Job hunting after graduation
Job hunting after graduation
If you've left university and don't yet have a job, here are tips on creating an action plan for finding work.
It’s widely acknowledged that it's harder than it used to be to land your first graduate job, and more people now find they are graduating without a job to go to straight away. If you are one of them, don't panic. Take the opportunity for a short rest, then focus on what you can do to make things happen.
1. Keep looking
The good news for graduate job hunters is that employers are now recruiting all year round. Traditionally, most graduate jobs were advertised in the autumn ‘milkround’, with many students having a job offer before they sat their finals. These days, graduate employers are more likely to advertise on an ad hoc basis, as jobs become available or as they get additional budget for recruitment. So don’t stop looking.
The gradireland Summer Fair that takes place each June in Dublin is a chance to meet employers who did not fill all their jobs in the autumn or who have new vacancies.
Use the same vacancy sources as when you were at university: gradireland.com, your careers service website etc. But don't just rely on these: spread your net as far as possible.
2. Network
Tell everyone you know that you are job hunting; be open to any suggestions. Start with family and friends, then build new relationships through them. The more contacts you make, the more likely you are to find out about opportunities and meet people who can help you.
The majority of job vacancies are not advertised, so word of mouth can be very valuable. It can also be worth making speculative applications. These work best when they are targeted to an organisation that you have researched and know you want to work for: a few carefully-written applications are more effective than hundreds of standard letters.
Work experience or voluntary work can also widen your pool of contacts and provide a foot in the door of the industry
If you've left university and don't yet have a job, here are tips on creating an action plan for finding work.
It’s widely acknowledged that it's harder than it used to be to land your first graduate job, and more people now find they are graduating without a job to go to straight away. If you are one of them, don't panic. Take the opportunity for a short rest, then focus on what you can do to make things happen.
1. Keep looking
The good news for graduate job hunters is that employers are now recruiting all year round. Traditionally, most graduate jobs were advertised in the autumn ‘milkround’, with many students having a job offer before they sat their finals. These days, graduate employers are more likely to advertise on an ad hoc basis, as jobs become available or as they get additional budget for recruitment. So don’t stop looking.
The gradireland Summer Fair that takes place each June in Dublin is a chance to meet employers who did not fill all their jobs in the autumn or who have new vacancies.
Use the same vacancy sources as when you were at university: gradireland.com, your careers service website etc. But don't just rely on these: spread your net as far as possible.
2. Network
Tell everyone you know that you are job hunting; be open to any suggestions. Start with family and friends, then build new relationships through them. The more contacts you make, the more likely you are to find out about opportunities and meet people who can help you.
The majority of job vacancies are not advertised, so word of mouth can be very valuable. It can also be worth making speculative applications. These work best when they are targeted to an organisation that you have researched and know you want to work for: a few carefully-written applications are more effective than hundreds of standard letters.
Work experience or voluntary work can also widen your pool of contacts and provide a foot in the door of the industry