Anyone who has ever gone to college will tell you for free that it’s not easy to find a job after graduating. This is due to the fact that the number of available positions is less than the number of people that are looking for work. Some students get stressed after applying for many jobs without any success and turn into alcoholics and drug addicts. As a matter of fact, the duration that it takes you to get a good job depends on how well you are prepared. Below is a list of tips that can help you secure a job after graduating from college with a diploma or a degree.

1. Network Profusely

There is power in knowing people. Nowadays most organizations don’t advertise their job openings because they share them among their existing employees. In other words, they use their employees to spread word about the openings that are available in their companies. It’s therefore important you establish a strong network because it will increase your chances of getting hired. In fact, you should networking 1 or 2 years in advance. Technology has even made it easier for people to network. All you need to do is remain active on social media especially LinkedIn and following influential people. In addition to that, you should go to networking seminars as much as you can because that’s where you will meet the people that might hook you up with job that you are looking for.

2. Work as an Intern or Volunteer

Instead of just idling around, you should consider utilizing your skills by offering to work as an intern. Many companies are actually understaffed and they will therefore not hesitating in accepting such an offer. Remember, the majority of the companies will not pay you when you are still an intern. It’s advisable you look for such opportunities in companies that are not far from your home so that you can afford to commute or drive without spending a lot of money on gas or fare.

The advantage of working as an intern is that it gives you an opportunity to apply the lessons that you learned back in college. And while you are there, an opportunity might just come up out of the blues. If you have been working hard as an intern the company will definitely hire you right away without even conducting interviews. In fact, you should take the most difficult jobs so that you can get used to challenges early.

3. Advance Your Skills

It’s important you advance your skills after you have graduated from college. This is because technologies keep evolving and you may not be able to catch up if you don’t study further than what the lecturers taught you in college. You should actually try your best to be the most skilled professional in your field. The competitive edge of being the most knowledgeable guy in the block is that you can’t be replaced easily. In fact, every company wants to hire the most skilled employee so that he or she can help them get ahead of their competitors. The good thing is that you can take online courses at CareerFoundry and learn at your own convenience.