So you are about to enter on the job market –
congratulations! The road ahead of you is challenging and the first milestone
to conquer is to put in writing all your amazing skills, courses, volunteer
achievements and work experience. Oh, wait… you don’t have any work experience?
No problem, we all have been there before, literary speaking!
I’m not trying to undermine the importance of having a
relative work experience or any work experience for the fact, but here’s what
you can begin with if you are a fresher trying to get your first job.
1. Tell
more about your school
Instead of just mentioning its name and attendance
years, you can talk more in detail about your academic performance, what you
studied and how this will benefit the position you are applying for.
For sure there will be relevant subjects, practical
things you achieved, types of essays you wrote that connect you and your
potential employer. If people can sell their philosophy
degree to anyone in business world, then you have very high
chances of selling yours.
2.
Volunteer experience counts
Doesn’t matter if it was your mom who made you go to
the nursing home or your school teacher that came up with such project – put it
all down in your resume!
Your main task at this point is to show your employer
that you are not idle, but are able and eager to do what is expected from you. Don’t
hesitate to showcase any social service you’ve ever done, but do it in a past
result-oriented time:
-
“Visited
15 nursing homes giving guitar concerts” or
-
“Collected
over 20 bags of clothes for 30 homeless people in my region”
3. Got a
hobby? Leave it here
Your hobbies are examples of things you enjoy, thus
show your best while doing it. Demonstrate your hobby as something you do
regularly and develop yourself in. Put all your achievements, awards and
commitments.
It’s one thing to be interested in dancing, and
another if you “frequent ballet classes three
times a week for the last three years and made it to finalists of four state
competitions”.
4. Advertise
your skills
There’s always a basic set of skills that a vacancy
requires. Mix that with your personal skills that will diversify you from other
applicants. You can divide the skills into something you are good at, something
you enjoy doing, state your strength and what personal qualities you can
contribute while working at the position you apply for.
5. Don’t
neglect writing a motivation letter or summary
Even if it’s not required, take your time to write an
inspirational and catchy cover letter that can be included as a text of the email,
where you attach your CV. Here you can summarize your strong traits and
highlight some shared points between you and the vacancy advertised.
6. Provide
references
There’s a magic power of someone willing to bet their
reputation on you. If you are really serious about pursuing this opening, ask
your teacher or coach to give you a reference. In most cases this doubles your
chances of being noticed and taken seriously.
Looking for employment can be stressful at any age and
on any career stage, but recent surveys reveal some encouraging facts – 65%
of American enterprises stated they will hire recent graduates this year. So using
the tips we discussed above and bringing up your courage and personality will put
your resume to the top of the file and get you started on an exciting career
journey!
Did you like this article? Don’t hesitate to share
with me what careers you are considering today and why!
Doris A. Palmer is a professional career counselor and writer at
Studyscanner.com. She has spent over 7 years around real students and
graduates while watching their careers develop and their personalities grow.
She is now sharing her experience and learning new trends through live
interaction with users.
No comments:
Post a Comment