How To Land Your First Job After College
Landing your first job after college is important because it marks the beginning of your career. It may not seem like it when you’re young, but your first job can shape the direction your career takes—so it’s good to choose carefully. You’re young and don’t want to get stuck doing something you hate. At the same time, you don’t want to take a job so challenging or demanding that you can’t handle it. So, how do you start?
Decide Your “Good Job” Criteria
What’s good for someone else may not be good for you. So prioritise. Ask yourself: What is your core skillset? What are your areas of interest? What do you want as compensation?
Job requirements are negotiable. So be specific about what you want: Travel, Salary, Work-life balance, Work location, Learning, Growth, etc.
Be Clear About Your Role
You need to be very clear about what role you wish to perform and master that skill set.
Be clear about how long you would like to perform that role.
For example:
- “I want to be the ‘x’ guy in two years.”
- “I am interested in being a technical manager in two years.”
- “I would like to stick around for five years.”
Consider Your Career Path
You need to choose your job while keeping in mind that you’re probably going to grow in the same career, and you may hold it for an extended period. You can consider your job as introducing you to a new career or helping you develop your current career. As you consider growing your career and advancing in it, you should consider the industry in which you work. Industries are constantly changing, and you’ll want to understand the direction of the industry and how it is likely to impact you over time.
Check Out Training And Development Opportunities
Many industries have clear paths for career advancement, but you may need to ask your boss or employer about your career growth path. You should also ask for feedback regarding your current performance and what you can do to improve.
Does The Pay Equate To What You’re Worth?
As you think about your job and career, you should consider the pay. You should evaluate your worth in the marketplace and whether you are being compensated appropriately. Your company’s revenue and conditions can also impact how much your professional contribution at that stage is worth. You’ll want to look carefully at your company’s pay and conditions to ensure you are appropriately compensated.
Consider The Non-Salary Compensation
Some jobs offer benefits other than salaries, such as health insurance and retirement plans.
Here’s a simple formula for figuring out the value of the compensation package:
Salary + Benefits = Total Compensation
In terms of salary, if an offer is for Rs. 55000, and a competing offer is for INR 50,000+ Daily allowance of Rs. 500, the total comes to Rs. 56000, you might prefer the offer with the higher total salary.
What Will You Learn
The skills you acquire in college often do not translate into the workplace. If you are studying something about which you are passionate, you are probably more likely to thrive and succeed. Your learning in a job role is by and large the most important aspect, as that solely decides how your career advances and how you scale up the ranks quickly.
Good luck with your job hunt!
