1300 363 128
Woo hoo! You’ve just finished mountains of study, exams are done and dusted, you’ve enjoyed the Summer sun, maybe some travel and you’ve had a party … or two. Now it’s time to consider getting a job. Not just the run of the mill supermarket job, bar job, restaurant job but a real job!
The biggest question is how do you find that dream job? In fact what jobs are on offer ? Importantly, what is the first step?
Don’t worry. You are not alone. I remember when I graduated from my Science degree, the degree that all my teachers recommended to “open my world”; I was completely lost. I had been so busy just trying to complete the degree I hadn’t really conceived what I would do next. Did I want to be a teacher? No! Did I want to work in the Lab? No! So what was next? I was fortunate that after a bit of trial and error, not to mention more study I fell into a career I love.
My aim is to help you get your job, your real job, a little sooner than it took me.
Five tips for getting a job after graduating:
Tip 1: profile yourself
There are plenty of good personal assessment tools that will give you insights into you, your personality and your behaviours. Google some free personality profile tests and learn your style. Things like extroverted/introverted, detail oriented or conceptual, analytical/creative and leaning towards order or chaos can be key indicators of the type of work you will enjoy and the work environments in which you will thrive.
Tip 2: research
The best way to find what people with your qualifications do is to look it up. Search Google, Yahoo, YouTube or JobBoards including seek.com, or careerone with your qualification’s key words and see what comes up. You will find the jobs that people with your piece of paper, tend to do (you may be surprised as it opens new doors).
Once you have started to find job clusters in which you “roughly” fall, take the search up a notch – web-based and in your community. Track down places where these people work and be so bold (yes you can do it) to ask them for feedback on what it is they do.
Tip 3: canvas prospective employers
If you have found the type of role, or vaguely the type of role you are looking for and you think may interest you, find all the places in your area that have people employed doing that job. Get in touch with the decision makers in the organisation and ask if you could volunteer for a few weeks in the role you seek. Don’t just go for the big players, seek out smaller companies or suppliers to the big companies as they have less people applying on mass. You may be thinking “What, work without pay?” Yes, better to do a few weeks for free and find out if you love or hate a job and move in the right direction than make a poor decision.
Tip 4: apply for graduate programs
Although hugely competitive, apply for graduate positions in your discipline/industry area. Prepare so that you are the standout from the crowd and you may just gain the opportunity. The best thing about graduate roles is you tend to work in a range of different departments before landing in an area that you are best suited for.
Tip 5: if all else fails…
Keep busy. They say “An Idle Mind is the Devil’s Playground”. All can get very disheartening if you keep putting yourself out there and get knock back after knock back, especially when your mates are getting their dream jobs.
My biggest recommendation … do something, anything! My biggest career destiny came to me while I was a waitress in North Melbourne. The unlikeliest of places.
Keep moving, keep occupied, do some short courses, travel, volunteer for charities (they all need help) and you will feel better for it. And … you never know your career destiny may just knock on your door.
For further information or to speak to our Careers Specialist please contact Harvest tel: 1300 363 128.
