Generally speaking, students go
to college so they could get a degree which will qualify them for the job that
they want to have. Sadly, however, getting good grades in school can in no way guarantee
that you will impress all employers. Thus, it is vital even for those who are
still in college to do some career planning, so they can be ready for whatever
challenges they may face.
If you want to be better equipped
to promote yourself to potential employers, these are the strategies to follow:
1. Check out your school’s career
center.
You don’t have to wait until
you’re a few days before graduating to pay a visit to your school’s career
center. It is common for colleges to provide students with assistance when it
comes to finding internship programs, exploring graduate school, and even
getting ready for a job search. If you want to gain relevant experience to add
to your resume, you shouldn’t ignore the assistance that your school can offer.
2. Do a self-assessment.
The first thing employers would
want to know is why you are the perfect candidate for the job they’re offering.
This is the same question you need to answer about yourself. Make an effort to
learn how your values, personality, preferences and skills actually affect your
career decisions. There are lots of career assessment tools online or from your
college career services that you may use for this purpose.
3. Know more about the careers
that are relevant to your degree.
You chose your degree for a
reason, and that is to get the skills and expertise required for a specific
career or job. As graduation day nears, you’ve got to start thinking about the
workplace. Are you ready to belong to a specific workplace? What working conditions can you and can’t you
handle? These are some of the questions you need to answer to make sure you’ll
go to an organization where you will thrive and grow.
4. Be active in acquiring skills
and experience.
While it is important that you
graduate with good grades, it matters more to prospective employers that you
somehow have experience related to your field. Look for internship programs and
participate in them. Joining volunteer programs is also a good method to gain
work-based learning experiences. Finally, having a mentor is a great option if
you want to learn from those who have the experience and expertise in the field
you’re interested in.
Career planning is not just for those who are in the
workplace already. In fact, making a career plan is a very crucial step every
college student has to take to ensure that they will have the job that is
personally and professionally fulfilling.
