Who Needs A Job? I’m In College
Applying for a job after college is drastically different from taking a summer job at your local mall. The applications are often generic and simply ask for previous work experience, which one would fill in tiny boxes. What’s great is that you do not even need a résumé. But for most college students, these work opportunities are no longer an option. The search for most temporary jobs have come to an end and now the search begins for getting a job you love and allows you to apply the knowledge you have learned throughout your college years.
So what now?
Along with the termination of seasonal job options, the option of not having to include a résumé, having small boxes to fill and specialization has gone. The “job” is no longer looking for a person to hire. YOU are looking for the job. After college, job searching becomes a two way street in a more serious and permanent sense. There now needs to be a fit. You are literally selling your qualifications, your confidence and your competence.
In order to accomplish these things a person would have to work on it before getting a job. That’s what college is all about. It’s not only a preparation for your vocation of choice, but a way to actually pursue it after the academia. For those of you who are thinking about going to college or are in college your first step is to make college an overall internship for your prospective job. The flexibility of college is that you can make it into what you want. You can take courses outside your major that are interesting or aimed towards your career goal, you can join various extra-curricular activities that will improve or exemplify your leadership and team-oriented skills, you have an upper-hand in qualifying for internships outside the general public, and you can even take a side job and show your ability to balance. So, the point here is that you have many options available to you that will aid or hurt your qualifications at the ideal job you are looking for.
Your first goal would have to be to plan ahead and take action…well before your graduation date.
Here are more specifics on what to do if you are currently in college:
Join organizations that interest you and/or are job oriented:
The importance of this is that it shows your ability to broaden and immerse yourself in more than your career pursuit. It kind of answers that question: “So what do you do in your spare time?” Clubs and organizations that are career oriented are great in that they give you hands-on experience in your field. They show that this is really what you want to do. However, being over involved in one subject does not necessarily show your ability to handle multiple settings. (And it doesn’t show that you have a life outside of school either.) So if you like sports…go for it! If you want to work at your college’s radio station…go for it. Whatever it may be that interest you make sure you pursue it. After all, people tend to do very well in what they enjoy, and your enthusiasm when discussing what you did in one club or organization will definitely show.
Take internships that are available to you and make them worth it:
Internships can be great opportunities or a great waste of time. If you are doing absolutely nothing during your internship, except serving the secretary coffee, then you need to get out of it. Not learning a thing is a complete waste of time, and the lack of valuable knowledge in the allotted time in college will definitely bite you in the rear when you do land a job and you realize, more often than not, that it is not what you are taught at school. Remember that school gives you the theoretical and the fundamental aspect of your major—that’s it! However, the opportunity to make it more than that is always there.
It is also wise that when you land a great internship you do your very best in it and network like there is no tomorrow because that friend of a friend of a friend that your boss knows just might be the person to give you the job.
Know that the only thing constant in life is change, so make sure you allow amendments in your plans:
Many college students are highly overwhelmed by all the work they have to put in outside of classes. It would help to keep in mind that the decisions, or lack thereof, that you make during your college years, will (notice I did not say “may”) impact your life after it. So just remind yourself of your goals and learn time management. Note: Time management does not mean plan your day out to the minute. College students are often discouraged because they plan daily and find that not all the day’s tasks are accomplished (most of the time). You need to learn to factor in a small thing called life. Things will not go as planned every day (notice I did not say “may”).
There is a great difference between setting plans and setting goals. Plans work best if they are made in a broader sense. For example, planning to finish college in four years and doing well is more realistic than planning to take the maximum number of credits per semester and doing well. Now, that does not mean that doing well with a heavy load of credits is not possible. Of course it is. But what if you had that one professor that you just did not get? What if the class you needed simply was not offered? Then, obviously, you cannot take the number of credits you want and you may be thrown off a bit. Does that mean you failed at your class? No! It means that you may have to take a summer course or two to still meet your broader plan. Your goals will help you get there. Daily goals, like: “I’m going to start these two papers today” will help you get to your greater plan.
Find your job for later now:
Applying for jobs is very easy…if you want to gamble. Securing a job is a whole different story. Security is of great importance in your senior year of college. You want to make sure that you are doing something with the degree you proudly earned.
When it comes to jobs it is not just about the grades—although they are very important. Jobs want the full package from their prospective employees, just as employees want the full package from their employers. (You know… great hours, vacation time, sick days, full benefits and all that other good stuff.) So it’s not just grades that you are giving them. It’s you. You are selling your soul to your job! (Just kidding.)
When you are going through an interview, you need to show exactly what the job calls for and a little more. Your competence is not enough. Most people who are applying for the same position meet the qualifications. They need to remember you. That may be by landing a job with your internship, that may be by networking with various people in college that are in your field, and so on. With a little bit of work you’ll be able to find what I like to call your “professional self”. There are a lot of different tactics a student or someone who is new to the work force can do to help ensure they get that job they always wanted.
