3 Ways to Land Your Dream Job as a College Graduate

I’m spilling all of the corporate tea in this “Ask Breakroom Buddha” series.
If you have a career question that you’d like me to answer send your question here! You might be featured on the next Ask Breakroom Buddha post!

College graduation is usually a rush! Many students have their sights set on BIG dream roles as soon as they graduate. This means huge companies, a dream job, and lots of fun right out of the gate. All of this can and does happen, BUT you have to prepare and strategize a bit before you can land your dream job.

A university student recently asked how she should go about getting her foot in the door at a major company during the pandemic, as a college student. Pandemic aside, what she really wanted to know what “How do I get my dream job, at a well-known company, as soon as I graduate?”

Short Answer: It’s pretty simple. Spend your time breaking down a few other doors first and then shoot your shot with a larger company. Here’s what I mean by that.

DOOR #1: University Partnerships = Easier Path to Land Your Dream Job

via GIPHY

Some schools have partnerships with large companies. These partnerships usually serve as feeder programs, or pipelines to usher new talent into their companies. If this is the case at your school, work closely with your university’s career center to land a role in one of the partnership programs.

When searching for opportunities make sure you:

• Look at the opportunities that are offered within your major first. Some schools have advisors dedicated to each major. They should be able to help you track down these opportunities.
• Expand your reach to clubs and organizations. Do businesses/companies have a special connection with a student organization on your campus? Are you a member of these organizations?
• Expand even further! The next step is to go to the main career center on your campus. Work with your assigned advisor to look into even more opportunities.
• BONUS: Don’t forget to attend career fairs, panel talks, or career days at your school.

For example, As an undergraduate at my school, I was in Journalism school. It was important for me to work with every aspect of media, so I explored everything from radio to film production. As a result, I was able to work with big-name companies such as the Ryan Seacrest Foundation, The Peabody Awards, and The Cannes Film Festival. These were all partnerships that were highly recognized in the industry, and to this day they still serve as talking points for me during my job interviews!

Related Read: How I Landed a Job at WarnerMedia

DOOR #2: Create Your Own Dream Job

via GIPHY

How do you do this? It’s simple.

Do the thing that you’re trying to convince other people that you know how to do.

When you assume the role of a professional, you get a taste of what you’d essentially be doing for the first few years of your career. I’m going to let you in on a little secret. The earlier you figure out what you want to do, the easier it will be to land those roles.

Here’s how you should look at it. For example, if you want to be a social media strategist, you’d:

1. Set up business profiles on a few popular social platforms.
2. Pick a topic to cover, and then learn the ins and outs of each platform.
3. Educate yourself by following industry publications, obtaining additional industry certifications & networking with industry professionals who currently do that type of work.

Doing all of these things will also help you start to nail down what you like and don’t like about your chosen field. This will also help you articulate your strengths and weaknesses during interviews!

Related Read: How to Set up an Informational Interview (and possibly land a job!)

DOOR #3: Start Small and then Go Big

via GIPHY

Small could mean a number of things.

1. Start with yourself. You could start your own business or work as an independent freelancer. This way, you’ll be able to work with a variety of clients in local or online communities to gain experience.
2. Small could also mean working with organizations on your campus, startups, local businesses, or other entrepreneurs who work in the field/industry that you’re interested in. Inquiry about internships, freelance, part-time, or contract work.

Once you stack up your “small” experiences, and beef up your skillset, it’s easier to land your dream job! It will be easier to convince hiring managers/hr recruiters at bigger companies that you know what you’re doing!

Related Read: Here are 17+ New Skills you should learn right now!

Chat With a Career Coach

Feeling stuck in a career that doesn’t match your desired lifestyle? Get immediate support with our Career CoPilot Assistant! Scroll down and type your question in the black box.