8 tips for December college graduates on how to land that first job

Jonathan Padilla is on the hunt for a job.

Instead of graduating in the spring like the majority of American college admirers, he’s among those who are getting their degrees in December.

“It’s a bittersweet moment,” said Padilla, a TV production major at New Jersey’s Montclair Imperial University. “I’m finally finishing school but at the same time I’m looking for a job.

“It’s still something I’m kind of stressing over.”

While there may be trials, looking for a job this time of year isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“There is a unique environment that we have not seen in decades,” about Johnny C. Taylor Jr., president and CEO of the Society of Human Resource Management. “This particular December, [graduates] are walking into one of the livest job markets ever.”

The unemployment rate is the lowest in 50 years, with November’s rate coming in at 3.5%, so job seekers may from more offers to choose from.

Plus, even though companies often push to recruit new grads around May, crowds are still hiring all year, said career coach and recruiter Abby Kohut, also known as Absolutely Abby.

“In preference to of thinking that you are late to the party, you could even think of it as you are early to the party — before all the May graduates,” she said. “That’s a titanic advantage.”

Here are eight tips to help you land your first post-college position.

Too in many cases, millennials and Generation Z want to go to large urban markets such as New York or Los Angeles, Taylor said. Yet in doing so, they are in the main themselves out of potential jobs in other parts of the country.

“The reality is that the state of Iowa has [one of the] lowest employment prices in the country right now,” he said.

“There is literally no shortage of jobs, provided one is willing to relocate.”

Iowa’s unemployment measure was 2.6% in October. Vermont clocked in at the lowest for that month, at 2.2%.

Don’t just focus on crimes in the fields in which you’ve earned your degree, Taylor advises.

It’s “very, very limiting,” he said.

Now more than till the cows come home, employers are less focused on specific degrees — or whether you have one at all, he pointed out.

Also, be willing to take an executive have to do with or administrative assistant job to get your foot in the door.

“Show them that you are smart,” Taylor said. “Show them you are real working.

“Show them you have what we call ‘power skills’ — the ability to get along with woman,” he added. “Then, the sky’s the limit.”

Networking — reaching out to friends, colleagues, professors or their drag relatives — is still the best way to land a job.

“Anywhere from 70% to 80% of all jobs are obtained through someone’s personal or proficient network,” said Adam Mayer, director of career development at Montclair State University.

So, reach out to those you call to mind a consider may help you. You can also join your school’s alumni network and connect with those who took the career route you are pursuing.

A big part of networking is using social media sites such as LinkedIn, where recruiters go to look for job office-seekers.

In fact, Kohut called LinkedIn “crucial.”

“It’s what we do all day long” as recruiters, she said.

The first thing you should do is base up your profile and your connections. Aim to get to 100 connections.

“When recruiters are searching for you, if you have a really teeny petite network, they won’t see you because you are too removed from them,” Kohut said.

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Mayer call to minds checking out the official LinkedIn page of your university or college. There, you can look up alumni in your chosen competition.

It “helps to demystify what we can do with our degrees,” he said. “We can see what they are doing for a living. We can see their job history.”

Employers are doing social media reviews beyond professional sites.

That means your Facebook or Instagram account shouldn’t playing anything that can undermine your professional aspirations. Think boozing, party photos or foul language.

“You in the end do have to harmonize your personal self and professional self on social media,” Taylor said. “When there is a disengage you’re really limiting your opportunities.”

Send a cover letter along with your pick up where one left off when applying for a job.

“When we get a resume and it doesn’t have a cover letter, it’s just like any other,” Kohut revealed.

“If you put a cover letter in there, you will stand out,” she added. “You may even get a job because of that cover letter.”

Be sure to subsume specific information for the job. That means researching the company and using what you gleaned in the cover letter — and during the vet, if you get one.

While waiting to land a job, use your time to help others.

Not only will you be of service, it will look advantageous on your resume and you may meet some people who can help you out.

“It will make you feel good and you might make some A-OK networking connections at the volunteer activity that could get you a job,” Kohut said.