How To Get A Job Right Out Of College

Finding a job out of college is not easy when you’re unsure about your career path. Learn how to achieve your career aspirations and get a job right out of college.

Now that you’re almost a graduate and are wondering, “What after college?” you’re probably among many young students wondering how to choose a career after graduation.

After all, your choice of future career will dictate many things, including how much you will earn, how you will spend the next few years, and the type of people you will be spending them with. 

On average, an entry-level job search can take anything from three to six months, so new graduates should not wait to earn their degree before they start their job search.

In India, many students make the mistake of drifting into the default career choice after graduation (eg. doing M.Sc after B.Sc) or letting someone else dictate their career path, and then end up regretting their career choices down the road.

But as a new graduate, how do you choose from the multitude of career opportunities for women open to fresh graduates? How can you find creative career options that allow you to develop your talents and express your personality?

What steps can you take to make the right career choice, and more importantly, learn how to find a job after college with no experience?

5 Steps To Find A Job Out Of College

In this article, you’ll learn how to get a job out of college with no experience and achieve your career aspirations while making sure that you’re on the right career path.

1. Understand your aptitude & interests

To know how to choose your career the right way and ensure that you’ll find a job you love and have a natural aptitude for, you need to find out which is the right career for your aptitude and personality.

In the Glow & Lovely Career Community, you can do a free interest-based career test where you’ll have to answer multiple questions to ascertain your interests and personality type.

This free career aptitude test is based on psychologist John L. Holland's theory of personality types and career options, called the Holland Codes.

You can also do a free psychometric test online and get a unique Career Report with 7 to 8 top career recommendations based on your aptitude, personality, interest and career fit.

Sakshi Chawla is a graduate student and management intern from Chandigarh who had the courage to restart her career from scratch and choose one based on her interests and aptitude. She says:

“I made the bold choice of opting for fashion design and arts as a vocational stream after her 10^th examinations, with the motivation being my father, who at the time thought of it to be an upcoming field.

But soon I realized this was not the correct field for me. I started feeling very low and wanted to get back control. Confused about the next steps, I searched for a career test, hoping for some guidance. To my surprise, Glow & Lovely Career Foundation popped up.

I was both relieved and surprised to see management in my top career options and started studying for office management. I am currently enjoying the process and have a job as well. So, it is never too late to make a career change.”

Sakshi managed to get the help she needed in achieving her career aspirations with the career assessment test in the Glow & Lovely Career Community.

Once you get the results of your tests, you can talk to a career counsellor on SHEROES and get help with your career focus so you can choose the jobs that are best suited for your personality and interests, as well as the courses that will help you land these jobs.

2. Do a free course online

After you have a list of different career options that match your personality, your career counsellor will recommend the best courses you can do to acquire the skills to go for your dream career.

This is also something you can do in the Glow & Lovely Careers Community, where you’ll find a wide range of free courses - from free English courses to free Data Science courses - to help you upskill and get a head start on finding your dream job.

Thanks to the marketing and management courses offered by Glow & Lovely Careers, Diksha, a management student from Patna is now working as a Digital Executive in Mahindra Rise. She says:

“I have always been drawn towards subjects like marketing and management. Unfortunately, I did not have enough resources to learn these subjects.

One day while I was scrolling through my Facebook and Instagram feeds, I saw an ad for the Glow & Lovely Careers website, and was extremely delighted to discover online courses on my favorite subjects.

These courses are effective, available for free, and can be completed at our own pace. I joined the marketing and management courses, which not only helped me gain knowledge but also got me a good job.

Today I am working as a Digital Executive in Mahindra Rise. I would really appreciate it if the portal can add online courses for Digital marketing or Digital Training as well. I will always be grateful to Glow & Lovely Careers as its courses helped me find a respectable job.”

3. Apply for an online internship

One of the reasons why finding a job after college is hard is that most jobs require some amount of work experience. So your next step to finding jobs right after college is to get some work experience with an organisation in your domain.

But how do you get a job for work experience if you don’t have any work experience? This sounds like a chicken and egg kind of problem, but it has a rather simple solution and that is to do a free online internship with certificate.

Trishti Pariwal is a 22-year-old student from Faridabad who is currently pursuing a Masters in Public Health and hopes to find a Government job opportunity in the Public Health sector one day so she can make a positive difference in society and support those in need.

However, since the pandemic started, her studies were hugely affected by online classes and it became difficult to understand concepts through the online mode as studies in Public Health require practical exposure too.

However, through Glow and Lovely Careers, Trishti was able to find a work-from-home internship with Anyboli Labs Private Limited and invest her time productively. As she says:

“It helped me gain experience, which will give me an edge over others who are aspiring for Government jobs. Also, in such hard times when everyone is aiming for financial stability, I was also able to support my family financially. Online internships help you with not just earning, but also with your learning.”

4. Create your resume online

Now that you’ve completed an online internship and have that certificate up on your LinkedIn profile, it’s time to write a resume that will showcase you and your skills in the best light.

Once again, it’s Glow and Lovely Careers to the rescue! Their simple Resume Builder Tool offers helpful instructions for each of the four steps in building your resume.

All you need to do is fill up your details like education, skills, hobbies, contact information as required in the online form. Don’t forget to add your internship experience in the work experience section.

You don’t even need to do it all at once, because you can save it anytime and come back to finish it later. For example, a career objective in the resume of a new graduate could look like this:

I’m a fresh graduate eager to use my knowledge and learn new skills to contribute to your company's growth.

Save your resume to your device and write a separate cover letter for each job you’re applying for. Email your resume to the recruiter or HR personnel of the company advertising the job vacancy.

Now you need to be patient and wait for a reply from the HR department with an invite to attend a virtual or in-person interview. Once you receive their letter, send an immediate acknowledgement to let them know you will be at the interview on the stipulated date and time.

5. Ace the interview

Whether you’re doing in-person interviews or virtual interviews, remember that you only get one chance to make a great first impression. If you don’t know the company’s interview dress code, wear formals to be on the safe side.

Knowing how to speak good English and being well-groomed are crucial to make a positive impression on your interviewer, and they will also boost your self-esteem and self-confidence.

In the Glow & Lovely Career Portal, you’ll find certificate courses to help you learn how to speak better English, as well as Personal Grooming Courses that will help you learn how to impress in an interview and increase your chance of being hired.

You can also learn tricks and techniques to answer tough interview questions and personal, reflective questions with flair in the Free Online Interview Course in the Glow & Lovely Careers Community.

In this video job interview guide, you’ll learn how to prepare for a video interview and get video interview tips to ace your Zoom interview.

You should also be aware of which job interview mistakes to avoid, such as failing to research the job and company you’re applying to, as this can make you seem ignorant and uninterested during the interview.

I hope these tips have eliminated any career confusion you may have had on how to choose career options that are right for you and where to find free career resources to succeed in your career aspirations.

We wish you great success with finding a job out of college.

Also read:

• 7 Baby Steps To Find A Job Without Overwhelm