You’ve done everything you can think of to educate yourself and now have a brand new, shiny graduate degree to show for all of your hard work. Now you face a new challenge, how you can use that graduate degree to secure the best possible job for yourself. In the past, simply completing a master’s program was enough to pretty much guarantee you a job, but that was in the past, these days things tend to be a little tougher.
The first step to getting a good job following the completion of graduate school will be making connections while you’re still a student. Don’t simply attend classes and work a part time job at a fast food restaurant. You need to make a real effort to stand out and connect with your professors. The day will come when you will want to be able to turn to them for job-search tools such as letters of recommendations. You will find you have a much better chance of getting a good recommendation from a professor while you’re still one of their students.
While there’s nothing wrong with waiting tables to put yourself through school, you still want to think about how you’re going to put together a good resume which will appeal to prospective employers. The good news about the menial part time jobs will be it shows a wiliness to work hard, and that you already know how to balance time and hold down a job. In addition to working at part time jobs while attending graduate school, you should also look into opportunities in your field of study. Even non-paying internships will give you a leg up when you start to look for a job. Besides, you never know when you will find an internship with the potential to become post-graduate, full time job.
Even if you still have schooling left to complete and aren’t yet ready for a full time job, you should check out the job-search tools available and start thinking about how they can benefit you. Talk to current and former students about what job-search tools they intend to use. By taking advantage of job-search tools that help organize letters of recommendations and applications you will always be ready to apply, even at the last moment, for any job that catches your eye.
In your spare time, you need to check out job postings in your field. Start familiarizing yourself with the types of jobs available, and the companies consistently hiring. Even if you haven’t completed your graduate work, if you find a job you really like, you should apply. If they like your application, the employers might be willing to wait to officially fill the position until you’ve completed your schooling.
Job-Search Tools – There’s no guarantee you will get a job right out of graduate school, but job-search tools like www.terefic.com can go a long way towards leveling the playing field.
