Are you graduating from college this spring and looking for the help finding a job?
At Transition Solutions, we’ve been helping companies and individuals with workforce changes for thirty years, including recent college graduates.
This past year has been a tough on many levels and you have persevered to accomplish your goal. To that we say, Congratulations!
Now what? While the job market is still somewhat impacted by the pandemic, the good news is there are plenty of jobs available across many industries.
We recommend the following approach to helping you get your career started!
- Identify target industries and roles based on demand, opportunity and your skills. Targeting industries that are growing and hiring is a great strategy to get your career started quickly! LinkedIn recently shared the top three industries hiring in their 2021 Grad’s Guide to Getting Hired. Based on their data, transportation and logistics, health care and tech industries are looking to hire en masse. In fact, these three fields accounted for the most entry-level openings in the U.S., according to LinkedIn’s analysis of open positions in the first three months of 2021.
In terms of entry level positions, LinkedIn shared the fastest-growing across all industries in the U.S. were software engineer, online specialist (most commonly a marketing and customer service role), and sterilization technician showing especially strong growth in the early part of 2021.
Below is LinkedIn’s full list of top industries and jobs for entry-level workers.
- Create a Resume and LinkedIn Profile that Align with your target job(s). Your resume and LinkedIn profile are sales tools to help promote you as the product. The answers to the test when it comes to getting a job are in the job description. Ensure your resume and LinkedIn profile include key words and skills you have that align with the jobs you are seeking.
Resume Tips: The objective of your resume should be to get the interview. It should not be a description of job responsibilities. Instead, the quality and content of your resume should promote your accomplishments, reflect your capabilities and strengths and create enough interest for an employer to invite you in for an interview. As a college graduate, be sure to include the soft skills you gained from jobs you have held throughout school, from playing team sports or groups you were a part of.
LinkedIn Tips: LinkedIn represents one of the most important tools available to you in job search. Your LinkedIn profile should augment your resume and be consistent with the role(s) you are seeking. Be sure to include a professional head and shoulder photo, your job history including soft skills and top accomplishments. Connect with everyone you know who has a professional career. The power of LinkedIn comes from your connections, so growing your network is important.
- Network! The old adage it’s not what you know, but who you know still applies today. In fact, we coach our clients that 80-90% of people find jobs based on networking. We’ve listed the five primary job search methods and the corresponding percentages of jobs found using each method are:
- Networking (80-90%).
- Responding to posted jobs (5-10%).
- Working with placement and temporary agencies (5-10%).
- Attending job fairs, professional association meetings, trade shows, (less than 5%).
- Conducting a direct mail campaign (less than 5%).
Keep in mind that networking goes beyond connecting with someone on LinkedIn or social media. You should reach out to people and ideally set up a 20 minute meeting in person or via zoom to connect. Have an objective for your time together and don’t make it all about you. Knowing your ideal industry, company, and/or roles will help your network know how they can best help you, especially if they have connections in your target areas.
Finding the right job can be stressful and take time. We recommend keeping in mind that your first job will likely not be your last job. As Harvard’s Gorick Ng stated, “There’s a difference between holding out for the best job in the universe and picking the best job you can given where you are today and then making the most of that experience.”
Congratulations again from the team at Transition Solutions and happy job hunting!
At Transition Solutions, we help companies and individuals with workforce changes and outplacement services. Our strong reputation for consistently delivering exceptional service at value sets us apart. If you would like more information on our services or additional information on planning for employee separations please check out our website at https://www.transitionsolutions.com/outplacement-employers/ or you can contact us directly at 888-424-0003 or email us at info@transitionsolutions.com.