Source: Dumb Little Man
Aaron is a fresh college graduate looking to land his first full-time job. He studied Finance in college and has been researching companies in the Phoenix area for available entry-level finance positions. Aaron worked as a server throughout college but he doesn’t have much relevant experience in the financial industry.
He’s new to the job hunting process and doesn’t know where to begin his search. What can Aaron do to increase his chances of landing a great job? This is a very common problem for many fresh graduates across the nation. In a recent survey administered to over 500 graduating students for Door of Club’s “College Graduates’ Views on Job Prospects” segment, over 67% of students did not have a job lined up after college. This is a big problem considering that the average college graduate has over $37,000 in debt. In this article, I hope to shed some light on how to land your dream job.Utilize LinkedIn
This is probably my favorite social platform today. With over 450 million active users around the world, LinkedIn has become the go-to platform for professionals. Not only do many companies post job openings on LinkedIn, the site allows you to connect with professionals from wide range industries and backgrounds. One of the best ways to learn about positions you may be interested in is to reach out to professionals. They know what it takes to succeed in the role. Asking them about their experiences can give you a better understanding of what to expect. When I was looking for my first job back in 2014, I consistently reached out to professionals on LinkedIn to ask questions related to various roles I was applying for.
Not only does speaking with these individuals give you a better understanding of what to expect from a role you’re applying for, it also helps build rapport with the individual. On 3 separate occasions, the professionals I spoke with forwarded my resume over to their hiring managers. These interactions resulted in 3 separate in-person interviews. Although you shouldn’t expect your connection to forward your resume along, it’s a possibility if you impress them with engaging questions and show interest in the company. I’ve provided an article I wrote on how to best approach these professionals here.Come up with S.T.A.R responses
You might be wondering what gives with the silly title? The acronym S.T.A.R refers to Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This is an approach that has been used by many hiring managers across the nation to evaluate job candidates on their aptitude for a role. Given that on average 118 applicants apply for any job opening, you’ll need to develop sound responses to an array of behavioral questions to ensure that you distinguish yourself from the pack. Start by thinking of 5 to 10 stories of times you exhibited skills such as leadership, technical ability, teamwork, adaptability, strong judgment, and ethical behavior. One of the things I did to come up with these stories is to look at a list of 70 to 100 commonly asked…
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