As the majority of college commencement ceremonies have already come and gone, a number of recent graduates are taking their first steps to enter the professional world. If you’re one of these lucky neophytes, having just wrapped up your academic career, then chances are that you’re now scrambling among crowds of other applicants your age and attempting to catch the attention of employers. While it can be challenging to stand out from a pool of candidates who have almost identical credentials in terms of degrees and experience, there are certain ways in which you can make your first job hunt as easy as humanly possible. By implementing some simple strategies, you could make the process of landing your first job relatively painless and be well on your way to the creative career of your dreams.
Pad and perfect your resume Perhaps the most important document that you will ever use in your professional life is your resume. Although you have an entire lifetime to compile credentials and build upon this piece of paper, you have to find a way to work with what you’ve got now and impress potential employers. U.S. News and World Report explained that you should invest ample time and effort in perfecting your CV, which means making multiple drafts and ensuring that all of the information is up-to-date and accurate. Because you probably have limited experience, you should pinpoint a number of items that could be seen as beneficial in the eyes of recruiters. In addition to your academic accomplishments, you will need to highlight invaluable opportunities, such as internships, volunteer activities or organizations of which you were a part. The key to including this information on your resume is making sure to connect them to some sort of skill that would translate well to the jobs for which you’re applying. To accomplish this, you could use bullet points to describe the responsibilities and accomplishments associated with each of these resume items in a concise, straightforward manner. This way, employers will have a clear picture of what you bring to the table, rather than having to use their imaginations to figure out how your extracurricular activities somehow make you prepared for a job. Once you manage to pump up your resume to the best of your abilities, you should pass it along to a professional or professor you trust, according to U.S. News and World Report. If you have someone read over your resume, you could have a second set of eyes looking out for typos and problem areas. By having a person who knows you scrutinize your CV, you could have an honest opinion as to whether it is an accurate representation of who you’re as a person, so recruiters can see a true glimpse of your personality.
Prove your interest with a portfolio When you’re applying for creative jobs, you may want to present more than your resume to possible employers. According to Mashable, putting together a virtual portfolio or website to showcase prime examples of your work could be a smart choice to boost your job search. Your options vary, depending on the line of work you wish to pursue: Prospective designers should make a site with images of their ideas; potential computer programmers need to publish apps or digital games online; wannabe media specialists must develop an extensive social network following. By taking initiative and establishing a strong presence online, you could supplement your resume with concrete credentials that recruiters can come across and evaluate. If you provide these representations of your work, you may be more likely to make an impression on employers, showing that you’re serious about starting your creative career.
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