DR. VITUS BLOG

It’s very common to have difficulty finding a job in
your field after graduating. In fact, finding any job at
all can be difficult!
So if you have no job after college, don’t feel bad.
You’re NOT alone.
There are a couple things you can do to maximize
your chance of succeeding though.
Follow these four steps to boost your chances of
getting a job you love…
No Job After College? 4
Things to Try
#1 Network like CRAZY
Anyone can do this. I had almost zero network
when I graduated university.
I planned on moving to Korea to teach English for a
year, and decided not to at the last minute.
So I had no job leads, and had really neglected my
network (because I thought I wouldn’t need it).
So even if you have nothing right now, you can talk
to your academic advisers and former professors.
Talk to classmates and friends.
Tell your parents and family you’re job searching
too (and what you’re looking for). If people don’t
know you’re job hunting, they can’t help you.
If you want detailed steps on how to build your
network (including by “cold” messaging people who
you think could introduce you to great companies), I
wrote a full article on why networking is the fastest
way to find a job.
But if you’re not making the most of the people you
know, and occasionally taking steps to meet new
people and grow your network, you’re leaving a BIG
opportunity on the table.
Here are a couple ways to meet new people:
#2 Apply directly to growth-stage
companies
I’m sure you’ve seen a lot of companies out there
require experience, and won’t hire someone who is
entry-level. Very frustrating, right?
However, there’s one type of company that typically
LOVES to hire entry level people.
Fast-growing, new companies. Growth-stage
companies.
By applying to growth-stage companies, you
multiply the chance that they’re looking for entry
level people.
I wrote an article about this here.
Fast-growing companies often like to train people
and promote from within as they build their
company culture and expand their operations.
You also greatly increase the chance you’ll be
selected in the interview, because they’re often
hiring multiple people at the same time, for the
same role. Would you rather interview with 10 other
people for one open position? Or interview with 10
other people for six open positions? The choice is
pretty obvious.
Because of this, applying directly to fast-growing
companies is one of my 3 best methods to find a
job right now, especially for recent graduates who
haven’t found a job after college.
#3 Level-up your interview skills
Think about this for a second – when you go into
the interview, the hiring manager has never seen you
work a single day in your life.
So they’re deciding whether to hire entirely based
on what you say.
This is the power of interview skills. What you say
in the interview has the power to get you hired for
the top, highest-paying jobs out there.
Or if you’re making interview mistakes, employers
won’t give you a chance to show what you’re
capable of. It could definitely be the reason you
have no job after college.
The bottom line is building great interview skills can
change your career and allow you to get the best
jobs.
If you learn how to give great interview answers , and
discover what employers want to hear, you’ll have a
massive advantage every time you change positions
and earn far more money in your career.
If you want to build better interview skills, here are
a couple free resources to help you immediately:
#4 Consider relocating
If you did well in school, picked a great major or
field of study, and still can’t find job, it might be
your location.
Some regions just don’t have many job
opportunities.
My advice:
You’re young, you just graduated. If you think your
location is holding you back, and your personal life
allows for it, consider relocating.
Different regions have “clusters” of companies from
certain industries (for example, I used to recruit for
Biotech companies, and they’re clustered in San
Francisco, Boston, New Jersey, Maryland, and a few
other cities).
Yes, you can find a biotech company out in Indiana.
But it’s going to be more difficult to get hired, and
you’ll be stuck with that one employer for 20-30
years unless you relocate in the future. Not good.
(And if I’ve seen one thing as a recruiter, the best
way to keep your salary LOW is to stay with one
employer for 20+ years. )
So if I’ve convinced you to consider relocating, here
are some steps you can take right now:
1. Decide what industry you want to work in
most
2. Do your research and figure out where the
“clusters” are located for this industry. What
cities or regions are most of the companies
located in?
3. Once you have a list of the biggest cities/
regions for your industry, pick the most
attractive one or two regions based on
personal factors – proximity to friends and
family, cost of living, climate, or anything
else you care about! Think about where you’d
actually like to live.
4. Prepare your resume for an out-of-state job
search
5. Start applying for jobs in this new city or
state
Repeat and Adjust
Job searching isn’t an exact science. The steps
above should help you find a job after college, but
you may need to test a few things, make
adjustments, etc.
If you send some “cold” messages on LinkedIn and
don’t get any replies, change the script.
If you go on four interviews and don’t get any
callbacks, it’s time to work on your interview skills
more and figure out where you’re making mistakes.
And things don’t happen overnight. You need to
apply for a lot of jobs and keep your effort going.
But if you try these steps, make adjustments and
improve, you WILL find a job after college.
Good luck and I hope this article gave you new
hope, motivation and most importantly – a
gameplan you’re excited to move forward with in
your job search.
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Recent Grads / By Biron Clark
= q w - m
Go to local meetups related to the industry you
are interested in. Meetup.com and Facebook
groups are great ways to find these events.
»
Contact people on LinkedIn and ask a question
about their experience working for their employer
(explain that you’re job searching and curious what
the work environment is like). Word-for-word
example of a message can be found here .
»
Ask people in your current network if there’s
anyone they can refer you to. Find out if they
know anyone who would be valuable for you to
speak with in your job hunt.