Starting the Job Search While Still in School

Question:

I will be a senior this fall and I am excited to enter the real world. When can I start applying to jobs? I will graduate in mid-May.  

Answer: 

I applaud you for thinking about this one in advance.  Often students wait until the last minute to get ready for the job search, and that’s a bad idea!  The hiring process can follow an extended timeline, so the last thing you want to do is wait until graduation to begin submitting your resume. 

So when should you start applying?  The short answer is: it depends.  Now I know that doesn’t help you out that much, so allow me to elaborate. 

Certain companies and industries start hiring well in advance of graduation.  Fields like consulting, investment banking, engineering, and even marketing might visit your campus or conduct interviews in the fall.  In those instances, you want to start applying as soon as you return to school.   

Make sure your resume is in order and your interviewing skills are polished.  With the best of luck you could have a job offer before Thanksgiving! 

For most other fields and certainly among smaller and mid-size companies, college recruiting happens closer to graduation.  They conduct “just in time hiring” which means they only hire when they know they have an opening.   

As such, they aren’t going to interview students or extend offers until much closer to graduation time.  Even though that’s the case, you still want to be prepared.  Start networking and getting your name out to these companies around February and early March. 

So how do you know if the companies you’re interested in are going to hire you in the fall or in the spring?  You can do a little homework and find out!   

Talk to your career center.  The career center counselors often have relationships with numerous local and national companies.  This is your “one-stop-shop” for all your career questions.  They can give you the schedule for upcoming career fairs where hiring managers are looking to find eager students just like you.  Sometimes, companies will arrange on-site interviews through the career center as well.  If the career counselors know you by name, you will be the first person they call when a company submits an opening or job posting.   

In addition, the career center often sponsors alumni panels and networking events where you can meet prominent alumni at companies where you want to work.  This is an excellent way to learn more about a company’s hiring needs and their timeline.   

You should definitely visit your career center early and often!  It is a great resource, and it’s FREE! 

You can also check out the company’s website and even call them to ask them what the hiring process is. The worst news of all is to find out you missed their deadlines.   

You have numerous resources; you simply need to reach out.  Take a proactive approach to your job search, and you can’t go wrong. 

Best of luck!

Brad Karsh is President of JobBound (http://www.jobbound.com), a company dedicated to helping job seekers with resume writing, interviewing, career coaching and landing that dream job. The author of Confessions of a Recruiting Director: The Insider's Guide to Landing Your First Job (Prentice Hall Press), Brad is considered one of the nation's leading expert on the job search.

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