Why Job Hunting Is A Full Time Job

The Hunt

• Coffee in hand, check.
• Laptop charged, check.
• Bring on the job search!

Seems easy enough right? But little do you know that looking for a job is actually a full time job itself. If you’re lucky, you might already have a job lined up after graduation. For some, it doesn’t always work out that way.

After graduating college, I was naïve. Finding a job? Oh that will be SO easy! No. I was wrong. SO wrong. Just like how money doesn’t grow on trees (Ugh, seriously wouldn’t that be nice?), Jobs just aren’t handed out to you. I, literally, spent hours and hours on search engine after search engine trying to find a job. This process quickly becomes tiring and discouraging. “I spent X amount of hours in school and studying and now I can’t even find a job?! Give me a break!”

Unfortunately, our economy is trying to regrow from our recession so the job market just isn’t how it use to be. One way to stay on top of your hunt is to be organized.

• Mark your calendar when sending in your application.
• Follow up with the company a few days after to see if they need any additional information from you.
• Stay updated with the job fairs going on within your community.
• And utilize networking! Networking is a great way to get connected in the professional world. Someone you meet could lead you to a potential job opportunity!

Resume

See what qualities the company is looking for in a candidate and rearrange your resume so it speaks to the position you are applying for.

The bad news? It’s necessary to change your resume up to meet properly showcase the qualifications necessary for every job. That can get tedious and, because I was so eager to apply,  the thought of redoing my resume every time was a nightmare.

Your resume will take time, but it is worth it!

Tip: Make sure you have others look over your resume before submitting it. When you have been looking at something for so long, your eyes could overlook errors. Having another set of eyes looking at it will help you catch those mistakes.

Another tip, be sure to print your resume on resume paper (0r what I like to call, fancy construction paper)

Cover Letter

How can I sell myself in four sentences? I’ll admit I am not a fan of cover letters. If there is one grammatical error, most likely your resume isn’t even given a second glance. However, cover letters are important.

Your cover letter is your ability to show your potential employer how you can be an asset to their company. While it may be daunting to sit there trying to come up with big words that you normally wouldn’t use in person (Come on, I know you’ve used the “synonym” button on Microsoft Word before!) you don’t really need to do that much. Try to keep your cover letter short and sweet. You want to get straight to the point.

The objective of a cover letter is to intrigue the company wanting to know more about you, thus inviting you in for an interview! See what type of words the company uses in their job list positing. Then use similar words to describe and sell yourself in your cover letter. When I first began writing my cover letter, I thought “I’ll just write one solid cover letter and use it for every application and interchange the position titles.” No. No. No. You can’t. Like with the resumes, you need to have your cover letter speak to the position you are applying for. So that means more revising, editing, saving and then more editing.

Luckily, Rockford Career College provides an amazing Career Services department that will guide you along the way during your job search. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them with any questions you may have about the process of looking for a job!

-Jordan Tomase

#college #rockfordcareercollege #rccrocks