If you've promised your parents that you'll find a job by graduation, then you may want to employ some less traditional job-search strategies.
So what can you do to get your foot into the job market?
We surveyed college career centers to explore the creative strategies their students are using to help them find a full-time job. Here are some of their ideas:
- Two marketing and communications majors created clever individual marketing pieces to send to prospective employers. The pieces showed their creativity, interests, and skills.
- A graphics design major received multiple job offers after an active job search on the Internet, which included submitting examples of his work to juried sites.
- One student contacted organizations where marine biologists work, from Europe to Latin America, offering to work for room and meals. He received a few offers and spent six months teaching marine biology in the Caribbean.
- Some students have planned social events to connect students with employers.
- Students set up informational interviews with alumni.
- Students volunteer and network at professional organizations.
- Many students pound the pavement and contact employers face-to-face, rather than making initial contact through a cover letter and resume. Some travel to their city of choice to meet with employers in person.
- Students work part time while volunteering to gain exposure to various occupations, enhance or develop new skills, and establish contacts.
- A student created a credit-card-sized CD-ROM about herself and her accomplishments, which she passed out at career fairs and mailed to prospective employers. Several recruiters were very impressed with her initiative.
- More students putting some extra effort into networking strategies.
- While some students fly south for spring break, some southern students head north to New York and Boston for informational interviews with alumni and employers.
- Some graduating seniors will take unpaid internships to get into a company of choice.