When is the best time to start looking for jobs for after graduation?

Hello there!
Having to wait until after completing the program, and then look for a job is usually the mindset of young people like I was years ago. It is totally understandable that during the course of study, there are just so many things we get caught up that we would want to job search later.

Well, this is how I see it as career professional working in higher education:
a. Looking for job does not necessarily have to wait after graduation. As Career Advisor in a fast paced Career Services, we start assisting active students right from semester one. After helping them build resume, prep them for job search techniques and mock interview, we start facilitating them for different job orders that we have. It could be part time job, but this job will help students start learning transferrable skills like: interpersonal (ability to mingle with people harmoniously), customer service skill, computer skill, (even a sales counter PC), following directives, etc. Most of all students start learning time management, organizational skills, and above all, any jobs will boost their confidence and self-worth, to say the least. These skills are very important when they start transitioning from books to boulder.

b. Most employers appreciate students who already have experience showing in the resume as it indicates that this person is no "coach potato", but instead a go-getter who has ambition and goals in life. Hey, having a part time job and at the same time cramming for exams is not easy! This reflects that student understands work-life balance, and is so ready to rock and roll.

c. Other than part-time jobs during the course of study, another direction that I lead the students into is VOLUNTEERING. The one thing that I always give a plus to any candidate that I interview to work in my department, is someone who is showing VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE in the resume. Again, there are a lot of transferable skills that can be learned from this experience, and not everybody provides his/her service for free nowadays. I salute that!

d. One should also job search in and around the school. It could be a tutor position in Learning Center or Office Assistant in Admission or Student services departments. I highly advice seek employment as Federal Work Study. You can't beat this, imagine, working in student advisement office for 4 or 5 hours (20 hours/week), and across is your professor waiting for you. Check for eligibility in your school for this wonderful opportunity.

e. Securing references from your work experience are tangible proof of your good performance and work ethics, and ideally, employers will be preferring to have rather than from third party references.
Even if you decide to continue your education elsewhere, the new school that you are applying for will surely ask for a recommendation, and if you have these employers that you worked before, they become handy.

In summary, depending on your needs, goals, and interest-the possibility of getting a job while studying is endless. Just seek and you will get it. In the long run, it is going to be beneficial in building your career path! Good luck, early bird!

Although it would be difficult to look for a position now, you can start preparing for the job search. The absolute best way to get a good start is to network. Get to know people in your field and possibly even find an experienced mentor to help you.

You can begin to research positions and companies that are a good fit. When you find some feasible possibilities, you could connect to people who work for those companies on LinkedIn. You could also contact a company HR department to check out internships or qualifications needed for an entry-level position in May. Most people want to help, as long as you are respectful of their expertise and time.

Wishing you great success!

Hi Jenni,

I think looking for jobs at this time or even earlier is a smart idea, especially if you have a high GPA and expect to keep that same GPA over your last semester.

Just because you peers haven't started doesn't mean it is a waste of time. It just means you have that much of a leg up on them.

However, looking for a job now also means that you might start right after school ends. That is something that you should be comfortable with, although if you do happen to land a job, you can always request a later start date so you can enjoy the summer post graduation.

Thanks.

There's a statistic I've heard; that on average college students will spend three months searching before getting their first job after college. Statistics are to be taken with a grain of salt, but starting your job search 3 months ahead really gives you the edge and exposure you need to understand the current nature of the job market.

While in school for the last 3 months the majority of your focus will be on finals and walking. You may not have as much time to attend many interviews, but using this time to constantly research which jobs are open will definitively improve your hunt. You can also follow companies on social media and regularly engage them. Providing a thoughtful response to a company's article on Linked In can make you memorable to the right person. If you regularly engage, you can see a consequential increase in visitors to your profile. You can also constantly improve your Linked In by joining the networks/groups people that work in the companies you're researching are in. If you're active enough with certain group members, that one connection can be your resource for more information about a company.

Linked In offers a free one month trial, that you can make use of in your last month of classes or the month after graduation. All of the leads you've nurtured by responding to their group posts or conversating on company articles should be more receptive to your messages. Instead of using the default message to request a connection you can refer to something specific. If you're in the same group as someone, you can send them messages without restriction. For those that are not second connection and are more remote to your network Linked In Premium gives you 5 free messages, I would use them very wisely. Afterwards you would have to pay for more credits to send messages to those outside your network.

Information is crucial. Asking what certifications or skills you need for the position you're applying for can really help your resume stand out. As you'll find, the people that know the most about a job are the ones that do it. Including a skill not listed on the job listing can be a gem in the hundreds of resumes hiring managers review. I would refrain from openly asking for anything aside from information, unless you happen to have a personal connection with someone. Don't be afraid to juice Job fairs for all the information they can provide. They're also another opportunity to grow your linked in. Picture this. You apply to a job and the hiring manager looks you up on Linked In and realizes that you share about 10 connections in common and 4 of them are co-workers. Sure none of them may know you well, but the small impressions they may have are, "X was proactive, they spoke with me regarding this article" or "had a conversation at a job fair." The more people that see you as a familiar character, the more the person making the decision can see you fitting in or "being a good fit".

You can make an excel spreadsheet to keep track of all the jobs you've applied to or companies you've engaged with. The level of effort you up into this can really pay off with the perfect job.

A few resources that have helped me;

Resunate a website for tailoring your resume to help beat resume bots.
Glassdoor.com helps with knowing what salary range to expect, how previous/current employees feel about the company, and what may come up in an interview.
Magic Cover Letter Format for a cover letter that can stand out