Hint: It’s never to early to start and the earlier you start, the better chance you have.
Most universities want you to find a job, but the job? Your dream first job? That’s a whole different story. Landing your dream job is going to be extremely competitive, not to mention, probably not something your school is going to talk to you about or have the full resources to help you land. If your eager to land a competitive role, you’re going to need to work hard in the right areas, take advantage of what your school has to offer, AND take the process into your own hands.
This guide is meant to walk you through an approach starting Freshman Year, but if you’re starting later than freshman year, don’t worry – so is nearly everyone else. Start at the beginning of this list and try to check off as many items as you can until you’re caught up to the year you’re graduating.
Ready to land your dream job after college? Here’s how to do it:
FRESHMAN YEAR
- Orient yourself with the career resources offered at your school. Make an appointment with your career center to learn more about the resources they offer and get comfortable with their services.
- Talk with your family, friends, and your friends’ parents about how they chose their careers. What did they major in? How did they choose a career? How did they start out?
- Register for your school’s job board (if they have one). Check school job boards for opportunities available for freshmen.
- Get experience! Any experience. Preferably, “real world” (not at school) experience.
- TIP: More competitive internships are going to rely on the experience you got prior to applying to them and they’re likely going to value real life experience (at a company or non-profit) over school club or project experience.
- How do you get this experience? Look for internship postings in your field/major at small companies or non-profits, volunteer at a non-profit in your career area of interest (i.e. marketing for a non-profit), or start a side-business offering services to small companies (i.e. social media services).
- Attend your school’s career and internship fairs – yes, as many as you can! You aren’t looking for jobs or opportunities here, rather, you’re getting comfortable talking with recruiters and asking them what they’ll be looking for by the time you’re a Sophomore/Junior.
- Create a basic LinkedIn profile. List your college, graduation year, and any experiences you had in high school.
- Create a basic resume. Look up resume templates online and fill in what you can about your education, previous work experience, and skills.
SOPHOMORE YEAR
- Update your resume based on the experiences you gained during freshman year.
- Update your LinkedIn profile based on the experiences you gained during freshman year.
- Attend your school’s career and internship fairs. Get comfortable talking with recruiters (you’ll be a pro by next year!) and ask them about opportunities for sophomores.
- TIP: Most large companies hire their interns for the following summer as early as October the previous year, so make sure you attend your school’s career fair if they offer one in the fall. Smaller companies or agencies may hire in the spring for summer interns.
- Look on LinkedIn, Indeed, or your school’s job board for internships and part-time job opportunities (during this year of school, you’ll likely need to continue looking at smaller companies and non-profits). Get as much “real world” work experience as possible to prepare you for your dream internship, including summer employment/internships, volunteering, or job shadowing.
- If your school offers one, participate in a school mentorship program.
- If your school offers one, participate in a mock interview program.
- TIP: Become familiar with the “STAR” interview method, which is used by some companies to ask behavioral interview questions.
- Identity people in your network and conduct informational interviews that align with your career interests.
- TIP: Stay in touch with people at these companies and consider emailing them every 6 months or so to let them know what you’re doing at school and ask them a follow up question about something they shared with you.
- TIP: Consider asking each person “who else might you be willing to connect me with?” to continue building a larger network.
- Make a list of companies and positions for which you would like to intern the summer after your junior year.
- TIP: Create “job alerts” on LinkedIn for internships at companies you’d most like to work for. That way, you’ll get an email any time they post new positions that you might be interested in.
JUNIOR YEAR
Junior year (or the year before the one you graduate) is your most critical year. This is the year that many major companies typically hire interns (for the summer after your Junior year). By this point, you should have built up some “real world” experience and be focusing on landing your dream job via an internship.
- If they have one, make an appointment with your school’s career center. Take advantage of as many programs as they offer and check in on your career goals.
- Update your resume based on the experiences you gained during sophomore year.
- Update your LinkedIn profile based on the experiences you gained during sophomore year.
- Attend your school’s career and internship fairs. Prepare in advance by looking up which companies will be attending and what summer internships they have available, and write smart questions that you can ask recruiters at your top companies. Practice a few sentences that you can share about yourself. When you get to the career fair, focus on 2-3 of your top companies and share why you’re interested in their internship programs. Leave recruiters with a copy of your resume and ask how to apply to open internships.
- TIP: Many large companies hire the interns for full-time roles that they recruited during the fall of their Junior year. This is a critical time for landing your dream job, as your dream job could be a result of your dream internship.
- Apply for internship postings online through LinkedIn and Indeed.
- If your school offers one, participate in a school mentorship program.
- If your school offers one, participate in a mock interview program.
- TIP: Become familiar with the “STAR” interview method, which is used by some companies to ask behavioral interview questions.
- Identity people in your network and conduct informational interviews that align with your career interests.
- TIP: Stay in touch with people at these companies and consider emailing them every 6 months or so to let them know what you’re doing at school and ask them a follow up question about something they shared with you.
- TIP: Consider asking each person “who else might you be willing to connect me with?” to continue building a larger network.
- Continue to focus on landing the best internship that you can. If you ace your internship, hopefully you’ll be able to accept a full-time offer at the end of the summer.
- Continue to explore and do research on companies that you are interested in.
SENIOR YEAR
- If they have one, make an appointment with your school’s career center. Take advantage of as many programs as they offer and check in on your career goals.
- Update your resume based on the experiences you gained during junior year.
- Update your LinkedIn profile based on the experiences you gained during junior year.
- If you’re looking for a full-time role, attend your school’s career and internship fairs. Prepare in advance by looking up which companies will be attending and what full-time roles they have available, and write smart questions that you can ask recruiters at your top companies. Practice a few sentences that you can share about yourself. When you get to the career fair, focus on 2-3 of your top companies and share why you’re interested in their company. Leave recruiters with a copy of your resume and ask how to apply to open positions.
- If you’re looking for a full-time role, apply for job postings online through LinkedIn and Indeed. Some entry-level positions will be willing to hold roles open until you graduate.
- If your school offers one, participate in a school mentorship program.
- If your school offers one, participate in a mock interview program.
- TIP: Become familiar with the “STAR” interview method, which is used by some companies to ask behavioral interview questions.
- Identity people in your network and conduct informational interviews that align with your career interests.
- TIP: Stay in touch with people at these companies and consider emailing them every 6 months or so to let them know what you’re doing at school and ask them a follow up question about something they shared with you.
- TIP: Consider asking each person “who else might you be willing to connect me with?” to continue building a larger network.
- Continue to explore and do research on companies that you are interested in.
- Focus on landing the best full-time role that you can!
If you’re in High School, you’re way ahead of the game, but it’s never too early to start. The sooner you can take on smaller “real world” experiences, the sooner you’ll be ready for big ones and be more qualified for bigger roles.
The most important thing to know is that most large, competitive companies offer full-time roles to their Junior-year interns. They hire those interns during the early fall of their Junior year. If you don’t have “real work” experiences at smaller companies or non-profits in your chosen field by this point, it’s going to be much, much harder to land your dream internship that will land you your dream job. Start as early as you can, and add “real world” experience to your resume as early as you can.
Feel overwhelmed? Try to break down each task into smaller steps and set aside time each week to make even a little bit of progress. Tell everyone you can about your career goals and what you’re looking for so other can share resources and support with you.
YOU GOT THIS! Now get out there and go land your dream job!
Still have questions? Send us a note with the career questions we’ve yet to answer on our contact page.
