Dear Fresh Graduate, If you are serious about getting a job get out of LinkedIn

Helping freshers get jobs

As a recruiter I hardly recall an incident in which we hired a fresh graduate because we liked his or her resume we saw on LinkedIn.  The same applies to other recruitment agencies as they use LinkedIn to identify candidates other than fresh graduates.  LinkedIn is only used by recruiters to find people with experience.  In other words, no recruiter or employer takes you seriously on LinkedIn despite all the noise you make!

Another reason for recruiters to ignore freshers is the chronic acquisitions made by job seekers against recruiters for depriving them the right of getting employed.  It is very common to see a vacancy post on LinkedIn looking for professionals of very specific calibers and among the comments are some harsh words made by unemployed freshers blaming the advertiser, the company, the market the government or even Donald Trump for conspiring against fresh graduates by not making it easy for them to find a job.  The matter is worsens when their allegations get affirmed by others who are older and seem mature and hold senior jobs.  It is natural for fresh graduates with obvious lack of knowledge and life experience to take what older people tell them for granted.  Just remember, sometimes experience pays off only if you blend it with a bit of wisdom and a lot of common sense.

As a fresh graduate you have two options: to continue banging your head against the wall and whine about how unfair the world is or take matters in your own hand.  Continue reading this article only if you have chosen the 2nd option.

Today, I will show you the right way to look for a job as a fresh graduate.  The advice I am about to present to you is not like the one given by the career counselor in your college prior to your graduation.  I am talking about practical and real time market insights driven by my experience in the field of recruitment.

  1. Adapt the Right Attitude

If you are like a million others who enjoy putting the blame on the outer world for their lack of achievement you are set for a big disappointment.  The world you complain about will get even nastier and make your life miserable.  That’s a law of attraction!  Change your attitude and think differently.  If grieving reliefs you from the pain of not getting what you want in life you definitely do not belong to this world.  Just admit that the world is a bit tougher than you thought it was and take action.

  1. Take Action

Surfing the net all day and every now and then searching for job ads and sending your lame and poorly written CV or commenting on job posts on LinkedIn with words like “interested” or “please view my profile” do not count as effort to search for a job.  As a fresh graduate you need to take a different approach while searching for your first job ever.  Leave your house and start meeting employers in real life and tell them that you are serious about working for them.  By doing so, it will not matter if you do not succeed in the beginning but you will surely develop a leader’s personality.

  1. Develop a Personality of Your Own

If you are a bad thinker today, after twenty years you will be an excellent bad thinker.  If you listen to some pessimist who keeps projecting negativity to you, you might as well shoot yourself in the leg and claim for disability insurance cheque.  Do not believe everybody even if they seem much older and experienced.  Examine the market and listen only to experts in each field and then use your judgement and common sense.  Only ask the experts and never stop learning.

  1. Continue Learning

The other day a refined gentleman who is an expert in HR posted a poll requesting people’s opinion about the importance of learning another language for your career.  Some comments were very disturbing and show how much people have become slaves to their paychecks.  One particular comment suggested that why waste time and money to learn another language while it will certainly not grant you a promotion or a pay raise.  When I worked for Citibank, I heard of a gentleman from Pakistan who learnt Spanish for pure fun.  When one of Citibank’s global director visited Pakistan he was impressed by their guy’s ability to speak Spanish although it was very much irrelevant in his part of the world.  He then offered him a very senior role in Latin America.  Never assume that learning stops the day you submit your final exam paper.  Remember, learning has little to do with academia and more to do with life.  Learn anything be it a new language, a computer skills, a sports, personal development skills or something that has nothing to do with your major.  Go out and search for knowledge.

  1. Go Out and Search

Make an effort and leave your comfort zone and start a quest to look for a job.  Avoid employers with crowd of job seekers hovering around.  At this stage you are definitely not interested into a fair completion.  You want a job to get yourself in the game.  Look for companies and sectors that are making enough money and are always in need for good candidates like yourself.  I have explained how and where to find these companies in my book “How to Get a Job as a Fresher” Never think about the salary as if you follow the right procedures money will come later.

  1. Money Comes Last

Work to learn even if you have to pay out of your own pockets during the initial period.  Go to the company you want to work for and offer to work for free in exchange of experience.  More often than not, companies do appreciate this kind of enthusiasm and have no issue trying you out.  I assure you that it will not take long before they start to discuss a permanent employment offer.

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