5 Job Search Skills for College Students and Recent Grads
A successful job search strategy for new college graduates must include these 5 job search skills. New college graduates who are organized and focused around these 5 job search skills, will net better results than those college graduates who don't have a job search plan to launch a career.
Honest Self Evaluation
Many new college graduates do not realize how much the success of their job search relies on mastering this job search skill. Without the ability to evaluate your V.I.S.A (Values, Interests, Skills, and Abilities), the job search of a new college graduate might not have the desired outcome. Just as college students do self evaluation to select majors, new college graduates have to do self evaluation to select a job or career.
Networking skills
Some new college graduates will consider themselves already proficient with online networking skills using Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. However, using these online social networks is not the same as having an "on-land" networking strategy. College graduates have to move from behind the computer and actually go out and meet people in real life. While this can be challenging at first, graduates will eventually master this job search skill.
Writing skills
Another job search skill with lifelong value for college graduates is effective resume and cover letter writing. Resumes, cover letters, thank-you letters and broadcast letters, will need to be written and rewritten frequently.
Job interviewing skills
Success in most job searches boils down to the job search skill of being able to interview effectively. Most college career centers offer practice job interviews sometimes called "mock" interviews so that new graduates can develop this job search skill.
Evaluating job offers
Once college graduates have written a resume, networked into an interview and performed well in a job interview they have to know how to evaluate job offers. This is one job search skill that really develops over time since throughout a successful career, one will hopefully, get to do it many times. College graduates should be able to evaluate job offers such as weighing salary against opportunity for training or weighing cost of an apartment versus cost of living at home.