When Should we Start Preparing for a Successful Career?

Introduction

Most students expect to start work right after college graduation. However, it is essential to understand that your job search should not begin once you graduate. Planning and preparing for your career should occur throughout your college studies. You need not settle on one area to pursue immediately, and you can always choose to change directions. However, you have to ensure to prepare for a lifelong career or even multiple careers. It is a myth that you can get a job with a college degree. The fact is that it takes an average college graduate a minimum of three months to get employment post-graduation. You require a career-seeking strategy and some experience, or you will likely be just another résumé in a stack of hundreds.

Ideal Time to Start Preparing for the First Job

Let’s start with the factors that need to be considered while deciding when to delve into fresher job preparation:

• Time
• Resources
• Academic Position
• Internships
• Limitations

To begin with, time is a crucial factor that needs to be considered. For example, if you begin to apply for jobs in your pre-final year, then it is not possible for the company to appoint someone a year before, as no one is sure about the availability of vacancies in the coming year.

Also, a student’s academic position, that is how well you have performed during your course, is equally important. During the initial years, or one year before the completion of your course, it is vital for you to concentrate on your academics and learn well instead of scouting for jobs.

And then there are internships. You must concentrate on internships during vacations and other times available to create a strong job resume instead of focusing on testing yourself on a job-worth scale.

There are also certain limitations that hostel-based students often face. You may have to reach companies for job interviews which may not be feasible for you while studying far away in a hostel.

So, ideally, based on all these factors, the second half of the final year is pretty much considered to be the best for job preparations and job hunting. In semester system courses, you can think that the last semester is the best time for beginning to look for jobs.

Steps to Create a Successful Career

There is more to finding your dream job than completing your graduation and simply hoping for the best. This is precisely why there is this wealth of opportunities provided to you during your time at college – such as summer internships, industry-led work placements, international study tours, field work, employer expos, career masterclasses, practical online tools and apps – all of which can enhance your experience and help you to graduate career ready.

Step 1: Cultivate a career ready mindset

To make the best of the opportunities that are available to you, it is a great idea to be clear with the following points in your mind:

• What do you want out of university?
• Who do you want to be when you finish your studies?

Whether you are early on in your academic journey or coming toward the end these can be difficult questions. Part of the fun of studying, interacting, and doing work placements is finding out where your strengths lie precisely. If you can identify the environment where you thrive and what types of projects inspire you to do your best, then you will be in a stronger position to communicate these strengths to future employers and have an edge over the other candidates. There are numerous resources available online and on-campus that can help you gain practical on-the-job training, improve your communication skills and cultural awareness, and foster your entrepreneurial spark.

Step 2: Take Advantage of on-campus Resources

There is an array of experts and events on campus to support you with your career planning. Connect with the right person or also platform to help you with stuff like:

• Finding career options connected to your course
• Interview practices, and how to search for jobs
• Creating your job-ready skills
• Career-readiness training and tips
• Connecting with mentors and employers
• Register for flexible paid work opportunities

Step 3: Gain Real-Life Experience in the World of Work

You should be aware that in this highly competitive job market, employers are seeking well-rounded, flexible graduates; candidates with a range of life experience and non-technical skills that will help them to resolve real-world problems and work very well within the existing teams. Knowing that employers seriously value graduates with work experience means that you need to develop a wide range of skills when you are studying. Work placements are an excellent way to accomplish insights into the occupations and industries you have your heart set on outside of the classroom.

Conclusion

It is always a good idea to be strategic in planning for your career. By strategic and smart moves, you can invest in yourself and your career for years to come.