Dismissing the 3 myths of job searching after graduation
[Ed. note: This belongs to our series of posts featuring tips for recent grads from LinkedIn users. Kelly Lux is a career development specialist and certified career and transition coach with experience in several areas of the working world including corporate/manufacturing, elementary and higher education, state government and retail. She currently provides services to alumni and students of Syracuse University with a focus on mentoring, networking and social media, and job search strategies and tools.]
I have recently spent a great deal of time in my office talking to students who are very confused about what their options are after graduation. The problem is, they are limiting their options before they even get started. Students think that 1) major = job, 2) job boards = job, and 3) NYC (or Chicago, LA, you pick) = job. I’d like to address these three myths.
1) Take a look at the profiles on LinkedIn and see what people really do with their majors. A quick review of profiles for people in marketing & advertising revealed degrees in creative arts, sociology, business administration, economics and journalism. Do some searching and see what people with your degree are doing. Remember that as you search for jobs, the more you open yourself up to possibilities, the more you increase your chances of landing a job you that you really want. Where might you be able to apply the skills you have learned in college? Where can you combine those skills with your interests? Answering these questions will help you come up with some options to check out.
2) I can’t tell you the number of students I’ve met with who have told me that they have applied to everything they can find online and they aren’t even getting a response…nothing! I ask what else they are doing and inevitably they look at me blankly, like there’s something else I should be doing? Online job boards have done a very good job with their advertising and therefore students think that they are the keeper of all jobs. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you can get a job without talking to people (OK, some can, but not many). The true value of your LinkedIn network is the opportunity to connect with these people offline, live, either on the phone or in person. Find people who are doing what you want to do and ask them for 5-10 minutes of their time. Search out people in the companies you are interested in and do the same thing. You will yield much better results than throwing your resume down the black hole of on-line job boards.
3) This is my favorite and probably the hardest thing for students to wrap their heads around. THERE ARE JOBS OUTSIDE THE TOP FIVE CITIES IN THE COUNTRY! In fact, there are good jobs in places like Austin, TX, Kansas City, MO and Salt Lake City, UT. Consider checking out a place other than where millions of other students are heading to at the same time you are, especially now when the big cities have been hardest hit by layoffs, increasing your competition exponentially.
Try to look at your job search as a treasure hunt, where you have to dig to find clues to the best route to take. Keep a vision of where you want to end up and don’t worry so much about the exact steps you will have to take to get there. Just keep in mind that your first job after college is not the biggest decision you will ever have to make in your life, it just seems that way.