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When you're in school, you are told that you need to go to college to get a job. You are faced with College Prep trainings, ACT's and the long selection process. Its a long road, but in the end it'll all be worth it, isn't it?
Well not in all cases. Many graduates face a common hurdle in their post-graduate job search: finding that first job. Too many companies just ask too much from applicants, while some companies aren't specific enough with their requirements for the job. As a result graduates turn to internships or referrals from relatives to find a job, but many graduates end up working for less money than they could make working full time at McDonald's. While this can be annoying, the job search after college doesn't have to be a failure.
Take Sarah, for example. She went to college for 5 years. She has two degrees in Marketing and Business. She has some experience from a summer internship, but not a lot. She graduated last spring, and has sent her resume out to hundreds of employers in the past few months. She's taken classes on job preparation and resume writing. She has even consulted with the career counselors at her school to ensure shed be prepared to enter the working world when the time comes. Still, she hasn't gotten a single response from anyone who wants to hire her.
This is frustrating for her because she worked so hard to be prepared for a career and be successful in the real world. Its dually difficult for her because her uncle works in the automotive Department at a big box retailer and makes almost $55,000 a year, with no college education. She cant even find an entry level office job for $20,000 where she can work her way up. Is she doing anything wrong?
To begin with, she is sending the same resume to every job. Additionally, she has a generic cover letter that accompanies her resume. She fits what a position would require in her resume and cover letter, but she isn't targeting her words to each employer.
Employers need to know what you can do for them and every job listing is going to be different. As a result its essential that you change your resume and cover letter to reflect each job opening that you apply to. She needs to look at keywords that are in the job announcements and use them in her resume. She also needs to look specifically for minimal experience jobs, because she only has a couple internships as experience.
Another helpful tool that she can use is to use her inexperience to her advantage. By this, we simply mean she can take the time to emphasize her lack of experience, and give it a positive spin. For example, because of this lack of experience, shes completely able to be trained to a company's specific needs. Shes not set in her ways, and has no routine that has to be broken. That sounds much better than "Ive never worked in this field before."
Resume writing can be a challenging endeavor, as much as looking for a job. However, as long as you provide a unique resume that makes you stand out, you can ensure that your phone will be ringing in no time.
Well not in all cases. Many graduates face a common hurdle in their post-graduate job search: finding that first job. Too many companies just ask too much from applicants, while some companies aren't specific enough with their requirements for the job. As a result graduates turn to internships or referrals from relatives to find a job, but many graduates end up working for less money than they could make working full time at McDonald's. While this can be annoying, the job search after college doesn't have to be a failure.
Take Sarah, for example. She went to college for 5 years. She has two degrees in Marketing and Business. She has some experience from a summer internship, but not a lot. She graduated last spring, and has sent her resume out to hundreds of employers in the past few months. She's taken classes on job preparation and resume writing. She has even consulted with the career counselors at her school to ensure shed be prepared to enter the working world when the time comes. Still, she hasn't gotten a single response from anyone who wants to hire her.
This is frustrating for her because she worked so hard to be prepared for a career and be successful in the real world. Its dually difficult for her because her uncle works in the automotive Department at a big box retailer and makes almost $55,000 a year, with no college education. She cant even find an entry level office job for $20,000 where she can work her way up. Is she doing anything wrong?
To begin with, she is sending the same resume to every job. Additionally, she has a generic cover letter that accompanies her resume. She fits what a position would require in her resume and cover letter, but she isn't targeting her words to each employer.
Employers need to know what you can do for them and every job listing is going to be different. As a result its essential that you change your resume and cover letter to reflect each job opening that you apply to. She needs to look at keywords that are in the job announcements and use them in her resume. She also needs to look specifically for minimal experience jobs, because she only has a couple internships as experience.
Another helpful tool that she can use is to use her inexperience to her advantage. By this, we simply mean she can take the time to emphasize her lack of experience, and give it a positive spin. For example, because of this lack of experience, shes completely able to be trained to a company's specific needs. Shes not set in her ways, and has no routine that has to be broken. That sounds much better than "Ive never worked in this field before."
Resume writing can be a challenging endeavor, as much as looking for a job. However, as long as you provide a unique resume that makes you stand out, you can ensure that your phone will be ringing in no time.
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