Why should I hire you? What have you accomplished? How will you answer these questions when applying for a full-time job to start your career? Here are some tips to start your career path:
Check out Career Websites
There are several career websites that provide tips, ideas and other resources to help you jumpstart your career. Our favorite site is careermetis.com. This website features a career blog that acts as a “wise counselor” for people looking for jobs or to advance their careers. The creator, Nissar Ahamed, has learned from numerous mentors and teachers and now provides blog posts and roundups to help you land that dream job or take your career to the next level.
Check out CareerMetis here!
Always be Networking
80% of people are hired for jobs because they have some sort of connection, so it’s important to build a network of people who may help you land a job in the future. Leveraging LinkedIn is a great way to do this. I once attended a course called “Leveraging LinkedIn”, a mentoring program by the City of Toronto, to learn how to build my social capital. I learned tricks on how to improve my profile on LinkedIn so that more recruiters could find me. I also met mentors and network contacts in the marketing industry that could help me find a job once I graduated.
Find networking events happening in your city here!
Find Events
You will need a competitive edge to set you apart from the other graduates in the marketing industry. Events like seminars, meetups and training courses can be found all around you and can teach you specialized skills that set you apart. Some of them are free or cost as little as $10. You might think that most of these events are secret because they cater to a specific niche of marketing professionals like big data marketers or growth hackers, but they are openly available for anyone interested in the topics discussed.
I did not have much time as a student, so I relied on the free social event platform Chillwall.com to discover local training courses, seminars and other events happening near me. Chillwall also helped me manage my events: my choices were mapped, so I never needed to worry about finding where the event was held and I even received reminders for events. The site even learned about my preferences and recommended events based on my personal tastes and passions. For example, it recommended an exclusive job fair since it learned that I was taking a resume course.
Find tons of career events happening in your city Chillwall.com!
Written by Berk DeLevi & Kent Austin
