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Four Tips for Landing Your Dream Job in 2012

Feb 10, 2012 Jennifer Williamson, Distance Education.org Columnist | 0 Comments

It’s a new year—and a new opportunity to step up your job search. 2011 wasn’t kind to recent grads—studies show the unemployment rate in 2011 rose to as high as 9.1%, with an underemployment rate of 19.2%. With approximately 21.1 applicants for every job opening—and hundreds or even thousands of applicants for some—how will you stand out? Here are a few suggestions for raising your chances of landing a job—and not just any job, but one that you want and that uses the skills you learned in college—this year.

Fix up your social media presence

Most hiring managers will look for you online—and they’re looking for reasons not to hire you. Go through your Facebook page, Twitter feed, LinkedIn profile, and anywhere else you maintain an online presence. Look for any pictures, comments, or posts that may cast you in a negative light. Remove obvious things like pictures of you with a lampshade on your head at your friend’s New Years party—but even something less obvious might cause offense to some. A good rule is that if you feel just a bit uncomfortable about your mom seeing it, you definitely don’t want a recruiter seeing it.

Go offline to look for jobs

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Landing a job in this difficult economy isn’t exactly a walk in the park. But you can raise your chances by improving your online profile, networking in person, starting a business blog, and improving your resume.

 

 

 

 

 
These days it’s not enough to apply online. You also need to tell your friends, your neighbors, your former classmates and professors, anyone you can think of that you’re looking for a job. Check out networking groups on MeetUp and other places where you can meet people in your industry in person. You never know who might have an unexpected lead—so the more people know you’re looking, the better.

Start a professional blog

When recruiters and hiring managers do a search for you online, you’ll want them to find this. Start a blog that focuses on your work passions—and be sure you’re applying to jobs in that field. Recruiters will see that this industry is a genuine passion of yours—you’re not just applying to anything that comes along—and that you’re committed to learning about and being involved in the field. This is advice that’s often given to older and more experienced workers, but it can also work in your favor if you’re a new graduate.

Revamp your resume

Is your resume really selling you like it could be? 2012 might be a good year to give it an overhaul. Be sure it’s formatted to be easy to read—make sure it’s not too crowded with text and there’s enough white space to make it readable. Wherever possible, include quantifiable achievements and examples of the outcomes of projects you completed at work. Include a list of areas of expertise—in the case of a recent grad, these could be industry-relevant topics you studied in school—that will help employers locate you when they do their own online searches at job sites. If you can afford it, it may be worth your time to have a professional resume writer check out your resume.

Landing a job in this difficult economy isn’t exactly a walk in the park. But you can raise your chances by improving your online profile, networking in person, starting a business blog, and improving your resume. 2012 is a new year—and it just might be your year to shine.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jennifer Williamson

Jennifer worked as a GED teacher for an adult education nonprofit for two years. Her students came from all walks of life, and ranged in age from sixteen to sixty-eight. During that time, she became knowledgeable about the unique needs of non-traditional and adult learners. She counseled hundreds of students about their higher education options, including online degree programs.

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