As an unemployed college student, you may be thinking to yourself, “how do people find jobs so easy? I don’t even know where to start looking!” It is easy to get overwhelmed or frustrated when searching for jobs or internships, especially when your close friends and family are pressuring you to do so. Additionally, COVID-19 continues to have an impact on the job market around the globe, making it much more difficult to obtain employment in many fields. Although these are challenging times, below are a few tips and resources that are available to individuals who are on the job search.
Handshake
As a University of Minnesota student, Handshake is a great way to jumpstart your job search and to make yourself visible to future employers. According to the University of Minnesota’s website, “GoldPASS powered by Handshake is the University of Minnesota’s free search database for jobs, internships, and volunteer positions.” GoldPASS offers thousands of postings each day, whether you are looking for jobs, internships, or volunteer opportunities. Not only does this platform give you access to plenty of postings, it also allows you to search for job and career fairs that you can attend on or near campus. As you have probably heard multiple times before, career fairs are a great way to gain interview experience and to expand your knowledge in professional settings. Even if you are not particularly interested in the companies that are present at the career fair, you can still freshen up your skills by conducting interviews, getting your resume reviewed, and learning about other job opportunities in the area while attending these events.
Indeed
Much like Handshake, Indeed is another great source to look into when searching for a job.
Rather than be exclusive to University of Minnesota students, Indeed is available to everyone who is seeking employment across the country. This platform is easy to utilize and Indeed makes it effortless for individuals to apply for jobs, as all users need to do is create an account, upload their resume, and apply to a position of their choice. Additionally, Indeed has a career guide, in which they have uploaded a plethora of resources, from information on resumes, cover letters, and pay. Indeed may not always be up to date, so it is vital to look at when the job listings were posted in order to ensure that that specific position is still available. Nonetheless, Indeed is a great platform to start your job search and to learn more about the companies who are hiring in your area.
Glassdoor
Similar to Indeed, Glassdoor is another website that specializes in allowing individuals to search and apply for jobs in their area. Glassdoor stands apart from other websites, however, as it offers the option for current and former employees to post anonymous reviews for companies. It is important to note that company reviews should be taken with a grain of salt, as negative and positive reviews may be posted with bias. However, this is a beneficial feature of the website due to the fact that it gives potential employees an opportunity to gain more insight on the company. Additionally, when searching for a job on Glassdoor, individuals can view posting’s job descriptions, estimated salaries, and benefits. These factors are important to know when applying for a job and Glassdoor provides these features in an easily accessible way.
As students, many of us are familiar with LinkedIn, as it is mainly used for the purpose of professional networking and for companies to post job listings. If you are looking for a job at a specific company, LinkedIn is a great place to start. By searching up a company’s profile, you are able to view the profiles of individuals who work there. This can be beneficial to your job search, as you have the opportunity to reach out to those individuals and ask questions about their academic history, personal experiences, and how to best prepare for a potential interview with the company. Sequentially, simply adding more individuals to your network is an appreciable way to make yourself stand out from the crowd and more attractive to future employers.
Go Straight to the Source
Even though the previous listed websites, such as Handshake and LinkedIn, are favorable avenues to find employment, sometimes it is best to just go straight to the source. Whether it be visiting the company’s website, calling the company’s office, or actually going into the office, taking a direct initiative with the company is admirable. Going through those platforms is a useful way in finding employment in your area, yet going directly to the company may be easier when it comes to securing the position.