You did it. You’re a college grad. You’ve walked across the stage in your cap and gown, heard someone wax on about how much you will do with your life, watched the swelling pride and beaming grins from your families as you were handed your diploma, and you can officially say “when I was in college…” Congratulations, you’re an alumni. 

Now what?

When I graduated, I had already been applying to jobs for months. Yes, months. I was an English and Criminology double major, had a great GPA, and naive hopes to go into publishing. I thought forever that I would end up in law school and possibly politics eventually, but after taking my LSATs, I just didn’t see myself happy chaining myself to a desk for 70+ hours a week. But that’s just me. 

Being that I had no real idea what I wanted to do, I was lost. I ended up spending close to 6 months searching for a job-ANY job. And for most college grads- 6 months was considered a short search. To me, it felt like years. I spent countless hours on Craigslist, Monster.com, Careerbuilder. One of the things that is so hard about finding a job is that nothing is done in person anymore. The Web 2.0 days have taken over and you are not getting face time with potential employers, so that dazzling personality of yours, I hate to break it to you, means crap. You apply online and these people look at your resume and see that you’re a recent college grad with no real work experience yet, and throws your humble little resume in the trash. It takes about 15 seconds for them to be your judge, jury and executioner. I felt completely worthless. 

If I could go back and give myself some advice, here’s what I would have done differently..

1. Get a LinkedIn profile
It’s easy and it gives you the chance to connect with people who are interested in networking and careers. You never know who you might meet. It’s all about who you know. What you know will get you even farther when you get your foot in the door. Anyone who tells you otherwise- is lying. Feel free to link with me! Just search for “Megan Hofmann” in Columbus, OH or click here. Let me know you found me on my blog and I’ll be happy to add you!

2. Have an outstanding cover letter
I was chatting with a Senior VP in my company and he happened to be on his laptop checking email. He turned it to me and said, “read this.” So I did and it was a rather boring cover letter from a kid wanting an internship/job. Senior VP turns back to me and said, “well this guy is giving me nothing to care about… delete.” That was that. Usually colleges offer services to help you write a cover letter- use this service! It will turn out to be invaluable. The littlest things can get you noticed. Your personality can shine in your cover letter where it might not shine in your professional resume. 

3.Use your spare time to brush up on some skills 
Learn some new social media. You never know where opportunities might pop up and the more people you talk to and the more people you connect with, the better chance you have that they might know someone who might know someone, etc. 

4. Don’t lose hope
It’s so easy to think- what the hell did I go to college for? Why don’t people like me? If my GPA were higher… if I took that internship… well- it wasn’t and you didn’t so thinking about what could have been will get you nowhere. Do something now instead of crying about it. 

5. Apply for everything and anything 
I ended up getting my job- that I love- by taking a chance at something I didn’t actually know I’d be any good at it. In fact, I’d never even thought about it as a possible career option. Just getting out of college- you don’t need your dream job. Work up to it. Try something you never thought about. It could seriously surprise you.

You don’t have to take my advice if you agree. This is just what I might to differently. I go so lucky that I ended up with a dream job that I love. Sure, I get frustrated and miss my college days, but when you are fortunate to eventually have a job you don’t mind getting up every day for- it’s totally worth it. 

So what do you think, agree or disagree? If you are in a higher up position- what would you want to see from potential employees applying to your company? Essential dos and dont’s?