10 Job Search Mistakes for College Students (and Others) to Avoid

Well, you’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on your student’s education, and now they’re ready to head out into the real world, but there’s one course they do not seem to teach in college: ‘How to Land a Real Job in the Real World,’ so students often make a number of mistakes that slow their progress down and make it harder for them to come across employment than it has to be.

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Well, you’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on your student’s education, and now they’re ready to head out into the real world, but there’s one course they don’t seem to teach in college: ‘How to Land a Real Job in the Real World,’ so students often make a number of mistakes that slow their progress down and make it harder for them to discover employment than it has to be.

With that in mind, I’ve prepared this list of the most widespread mistakes that students make so you can stay away from them. Contemplate this your crash course on what NOT to do when you are looking for a job:

Don’t begin with out a plan. This means spending time really researching fields and careers that you’re thinking about working in and making a list of locations you’ll contact. Then, you will need to methodically work your way through this list.

Don’t let your significant limit you. Keep in mind to look for issues that interest you that may possibly fall outside the narrow confines of your exact significant. Significantly of what you do in a position can typically be learned on the job, so do not worry too much about it matching perfectly. Believe of your degree as what gets you in the door, not what defines what you’ll be doing for the rest of your life.

Do not ignore your school’s career center when looking for job leads. Some schools are much more helpful than other people, but you can constantly discover something there. And their job is to assist location you, so do not be shy about asking them for support.

Don’t look only for jobs that are listed on the key search engines. This is an straightforward, but lazy way to look for work. Be positive to look at your local classifieds and Craig’s List (www.CraigsList.org) for general leads, but also look up the trade associations of the fields you’re looking in for far more particular job listings.

Don’t rely just on the world wide web or email to communicate. It is typically too easy to delete or ignore, specially if you’re an employer that gets inundated with email. Be positive to difficult copy resumes as well as emailing them. Also, it is too easy to be ‘casual’ with an email. Keep in mind, anything you write is permanent communication, so usually be professional.

Do not be afraid to commence with an entry-level position. You’re new to the job marketplace, so you’re not entitled to anything. Like I said above, your degree often will just get you in the door, then it’s up to you to prove yourself and make your self indispensible from there.

Don’t send a resume or an email from the account of a place that you are already working at. 1st off, this will not impress your new employer, and may make them question your integrity since it might appear that you’re taking benefit of your existing firm. Plus, if you lose your job, that email account will vanish, and you will no longer be able to contact anybody from it.

Don’t wing it on job interviews. I’m often shocked at how small time in preparation most folks invest once they’ve finally landed an actual interview. Once you have an interview set up, spend some time researching their web site. Learn about what they do, and their company history, and who founded them and when.

If nothing else, it will show that you’re serious, and it is a step that most other applicants (read: nearly all) won’t take. Also, review the common questions that employers ask and give thought to how you will answer them.

Do not dress casually. Usually be dressed for company with your clothes neat and pressed, and your shoes shined. Little things speak volumes about a person, and this can make a huge difference. Also, if there’s a doubt about how to dress, you’re greater off being over-dressed than under-dressed.

Lastly, don’t treat your job search like a component time endeavor. You can overcome a lot of handicaps like not having job experience by simply being willing to outwork everybody else. Treat it like a 40 hour a week job, and truly hustle. Don’t sleep in. Get up early. And make every day count. Now, even though these ideas don’t cover everything, they’ll get you began and give you a leg up on everybody else, so you can land that job in no time.

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