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Competition (too few jobs and too many graduates)
Here is the scenario… You have graduated college with a good
looking degree; you feel on top of the world and ready to pick and
choose your dream job. The reality however is that your one of a
many in the same boat. While you feel as though you would be best
suited for a particular role there can be hundreds of other people
who feel the same way as you. I often tell the story about my days
as a recruitment consultant where I used to recruit for graduate
positions. I would post a graduate position on the job boards and
by lunch time I would have 200 applicants in my inbox. So what can
you do to differentiate yourself from the rest of the crowd? You
need to ensure that your resume is in the top 5-10% of all resumes.
A single mistake in your resume can be the difference between your
resume ending up in the interview stack or in the deleted folder
Downturn in the economy:
We are all sick and tired of hearing about the global financial
situation, sluggish economic growth and rising unemployment. Unfortunately
this is the situation which new graduates find themselves facing
when looking for a job in 2010. My best advice is to network, stay
patient and increase the effort into the job search. You are going
to have setbacks and days when you feel like the whole world is
against you. The real challenge will be ones of Continuing perseverance
and confidence.
Lack of Real world experience:
My advice to all graduates (and those preparing to graduate) is
to seek work experience. I personally hated this advice while I
was at university but looking back now my work experience helped
me plan out my career and gain vital experience in competitive industries.
When the time came to put forward my resume, my previous work experience
set me apart from many of my competitors.
Too high expectations:
Many graduates (myself included) complete university and expect
to hand pick the job which they want. Furthermore in 2010, graduates
have an expectation that they know what is best and should actually
be the boss rather than working for the boss. So many times I have
had graduates apply for job positions which are so unrealistic and
then get despondent because they are not getting interview requests.
It's important for graduates to realize that they need to gain the
experience before they can call themselves the boss.
Debate between further higher education and job seeking
Do you continue to study or start straight away with the job seeking?
Many graduates don't have a choice in this matter but for those
who do continuing to study can lead to greater results long term
(financial and job position) and also further help distinguish yourself
apart form other graduates. On the other hand is it better to start
working and get your foot in the door? There's no better education
then real life experience of learning on the job.
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