The Challenges of Finding a Full-Time Job After Graduation

By Christine Ascher on June 20, 2017

There are many reasons that students stress about graduating college: saying goodbye to their friends, moving, and leaving behind a campus that has come to feel like home are just a few of them. Probably the most prominent reason, however, is trying to answer the ever-present question of what you’ll be doing after graduation.

You’re probably hoping to take one of two routes: graduate school or entering the workforce with a full-time job. Given that these are the options available to most college grads, there’s a lot of competition in both areas. However, applying to graduate school might be the more familiar of the two.

Applying for a full-time job, on the other hand, is uncharted territory for most recent college grads. If you’re planning to take this route, here are some of the biggest challenges that you can expect to face.

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Staying organized

College is hard enough to deal with on its own; when you throw in the stress of trying to find a full-time job and having it all set up for you as soon as you graduate, it can become almost unbearable. Applying for jobs while still in school will require a lot of organization. It’s important to finish your senior year strong, but at the end of the day, you’ll need to be able to find a full-time job in order to feel secure for the future. Both areas might, therefore, be competing for your time.

Try to balance everything by instituting a structured schedule that you can stick to while applying for jobs. For instance, dedicate a certain amount of time every week or weekend to your job search. Try to schedule interviews at the end of the week when you might not be as busy with school.

It’s okay to let your focus shift a bit away from your classes to give more attention to the often monumental task of finding a full-time job, but don’t forget that your GPA still matters. Even if you already have a full-time job all lined up, you’ll still need a strong GPA when you’re applying for future positions.

Narrowing down the possibilities

When you start applying for full-time jobs, you might be tempted to apply for everything you can find, just to make sure that you have something lined up after you graduate. With career fairs, college career websites, and your own research, you might find it hard to narrow down the options.

While it’s a good idea to apply for several different positions, don’t bother with jobs that you ultimately wouldn’t be interested in. While you might not necessarily be able to land your dream job right out of college, you also don’t have to settle for something that you hate. Look for jobs that will help you reach your ultimate goal, like entry-level positions in your chosen field. Even if you could find a more glamorous job in a different area, don’t waste your time applying if it doesn’t really interest you and won’t benefit you in the future.

The competition

If you’re feeling the pressure in your post-graduation job search, you’re not the only one. Though this fact is comforting in the sense that it means you’re not alone, it also has the unfortunate consequence that the jobs that you’re applying for will, more likely than not, be very popular. You’ll be competing against a large applicant pool, which means that it will be harder for you to stand out and make an impression on those reviewing your application.

It also means that you’ll be facing better competition. The best way to combat this difficulty is by working extra hard on your cover letter. Your cover letter is the best way to make your personality shine through and, given your potential employer will probably be rifling through a pile of nearly identical resumes, this is the most effective way to ensure that you’ll be remembered.

Research the position and company thoroughly to find out what they’re looking for in an employee and whether or not you’ll fit in with their office atmosphere. If you think that you’re the perfect fit, make sure this is evident. After all, companies will be looking for workers who fit in and are fun to be around as much as they want to find someone who will excel at the work they’ll be doing.

Accepting that you may not land your dream job right away

You might leave college with no idea what you want to end up doing as a career, and you might leave college knowing exactly what your dream job is. If the latter is the case, that’s great; you’ll have a better idea of what steps to take to get to that dream job.

However, you might need to accept the fact that you won’t get it right away. It’ll take you some time to work your way up in your field before you can reach your dream position. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t get your dream job right out of graduation — it doesn’t mean that you’ll never make it. It just means that you need to spend a little more time gaining experience before you get to where you ultimately want to be.

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