Job Searching Tips

By Alex Bolten

We’re at the point in the semester when the Purdue Memorial Union is full of companies at various career fairs and many other companies are in the process of doing on-campus recruiting. If you’re like me, you probably dread this time of year (both in the spring and the fall). In my opinion, there’s an enormous amount of pressure to network, talk to companies, and graduate with a job. While these things can seem scary, they don’t have to be if you start early enough. It’s like when you have a big project due for a class: doing small tasks over time will make the end result better than if you wait the night before to even begin. Here are some things that I’ve been doing to help my job search process.

1.     Begin early

a.     February may not seem “early,” but it’s better than beginning in April. I’d rather be spending a little time looking right now than scrambling to find something the week before I graduate.

2.     Branch out

a.     Maybe you want to find a job near your hometown. I would challenge you to not do this – why limit yourself? If you’re from Indianapolis, for example, you can stay in Indy, or you can go to Chicago, Cincinnati, and many other places. I’ve found that it’s helpful to look at the “big areas” near where I live (which is close to Cincinnati) and that this has drastically opened up the range of where I can look.

3.     Reach out to companies

a.     A lot of companies may not post career information on their websites, but they most likely have a “contact us” page with an email address that starts with the word “info.” Email this address and inquire about job openings, stating who you are, what you’re studying, and when you’ll graduate. You’ll never know until you ask!

4.     Use your network

a.     You’re always told to network, but do you ever use the people in your network? If not, you most definitely should! You never know who will be working at a company you’re looking at. “It’s not what you know, but who you know.”

If you’re dreading the process of job searching (and trust me, you’re not the only one), just follow these tips to help you get started. You also don’t have to spend hours upon hours on this each day. Break things up into 30-minute intervals. For 30 minutes on Monday, look here, on Tuesday, look into this industry, etc. The more you research and dig, the more things you’ll find and the closer you’ll get to starting your post-graduation career path.