Times are tough. This isn’t your parent’s job market where merely owning a college degree was good enough to land you any job of your choosing. Today, there are plenty of job hungry college grads that would love the opportunity to work the coolest tech job available. In these trying times, you need to bring you’re A game in order to land a job.
Fortunately, you found your way to an article that gives you tips on how to land a job in tech. Read below to learn 5 tips for new college grads for landing a job in tech.
- Network Network Network
Networking is single handily the best advice anyone can follow to land a job, let alone a job in tech. When you network, you are essentially taking time out of your day and introducing yourself to established professionals. When you network, all you need to do is introduce yourself, tell the other person what your specialty is, and get to know the other person. Your goal is to form a genuine connection.
In business, there’s a saying that goes along the lines of this: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Networking is a testament to this saying! My advice to you is to do basic research and sign up for as many networking events as possible. If you can, sign up for networking events specifically designed for the technology field; this is a fantastic way to meet tech professionals. Please keep in mind to bring business cards to networking events and be sure to be the best version of yourself.
- Intern
Hopefully in college you found yourself an internship or two because internships are fantastic for your resume and also a great way to give yourself an opportunity to land a job!
When you intern, you are gaining real world business experience which can become your most leveraged asset on your resume. Additionally, often times interns are offered full time jobs if they do outstanding work and a need exists. Simply put, make sure you intern in college.
- Use Social Media
Contrary to popular belief, social media isn’t just for sending cat memes; social media is a great tool to use to land a job!
When on social media, be sure to reach out to perspective employers and let them know that you are interested in working for them. When done successfully, this simple tip will establish dialogue and put your name on the map.
This is a given, but make sure you hide all of your inappropriate social media content. Employers want “clean” employees and not employees that tweet about every time they go out for drinks.
- Apply for Jobs
Any UIC Online student will tell you that if you want to land a job, you’re going to have to apply for a job. I recommend making a plan for yourself to research and apply for a minimum of five companies that interest you a day. Over a course of a week this will translate into applying for 35 jobs, which increases your chance of landing one.
- Follow Up
Hey college grad, I want to teach you a trick to land any tech job. After you apply for a job, make sure that you follow up. I recommend that you break out your snooping skills and look up the hiring manger via their website or on LinkedIn. You should then call and ask to speak to the hiring manager by name and let them know that you applied for the job and you were interested in learning more about the opportunity.
Hiring managers love this because it proves to them that you are interested in the job opportunity and you are willing to make your presence known.
Happy job hunting and if you keep your faith, you’ll have a cool tech job soon enough.
