Education

How Hard Is It to Land Your First Job After College?

Your time at Maryville University should be spent preparing yourself for a job after college. The sole purpose of going to college is to better your chances of having a successful career. Aside from going to class on time and passing all of your exams, you should be focusing on extracurriculars and gaining real world experience, either through internships, volunteering or part-time jobs. Once you graduate from Boston University, you’re going to have to prove yourself worthy of employment.

One way to do this is to start building up your reputation while you’re still in college. Not doing so will make it harder to land a job after your graduate. There are multiple factors that play a role in how hard it will be to find work once you complete your coursework. Let’s review.

The Demand for Your Skills

Hopefully, you chose a major that’s actually in high demand. If you went for a degree in paleontology, then you can expect to be on the lookout for work for some time. It’s very important for you to choose a career path that has a bright future. One way to know is to research how many job openings are currently available in that field. If there aren’t many, then you may want to think twice about your career choice.

The Future Growth of the Industry

Jobs in the technology industry are all expected to continue to grow, some at above average rates. You can look at sites like the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Salary.com and others that collect data about various job positions. You want to look for a career path that will be around for at least a decade, so you can situate yourself in the field and hopefully retire from it. For example, Web development is expected to grow by 20 percent between 2012 and 2022. That’s very good compared to other job positions, so try to find other careers that have average to above-average growth.

Level of Experience Required

Some fields are more interested in finding people with some type of experience. A college education alone won’t be enough to get you into the door, unless you have good connections. Take for example Web development – most companies are searching for people who have an impressive portfolio – this can be of live or dummy websites. Make sure you have a good understanding of what it will take to enter into your field once you’ve graduated.

Your Marketability

What did you do in college that makes you an impressive applicant? Did you volunteer or intern with a firm that gave you significant experience? Or maybe these experiences helped hone your other related skills, like leadership, organization and project management. There are different ways you can spin your high school and college experiences to make your application look better.

It’s not really hard to find work after college if you’ve chosen a career that’s in demand. You just have to start marketing yourself on LinkedIn and networking at local and online events. Do whatever you can to gain visibility for yourself.

You may also like 5 Great College Majors in Technology

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