How To Find Your First Job

Are you wondering how to find your first job? We’ve all heard time and time again how networking with our friends, family, colleagues, and other contacts could vastly help job seekers find a job - and ultimately get hired. Statistics show 40% of all hires come from employee referrals, making the old phrase ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ relevant to today’s job search. This is especially true if you’re a college student or college graduate who hasn’t had the chance to gain the professional experience required for an entry-level position. Eyal Grayevsky, CEO and Founder of job and internship site First Job, created his site after experiencing the hardships of looking for work when he graduated from the University of Colorado in 2010. “When I graduated, I was looking for a job and was disappointed with the resources that were available to me,” said Grayevsky. “I found them very limited and a lot of my peers felt the same way.” Where someone starts looking for work is something that really plagued Grayevsky coming out of college. With the help of his recruiting knowledge, he thought of a way to solve the problem of where to begin looking for work. “Coming out of college, you don’t necessarily have a lot of professional experience, and you don’t necessarily know or really understand where your strengths lie,” said Grayevsky. Having a system that would help communicate the skills and personality traits of young job seekers and promote them to employers would help college students and college grads stand out from the piles of applications employers receive every day. By combining both Facebook and LinkedIn contacts, Grayevsky wanted to broaden the endorser base for young job seekers everywhere. Endorsers or vouchers can write letters of recommendation as well as select skills and personality traits to help showcase the strengths of young job applicants. Grayevsky went on to say that when first time job seekers enter job search, they don’t really have a grasp of where their connections lie. This is where Facebook and LinkedIn connections can be powerful components of job search. But it’s not just college students or college grads that need help. Employers often have a tough time finding the right applicants for their entry-level positions. You can’t be unqualified and overqualified at the same time. If employers had a better system where they can get to know an applicant through common contacts, positive endorsements, and maybe even some person-to-person interaction, more college students and graduates would find themselves working at a job they are genuinely qualified for. If you’re serious about getting a job, you have to work smarter and use the resources that are right in front of you to make your job search work for you. “New graduates often spend months searching job boards for quality entry-level positions,” said Grayevsky in a press release. “Recent grads don’t realize that they already have an abundance of professional connections within their social network.” Building relationships with relevant contacts can be tough. Why not use your current networks to continue fortifying your relationships and get closer to finding your first job?

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