"The time is
NOW, the person is YOU!" is often heard by students of High Point
University by our university president, Dr. Nido Qubein. As a graduating
senior, I oftentimes reflect on Dr. Qubein's lectures and the strong pieces of
advice he offers our students.
I started this
blog with a well-known quote by Dr. Qubein because with graduation quickly
approaching, it is time for seniors to crack down on their job searches. I will
be the first to admit attempting to balance going to school full time and conducting
a serious job search is difficult to balance at times; but I am making it
happen.
According to
career experts, it is extremely important to think about landing that first job
well before graduation. Now I know all you graduating seniors probably just
felt a large pit in your stomach thinking about the g-word and the real world
but it is coming SO much faster than any of us are expecting. Let’s start
planning now!
There are many
advantages to beginning our job searches now. The earlier you begin applying
for jobs in your industry, the more ambitious you look to hiring managers. We
all know the competition between graduating college students across the nation
is extremely high. Get your name and resume out there and begin building your
network! Depending on your desired industry, many businesses prefer to hire
early. Understand your industry, grow your network, and take risks to stay
ahead of your competition.
Don’t worry if
your friends have already secured a job after graduation and you haven’t even
began to apply for jobs. It is not as hard to get started as you may fear. A
great place to start is creating a strong resume tailored to your industry.
Begin practicing those difficult interview questions so you are more than
prepared when you schedule your first interview. Most importantly, be prepared
to do a little juggling. Although your job search is extremely important, you
cannot forget about your obligations to school, work, or extra-curricular
activities.
The time is now
to begin your job search and the person is you that companies desire to hire!
Whitney,
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated this blog post. With graduation quickly approaching, I have been constantly stressed about finding a job. It is hard to imagine not coming back to High Point in the fall, let alone not knowing where I will be living/working. I definitely agree with your point that graduation is approaching WAY quicker than I ever thought possible. I cannot even fathom the thought of only having a few more months left at High Point University. I appreciate you tackling the topic of starting your job search early. Although we like to pretend graduation is never happening, we can benefit tremendously by getting an early start on the job search. When applying for jobs, I definitely want to seem ambitious and excited about any future opportunities. Your post has definitely inspired me to start cracking down on my job search! Although I have been putting off looking for jobs because I am scared of graduation, getting an early start will definitely benefit me in the long run/in my future career.
Also - what great advice! "Understand your industry, grow your network, and take risks to stay ahead of your competition."
Thanks again for a great post, Whitney! I look forward to next weeks post.