3 Tips for Applying for jobs while managing your course load and internship.
Applying for jobs can be an extremely overwhelming and daunting process — not to mention starting this process while simultaneously working as an intern as well as managing five college courses. The good news is that you are not alone in the process and there are so many resources you can rely on to help you be successful. Here’s what I’ve learned as I’ve gotten started:
- Join clubs that interest you and/or relate to what you’re studying.
If you don’t already belong to clubs, join some now and start attending events. It is never too late to join a club, even if it’s the last semester of your senior year. I belong to a few different clubs, such as the Communications club and the Marketing club, as they pertain to what I study in school and what I envision as relevant in my future career. Joining clubs and attending meetings is a simple way to start the job search process, as this exposure is right on your fingertips on your college campus. Just last week, I had a Marketing club meeting event that consisted of two CEO’s and founders of two different companies who came to give a presentation to us. By the end of it, we were given the personal emails of both speakers, as well as encouraged to look them up and connect with them on LinkedIn. On top of this, we were also given the chance to introduce ourselves and speak with them one-on-one to build a connection and form a relationship. In my conversation, I was directly told that they were treating this event as an opportunity to meet future job applicants for their personal companies, and I was encouraged to keep attending events such as this to continue to build connections. These events are great opportunities to get your name out there, and practice having these professional conversations with employers. In the Communications club, our meetings have mostly been focused on learning skills to develop your professional portfolio through things like LinkedIn profile building, cover letter writing, and resume building.
2. Look into programs that your university offers focused on career development.
Make it a point to find out who the career counselors are on campus and build a relationship with them. I set up my first meeting with a career counselor my sophomore year. Ever since, I have had a great relationship with them and set up meetings every couple of months to catch up as well as help me one-on-one with my career development and job search. I specifically remember her giving me the Clifton Strengths assessment my sophomore year, to help me discover my strengths as a learner, and how I could use these qualities as an asset in the workforce. The career counselor will also periodically provide me with specific names of past students she worked with that have graduated Fairfield and feels would be beneficial for me to reach out to. One of these specific suggestions even led me to Skillsoft! This goes to show that using your resources can lead you on the right path in networking and can make the world of a difference and lead to some incredible opportunities.
3. Job shadow!
Another important resource I learned about from my career counselor is that my school has an alumni job shadow program. Something I realized during my time in college is, unlike high school, you won’t be told about every opportunity that exists on your campus. To my surprise, this program was not heavily advertised at all throughout the school, so it took some of my own research to understand what it was and how it works. I participated in this program last year and was matched again with an alumni for this winter, where I will have a one-on-one conversation with a graduate from my school. If you have a similar opportunity, be sure to fully prepare for these networking calls and carefully select the questions you want to ask in order to get the most out of the time you have with that person. I was once commended on the nature of the questions I asked in a networking call, and I truly believe this has taken me and will continue to take me a long way.
As a senior in college entering the job market, it can be very difficult to find the time to devote to this process with such a demanding schedule. With this in mind, I plan on using the time I have over winter break without classes, to focus on and prioritize my job search. Researching open positions and finding people to reach out to when there are so many other things you are juggling as a senior in college is not easy. Additionally, the demands of our coursework must take priority throughout the semester, as we are a student above anything else. Therefore, I suggest utilizing the time over winter break to chip away at this daunting process. You got this!
