5 Ways to Land that Post-College Job (Even if You Graduated Years Ago)

May 14, 2012

by Jessica Kleiman, Contributor
Forbes.com

For college seniors and grad school students, graduation is no longer something on the distant horizon. In the next several weeks, many will be entering a tough job market, although the good news is it’s starting to look up. According to a 2012 survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), participating employers reported that they plan to hire 10.2 percent more new college graduates from the college Class of 2012 than they did from the Class of 2011.

However, with many experienced workers looking for jobs and companies still watching their budgets, it can still be quite challenging to land that first post-graduate position. In BE YOUR OWN BEST PUBLICIST: How to Use PR Techniques to Get Noticed, Hired, and Rewarded at Work (Career Press; Jan. 2011), the career guide I co-wrote with fellow Forbes blogger Meryl Weinsaft Cooper, we discuss why it’s essential for job candidates to stand out from the competition and market themselves as a valuable and unique brand. This is especially important for recent grads because many will be interviewing for entry-level jobs along with fellow graduates who have the same basic qualifications.

So what can graduates do to improve their employability in 2012? Here are a few pointers from our book.

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