3 Important Lessons Learned from My First College Job Search

I've been working in the professional services industry for a few years now and I can confidently say that there was so much I didn't know when I was looking for my first job out of college. When I interview young men and women for positions at my firm, I remember what it was like to be in their shoes and I now realize how little information is shared with college students to help them in their first job search. So today, we are going to look at 3 important lessons I've learned since my first job search out of college:

Your school’s job website is not the only place where you can find a job

Like many students when I was first looking for a job or internship out of school, I went right to my school's Career Center and they advised me to look on their website for listings from employers that were recruiting students from the school. I took it upon myself to check the website somewhat frequently but there weren't very many options that met my criteria at the time, and it took me awhile to find my first internship. It was only years later that I learned that my job search would have been much more efficient and productive if I saw it out recruiters and postings directly from company websites and LinkedIn. The unfortunate truth is that not all companies have the time or energy to interact with your school's career center to post a single position and using only the school’s website can put you at a massive disadvantage.  

You need to start earlier

It was only after starting my job at my firm and seeing the inside of the operation that I learned how extensive some of these recruiting programs are. Some companies will have a chain of externship and internship programs that will select students as early as their sophomore year and guide them to an opportunity to interview for a full-time position 2+ years later. To get into those programs (or any job for that matter), it's likely that you're going to need a competitive resume. The number one thing that holds students back from having a competitive resume is a lack of professional experience. The best solution to this problem is to be proactive and get that experience early. Any part time job, unpaid internship (if you can afford it), or teaching assistantship can help you secure that first bit of experience you need to be competitive for your first full time job.

Recruiting is unfair

These three words sum up my first job search perfectly. What I've learned after interviewing for many positions and interviewing many people for positions at my firm is that there are so many factors beyond your control that can lead to the employer not offering you the job or the interview. Someone else may have a connection at the firm that you don’t. You could have interviewed at the wrong time, when the company didn’t have openings. The company may have already made their decision and are just interviewing more people to meet a required quota. The lesson I've learned over the years is that you can't take anything personally. Every minute that I spent wondering about (beyond an appropriate amount of self-reflection) why I didn’t get an interview or a job offer was time I could have spent researching and applying for more jobs.  It's important to remember that not everyone will have the same opportunities when looking for jobs, especially in the early years. The most important thing you can do is put yourself in a position to act whenever a good opportunity comes to you, whatever your circumstances might be.