The LinkedIn Guide to Getting Hired in 2018

College graduation is an exciting time, you’re getting ready to embark on the next chapter of your life. But it can be overwhelming and on top of that, there’s more students graduating than ever before. But the good news is that you’re not in this alone. We took a look at where the class of 2016-2017 ended up after graduation and examined the types of roles, companies, industries, and locations where they landed. Read on and get ready to start flexing those interview muscles.   

Apply Now!

Right now is the best time to apply. We saw the most grads were hired into entry-level jobs between April and June last year, so we’re right in the middle of the application sweet spot. If you’re not ready yet, don’t worry - August is another hot time to apply.

Take some time to think about updating your LinkedIn profile and resume to stand out from the crowd. 

The Most Sought-After Roles (And How Much They’re Making)

These are the top 10 most-applied-for job titles among 2016 - 2017 grads. We’ve also included salary information to give you a benchmark for how much you can expect your salary to be in your first few years.

1. Software Engineer ($92,300)

2. Investment Banking Analyst ($85,000)

3. Marketing Coordinator ($45,000)

4. Graphic Designer ($45,000)

5. Assistant Media Planner ($58,000)

6. Account Executive ($60,000)

7. Business Analyst ($70,000)

8. Recruiter ($48,000)

9. Account Coordinator ($40,000)

10. Administrative Assistant ($38,000)

Where Your Major Can Take You

Your major doesn’t always dictate your career, but it can be a good guiding light to help you understand the types of jobs you can get out of college. These are the top 10 majors that led to the most varied types of opportunities after graduation.

Soft Skills and Basic Digital Literacy Are Important

Among the 2017 graduates that got hired, many of them lauded a wide array of soft skills -- as well as basic digital literacy. Check out the top 10 skills of grads that got hired and see how you stack up. Consider taking a LinkedIn Learning class to build out your skills bench.

1. Microsoft Office

2. Customer Service

3. Leadership

4. Public Speaking

5. Social Media

6. Teamwork

7. Time Management

8. Research

9. Management

10. Event Planning

Cities, Companies, and Industries Across the Country Are Hiring Grads

We looked at the top 10 cities hiring the most entry-level professionals and broke that down even further to show you the companies and industries that hired the most recent grads in 2017.

You may notice that many of these are large firms, but if you’re looking for a smaller company you’re in luck. On average, small businesses (between 1 - 200 employees) post more entry-level roles than any other size company.

#1 New York City, NY

Companies that hired the most grads:

• EY
• PwC
• Goldman Sachs
• JPMorgan Chase
• Morgan Stanley

Industries that hired the most grads:

• Marketing & Advertising,
• Financial Services
• Internet

#2 San Francisco Bay Area, CA

Companies that hired the most grads: 

• Google
• Salesforce
• Uber
• Yelp
• Apple

Industries that hired the most grads:

• Internet
• Computer Software
• Information Technology & Services

#3 Washington D.C.

Companies that hired the most grads:

• U.S. House of Representatives
• Booz Allen Hamilton
• Deloitte
• United States Senate
• Accenture

Industries that hired the most grads:

• Information Technology & Services
• Management Consulting
• Non-Profit

#4 Los Angeles, CA

Companies that hired the most grads:

• University of Southern California
• University of California, Los Angeles
• EY
• NBCUniversal Media
• Creative Artists Agency

Industries that hired the most grads:

• Entertainment
• Marketing & Advertising
• Internet

#5 Chicago, IL

Companies that hired the most grads:

• Accenture
• PwC
• Deloitte
• EY
• Yelp

Industries that hired the most grads:

• Marketing & Advertising
• Financial Services
• Information Technology & Services

#6 Boston, MA

Companies that hired the most grads:

• Wayfair
• Massachusetts General Hospital
• Liberty Mutual Insurance
• Oracle
• Boston University

Industries that hired the most grads:

• Hospital & Healthcare
• Higher Education
• Computer Software

#7 Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

Companies that hired the most grads:

• Lockheed Martin
• American Airlines
• Texas Instruments
• EY
• Southwest Airlines

Industries that hired the most grads:

• Financial Services
• Hospital & Healthcare
• Information Technology & Services

#8 Atlanta, GA

Companies that hired the most grads:

• The Home Depot
• Georgia Institute of Technology
• Georgia State University
• EY
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Industries that hired the most grads:

• Information Technology & Services
• Marketing & Advertising
• Higher Education

#9 Austin, TX

Companies that hired the most grads:

• Oracle
• The University of Texas at Austin
• GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group)
• IBM
• General Motors

Industries that hired the most grads:

• Information Technology & Services
• Computer Software
• Internet

#10 Seattle, WA

Companies that hired the most grads:

• Amazon
• Microsoft
• University of Washington
• Amazon Web Services
• Nordstrom

Industries that hired the most grads:

• Internet
• Computer Software
• Information Technology & Services

Get out there and find your success, class of 2018! There are more than 1 million entry level jobs to explore on LinkedIn. For more tips on how to get the most out of LinkedIn and your career, subscribe to our blog.