It’s graduation season once again, to the graduates, congratulations you have reached another milestone. After your celebration you come to realize that next thing to do is to find a job.
There are tons of job opportunities out there, digital is the future, every company is making sure they future proof their business. But don’t be too complacent, employers these days look for the best they can get. They don’t just rely on all your BS talk, they want results. Here are some tips on how you can improve your job hunting.
1. Don’t be intimidated
When I started shifting from an IT work to digital strategy/marketing, it was a bit confusing transition. I was insecure because I never had a background in marketing or social media, but my interest is already there. Everyday I read tons of tech articles because I knew this was the fastest way I can learn. I also took up a short course in La Salle for Emerging technologies/Digital marketing to test my knowledge and solidify my foundation in the field. When I was transferred to a online/social media marketing projects, my boss seems to be impressed with my performance. It was then I realized that I can excel and be good at it.
2. Being in the top schools is not enough
If your school is from the Katipunan, Taft, España , or Diliman then probably you have the higher chance of employment. It’s not applicable in some case, when you’re in the field of IT/Digital, it’s the technical skills that matter the most. When you start working you would find that some of your colleagues are from schools that you might not even have heard before. Some even graduate with just a 2 year course and be surprised that your 4 year course gets you in the same job position.
3. It’s what you know, it’s what you can bring to the table.
During the interview you would probably share the different programming language you know or the different business strategies you learned from school. Remember it’s about theories anymore you’re entering the real world, where mistakes mean loss. Instead tell the interviewer how your knowledge can contribute to the company.
4. Learning doesn’t stop in school.
If you want to be on top, always get additional education that would compliment your career. There are tons of graduate programs and online courses (free) available. The same reason I always make sure I get to refresh my certifications, it’s to make sure I will always be on top of my game. I’ve tried both online courses (paid/free) and face to face courses.
Why did you take up doctorate? when you are already successful?
“You realize after the MBA … you already know everything … you also see everyone under you taking MBA… and if you have a MBA and they have a MBA…everyone is the same level, so how do you make sure you are one step ahead of everyone..” – Donald Lim
Full article here
Free online courses/certifications:
https://www.coursera.org/
http://alison.com/
https://www.udemy.com/
https://analyticsacademy.withgoogle.com/explorer
5. Before you demand, prove yourself
Most fresh grads think high of themselves, all would already demand for a high job position despite their zero experience. It’s not that you shouldn’t aim high, but always stay humble, start from the ground and work your way up. Donald Lim is a good example of this, started his career as a crew at Burger King and now is the Chief Digital officer of ABS-CBN.
Bonus: create a linkedin profile, it is where I was found that brought me to my current job! 🙂
Happy job hunting! 🙂
