With college graduation season in full swing, now’s the time when many young adults are tossing aside the cap and gown and lifting a briefcase as they face the reality of entering the workforce full-time.
While some graduate with a job lined up, those situations are unfortunately fewer and farther between. For many, the hunt for a job doesn’t begin until after graduation — and that can make any graduate’s transition to the “real world” especially daunting.
In fact, if you ask recent graduates what they regret most, you’ll likely hear that they didn’t pay enough attention to their job search before graduation. According to a survey by Adecco Staffing U.S., 70 percent of recent graduates, ages 22 to 26, wish they had done more to prepare for the job market.
While the economy certainly has improved since the Great Recession, many employers still are cautiously optimistic about hiring full-time support. This creates a great deal of competition among current college graduates for full-time jobs. In fact, the survey also found that only 57 percent of recent graduates are working full-time and 43 percent of those employed are in a job that doesn’t require a four-year degree.
Those numbers may sound discouraging to today’s grads, but it’s important to remember that however daunting looking for a job in today’s environment may be, graduates have quite a bit of control over their destiny. The key is going after it in a big way. Even with an economic market that’s slowly recovering, graduates can still improve their chances of landing their dream job — even if they are beginning the search a bit late. Here are ways to boost the odds:
