that you’re not just reaching out when you need something.
7. Reconnect with former employers.
Even if previous jobs are unrelated to your current career goals, previous employers also hopefully know, like and trust you and are therefore willing to help. When I oversaw campus recruiting for a media company, I frequently was referred to entry-level candidates who were babysitters or tutors for the kids of employees. Employee referrals are always helpful, even if the connection is not job-related.
Even if you haven’t lined up a job for after graduation, the above suggestions give you enough to get started. Of course, a prerequisite to all of the above is to schedule time for your job search. You still have classes, extra-curricular activities, maybe a part-time job or internships, and these commitments won’t stop just because you are now cognizant of your need to find a job. So, look at your calendar, and block out specific time to work on your job search, including the seven moves I listed above.
