What College Students Can Do Now For Success Later
By: Damaris Villalva, Marketing / CRM Associate
Published: September 25, 2019
Having a college degree can help open doors to great jobs. However, I think that we often come to the assumption that having a degree alone will immediately qualify us for an amazing career as soon as we receive that diploma in hand. From the very beginning college, I had changed my expectations after learning it isn’t as easy to obtain a career job right after graduating. I found myself just like many other graduating students, I didn't prepare for this until my senior year of college. I learned the hard way that you should not wait to start preparing for post-college life until your Senior Year, because it’s very stressful trying to cram 4 years worth of new experiences in such a short period of time.
The importance of internships, networking, and keeping your options open are some of the things that I wished someone would have told me about sooner when trying to prepare for the “real world” after college. So here is some advice for those who are graduating soon.
Internships
Internships are a great way to go in getting the experience that you need for your future career. If you have ever researched your dream job, you probably noticed that it requires a lot of years of experience. A lot of jobs require you to walk into the job with at least one year of prior experience in that position, but being a full-time student will probably not allow you to get that opportunity. Internships are the way to go when trying to obtain some prior experience in your field. I have learned that most companies that offer internships are often flexible and understanding when it comes to students balancing their internship with being a full-time student. One thing that I should have done to get more experience, is doing different internships throughout college. I waited until the last summer before senior year to do an internship. With that being said, I was only able to complete one internship, and it wasn’t even related to my degree. (I also recommend this, because it can help give you clarity in finding what industry you truly enjoy working in, and what you don’t, for that matter). I believe, if I would have done internships starting my sophomore year of college, or sooner, things would have been easier on me my senior year. I would have gotten more experience and gotten an internship actually related to my degree. It was also an unpaid internship, which again, if I had had more time to find a different one, perhaps I would have found a paid internship. Being a college student and working for free is not the greatest thing when you have all those loans piling up.
Networking
School activities can be helpful when it comes to networking. Networking is crucial for landing a great job right after college. If there are networking events happening at your school, GO TO THEM! Sign up for clubs that will allow you to meet new people and look good on a resume. You never know who you will meet at these events, they could be the gateway into landing your dream job! Being an active participant in your community, will help you build a full resume, cover letter, and references.
Keep Your Career Options Open & Apply, Apply, Apply!
As I mentioned before, there are some things that I should have had a jumpstart on earlier than my senior year. So please don’t wait until you have graduated to start applying for jobs. Maybe the first job you land isn’t the most “ideal” job you are looking for, but if there are job openings apply to them, you never know what could stem from it. It’s always good to keep your options open. Take advantage of all the job openings in your field and interview for them. If you don’t find the position as a good fit, you will at least gain some experience and practice from the interview. Having interviewed for various jobs, you will also have something to fall back on if you do not get the job you were hoping for. It’s important to remember that you are not the only one being interviewed; you are also interviewing the company to see if you feel like you would make a good fit and if you would want to work there. When I was first applying to jobs, and the ones that usually got an immediate reply from were at insurance companies and phone sales representative positions. Even though I knew I didn’t want to sell insurance or be knocking on people's doors all day, I still went in for the interview to gain experience… (and yes, a part of the phone sales representative job interview required me to knock on random people’s doors on a hot midsummer day… I cannot say I would do that again. Well, you learn!).
Four years might seem a long time, believe me, time flies! All of a sudden, you go from a scared freshman to a college graduate standing on stage receiving your diploma. So keep these things in mind before those 4 years fly by. And for those of you that have already lived through this and know how challenging it can be finding a job after college, please share your advice with a college student you know.
