The Graduate Job Seeker: Where Do I Start?

Get ‘The Graduate Job Seeker: Where Do I Start?’ and other blog posts straight to your inbox by subscribing to this blog via email. Please see the subscription box on the right hand side and submit your email. Once submitted, you will need to use the link in the automatic activation email to VERIFY your subscription.

Are you a graduate or graduating this year and seeking a publishing career?

With the job climate tough, the industry competitive and many graduates out of work, it is no wonder that seeking your first job has become a daunting prospect. Perhaps some of you are even thinking of staying in education because of the slim chances of getting a job. However, quitters never win and winners never quit. Securing your first job will be difficult; you will have to be motivated, proactive and willing. Set yourself up with the graduate jobseeker pointers below.

1) Create a wish list of companies and roles

Initially this could be a mental or physical list of the companies that you would like to work for once you graduate. These could be companies like Conde Nast, The Guardian or Random House. Try to have a list with more than six companies on it because the shorter your list is the more limited your job search will be.

The next task will be to figure out what role/position you would ideally like e.g. marketing assistant. Create your top 3 or 4 positions in preference order. This way you’ll know exactly what vacancies to keep an eye on.

2) Set up accounts

Now that you have your lists, set up your social media accounts to reflect them. This could mean setting up an account on Twitter and following the companies on your wish list. Make sure that you have an online presence; this will probably include having a profile on LinkedIn.

3) Speculative applications

With the contacts that you have (if any), compile a speculative cover letter and CV for each of them. Don’t miss out on using your contacts because they could have a vacancy now that isn’t advertised on their website, or one that will arise soon after. Make sure employers know that you are looking for a job.

4) Collate bookmarks

Utilising the company list that you have created in task one, find the ‘career opportunities’ page for each company and save them all as bookmarks. A good way to organise and collate these would be to devise a ‘job seeker’ folder on your bookmarks bar. This will give you easy access to the company vacancies and the ease of simply clicking on these bookmarks will save you a lot of time in the future.

Additionally, add job seeker companies to your bookmarks. For example, if you’re interested in journalism or PR jobs then Gorkana should be on your list, or if you’re interested in book publishing jobs then The Bookseller should be on your list.

5) Research

In your spare time in between applications, you should be staying proactive and doing some of your own research. This could be related to work applications or interviews etc. There is a wealth of information about everything and anything you need to know on the Guardian Careers website.

A couple of things I have read that you may like to read-

-How graduates can prove they have the skills an employer wants: http://careers.guardian.co.uk/cv-graduate-skills

-Career options in book publishing: http://careers.guardian.co.uk/career-options-publishing-top-10?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

-Job seeking: what to do when you keep getting rejection letters http://careers.guardian.co.uk/careers-blog/keep-getting-rejections

Alternatively, for those that prefer listening-

-Career talk podcast: 5 steps for interview success: http://careers.guardian.co.uk/audio/careers-talk-five-steps-for-interview-success?intcmp=239

-Career talk podcast: How to use Twitter to find a job http://careers.guardian.co.uk/audio/using-twitter-to-find-a-job

There are many more on The Guardian website, and the rest of the web too, so make sure you take the time to do some research – you could even incorporate it into your everyday routine. Remember that being persistent, patient and proactive will pay off in the end. You can make your own luck.