Things You'll Need:
- Updated Resume
- Basic Cover Letter
- Persistence
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Step 1
1.Apply. A lot. To everything. Knowing where to find openings is half the battle - my favorite places are:
1.Indeed.com - it's like google for jobs.
2.Craigslist.com - works surprisingly well, especially for smaller businesses.
3.Directly on company websites - find companies in your field and apply directly on their sites for a higher chance of a call-back.
4.Field specific job boards - it makes sifting through the positions you're not interested in faster.
5.The big job boards - You know these: Monster, Yahoo jobs, careerbuilder, etc but expect an influx of spam for fake jobs from these bigger boards. If a job sounds fishy, proceed with caution.
6.Career fairs and networking events - these usually have a cost of entry but can be great opportunities to speak to HR representatives face to face. You can also e-mail HR reps on Linked-in or cold call companies and ask to be connected to the HR rep recruiting for your desired position. -
Step 2
Not sure you want that job? Apply! Don't have 2-3 years experience or x/y skill? Apply!
When I said apply to everything, I meant it. Even if you're only mildly interested in the position. Don't stress about how badly you want it until you get a call-back because it doesn't matter if you want it or not if you don't even know if they want YOU yet. Wait until you've scheduled a job interview with them before you start thinking seriously about whether or not you'd want it. Otherwise, you're pretty much just agonizing over a job offer that doesn't even exist yet. In fact, take the phone interview if you get it and use it to practice your interviewing so you don't screw up that phone interview for the job you know you want.
Don't be intimidated. Job descriptions always talk up the jobs and make them sound more complicated than they seem. You're young, you learn quickly, you're flexible and able to adapt - you can do it.
Even if you can't do it - they might like your resume enough to pass it onto an open position you CAN do but they aren't advertising. I should know, it's how I got my first job out of college. -
Step 3
Make your life easier with a cover letter template. Any cover letter is better than no cover letter and if you're applying to hundreds of positions a day, it's best to make one generic but flexible cover letter you can attach to every application. If you're applying to very similar jobs this is easier to do - otherwise, change out 1-2 paragraphs but keep the whole similar. Highlight skills that are useful in any position, this should be pretty easy as you've just graduated and probably don't have a lot of relevant work experience anyway.
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Step 4
Follow-up. Send a thank-you letter after any contact, call to ask about the status of your application, and call again - be persistent but polite about it. Acknowledge they're busy, thank them for taking the time to respond, apologize for being forward but do it anyway.
