Congrats on the college graduation or impending milestone! With this accomplishment comes both excitement and anxiousness for most people. The future stands at your doorstep and it calling you to dive into a world of possibilities. Make the journey easier with these 4 BIG Job Tips for New College Graduates.
1. Where Your Start Is Just The Start
Don’t let yourself get too worked up about the first job position that you hold after college graduation or even carry over from your college days. Your aim should be to get your foot in the work world door and prove your capabilities. Much of success in the workplace rides on demonstrating good work habits (showing that you are punctual, attentive, hardworking, and persistent) and being on the playing field when a bigger opportunity becomes available.
2. Job Combining May Be The Ticket
Can’t find one full-time position that meets your needs? It is common today to cobble several part-time positions together temporarily or more permanently. In fact, some people prefer to work this way for variety and flexibility sake.
No matter whether you intend to make this meshing of jobs a short or longer-term arrangement, give the jobs everything that you have got. You will get known and noticed and who knows where that may lead.
3. No Man or Woman Should Be An Island
No matter how much technology that we have available to us, face-to-face networking is still key to long-term career growth and success. So put the cell phone, iPad, and other devices down and start getting to know other people in person.
One of the easiest ways to do this is to join a trade association or community organization. For example, once I graduated from college, my first boss (and wonderful mentor) had me join the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). She took me to regional chapter meetings where I meet people from a variety of companies who all did work in my given career field. I am still a member of PRSA today, 20+ years later, because of the community that it has provided over the course of my career.
Not sure which active trade associations are available in your career field or community organizations are out there. Ask around. Approach more experienced people in your field and ask their opinion. Just the asking is networking in and of itself.
4. The Learning Has Just Begun With the Diploma
Work-related learning definitely does not stop with the college degree. Being that you are probably pretty burned out on studying right now, this may not be something that you want to hear. Take heart though! This new and career-long phase of learning can be pretty exhilarating. You often see the practical applications of what you learn right away and it is fun to discover more about topics that you really care about.
And the more that you know about a variety of subjects and, especially new developments in your career field, the more in demand that you will be.
Congrats again on your educational achievements. Follow these 4 BIG Tips for New College Graduates and you will build a strong foundation for a long-lasting career.
For more tips:
15 Great Places to Find Job Openings
10 Freelance And Part-Time Job Sources
