How-To Sell Yourself Without Selling Short

BY REGAN HOERL

SC Contributing Writer

Graduating in the fall is a pretty scary concept for most ESU students because post-graduation only means one thing—finding the perfect job.

Sometimes, graduates rush to find a job in their field, only to be disappointed that it wasn’t what they expected.

In my experiences, every great job I’ve ever had took planning, practice, and participation, especially on my end.

The following are some tips and guidance to help watch your back while you’re job hunting in the “real world.”

Do not settle for the first job that has “work from home,” “make $15 dollars an hour,” or “marking supervisor for human resources department wanted part-time” in the description.  Unless these jobs come with a listing of what qualifications and education are needed, then the job is probably phony.

You have just graduated with, in assumption, a Bachelor’s degree from a university. You are worth well more than minimum wage or a little above it. Be prepared for phony jobs hidden in “trusted” websites.

Do not use Craigslist to find your dream job. Craigslist has more than 50 million viewers a month. Within these viewers, there are always scammers.

For example, Jessicah found a transcriptionist job on Craigslist a few months ago. She transcribed sermons for pastors, and was paid via credit cards every two weeks. She would use the credit card to pay herself and the publisher located in England. Jessicah, in turn, finds out that she is using stolen credit cards to pay off scammers in other countries. Jessicah has to file a report with the police.

A few websites that are better for job hunting are indeed.com, careerbuilder.com, and monster.com.

Take time to build a resume. College experience is not just about how you do. It is also about what you do. I am a writing major at the ESU. Therefore, instead of letting my resume say I had all A’s in my writing classes, I joined Calliope and became the submissions editor. I also work for the Writing Studio in the Kemp Library. Unless you are simply a genius and are recognized as such, you’re going to need experience in your field doing something of relevance.

Plan for an internship.  Internships, paid or unpaid, show that your communicative skills are not the only reason you chose a degree in speech communication. Having a part time job that will pay for your loans or bills, but participating in an internship will better your chances of finding a job. Companies like to see that you’re more than interested in the field you’ve obtained a degree in.

Keep a communicative outlet for professional connections you may have. This one is more of a suggestive sell. Make yourself a LinkedIn page. LinkedIn offers both the attention getting idea of a social networking page, and a professional communicative outlet for your past and present good-standing relationships. Instead of tweeting about how you can’t find a job in your field, this website lets you have a profile picture and initiates job connections for you. It is a free website that you can host with your portfolio or graduation project. This website, along with your resume, internship, and smiling face, will land you the perfect job in no time.

Email Regan at:

rhoerl@live.esu.edu