Finally, College is Over….

You graduated college. Congratulations. You fought your way through that brutal final stretch run of exams, review sessions, and all-nighters in the library. You can finally say you are a college graduate. But during all that time spent trying to make sure you got your diploma, did you make sure to spend some time making sure you got a job?

It’s Not Too Late

If the answer is no, don’t freak out. It’s going to be okay. You can still get a job even though you should’ve started looking months ago. Here are a few things to remember:

Definitely use the career services office at your school, but don’t depend on it. It’s free for a reason, and unless you went to an Ivy League school and were part of a secret society, chances are your alumni network is not going to be all that helpful. Do, however, remember to check out the job listings on their website.Paste your resume everywhere. Getting a job, especially an entry-level job, is a numbers game. Don’t try and find the perfect job: it doesn’t exist. And if it did, it went to the kid who had her act together and got a job in the first semester of senior year. So find as many job listings as you can and get your resume out there. Here are some places to start looking:

Best list of job search engines:

• http://www.indeed.com/
• http://www.idealist.org/
• http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?displayHome&trk=hb_ft_jobs
• http://www.usajobs.gov/
• http://www.craigslist.org/
• http://www.simplyhired.com/
• http://www.jobcentral.com/
• http://www.tweetmyjobs.com/

Don’t get discouraged. I know that’s easier said than done, but it’s important to remember that the qualifications listed on most job postings are wish lists. It may seem like you’re not qualified for anything based on reading job postings, but that’s because the company is describing their ideal candidates. Just like the ideal job, the ideal candidate doesn’t exist that often. And if she did, she got hired back in the fall.

Always send a cover letter with your resume. I know you want to just send your resume everywhere, and I know I just told you to do just that, but your resume always needs a cover letter. Your resume is naked without it, and as such is timid and unconfident. So take some time to make sure you customize your cover letter to every position before you send out your resume and cover letter together.

Now get after it, and get your resume out there! If you can write a forty page thesis on the political and socioeconomic background of the Super Mario Brothers, you can write some cover letters.

Good Luck!