Finding a job after college: these 3 tips will land your first job

The first steps towards the labor market are often the most difficult. You have little or no relevant work experience yet, you have to prove that despite your young age, you are already competent, and you don’t always know how to best profile yourself. With these tips, that will change for good, and you will be up and running in no time.

Think digitally

Partly due to the corona crisis, both the job search and the search for recruiters are mainly digital. Create an online network and be (professionally) visible. Yes, we are talking about your presence on LinkedIn. HR services and recruiters who are presented with your name through a job application will immediately surf to LinkedIn to get the first glimpse of you.

So make sure you have a complete and well-maintained profile. Add all your education, skills, relevant (holiday) jobs, and interests. Also, try to get others to attribute certain skills to you. Leave out that photo of the farewell cantus and get a professional-looking profile picture.

Work on your resume

You only make a first impression on a potential employer once. Your curriculum vitae or CV is the business card. Therefore, pay a lot of attention to the content, structure, and layout. Recruiters want to be able to screen in seconds whether a candidate has the appropriate training or experience. If not, your candidacy will quickly disappear into the trash.

So, be concrete, clear, structured, and concise. Put your studies and work experience in reverse chronological order. So the most recent at the top. Also, don’t make your resume longer than two pages.

By the way, don’t hesitate to describe your internship in detail. It is the most important and often only relevant professional experience when you have just graduated. Even if you have never really worked, nobody is inexperienced. That is why you should also use the (life) experiences and skills you have gained as a member of a sports club or association, or even during a major trip. If only to show that you are enterprising or like teamwork.

Write a thoughtful motivation letter

Does a vacancy appear online? Do not respond immediately with a job application. Think like a recruiter: who reason that the most motivated applicants first look for additional information about the company and the sector, and then go through the vacancy in detail in order to create a tailor-made motivation letter.

Recruiters assume that the best applications will appear within two to three days of the job opening. In your cover letter, highlight your most important skills, which correspond to the main requirements of the vacancy. Also, write a new motivation letter for each application and not just copy a candidacy at a similar company. Limit yourself to a maximum of one page.