10 Career Tips For Recent Grads Entering The Post-Pandemic Job Market

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School looked very different for many students this past year and a half due to the Covid-19 pandemic. For recent college grads, the future of work may seem like it’s filled with even more of the same uncertainty as the job market evolves and heals in the aftermath of 2020.

But despite what’s occurred, it’s important to move forward and find ways to begin your career in a way that will set you up for success. To provide some guidance on how to do that, 10 members of Young Entrepreneur Council offered their best advice for recent graduates looking to start their careers during this unprecedented time.

1. Continue Learning

Just because you graduated does not mean your education is over. Always look for ways to continue learning. Read and research daily. Become an absolute expert in your chosen path. Choose a career that is fascinating to you, knowing you will spend a huge portion of your life involved in it. If you’re passionate about what you’re doing and you’re constantly learning to improve yourself, you will thrive and surpass what you thought possible! – Nic DeAngelo, Saint Investment Group

2. Research Your Industry

When starting your career journey, make sure you set realistic expectations about your industry and the workforce. Of course, a lot has changed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t prepare yourself for what’s to come. Researching your industry with the latest information is the best way to guarantee that you’re prepared to join the job market and start your career. Nothing is certain, but reading about others’ experiences can point you in the right direction. It also helps to ask as many questions you can to those who have gone through it or who are experiencing it currently. – Jared Atchison, WPForms

3. Start Building Your Portfolio

The past year has been a difficult one for fresh grads. But instead of being demotivated and upset about the situation, use it to your advantage to build a strong portfolio for your career. You don’t have to wait for the situation to get better. Start a blog today. It can be about anything you’re really passionate about. If it’s photography, go ahead and use your blog to show off your photography skills. If you’re into writing, use it to display your writing skills. It can be a great resource for you to attract some leads who might later convert into a customer. And by the time the world’s situation becomes normal, you might have a strong client base that brings you a steady income. And if not, you’ll have a powerful portfolio that you can use to get the job you dreamt about. – Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster

4. Hone Your Remote Work Skills

The best advice I can give to recent grads for getting on the path to career success is learning to work in a distributed workforce. The reality is, more and more companies are realizing the benefits of a distributed workforce, along with asynchronous task schedules. Teams can easily collaborate across multiple time zones with the vast array of team tools that are available at a low cost to organizations. The barriers are low for distributing a workforce, so once a company is sold on the concept, employees who don’t like this model are, unfortunately, at the mercy of market forces. Adapting to this inevitable future of work sooner rather than later is wise for recent grads entering the job market. – Richard Fong, ABCDreamUSA.com

5. Seek Out A Mentor

For recent grads, it’s important to remember not to be too hard on yourself. Many unexpected changes have occurred, and it’s OK to feel confused about the next step. Continue learning to be where you want to be. You can talk to mentors in your desired field and even those outside of your field to gain a broader perspective. Read about others’ experiences and what they’re doing as recent college graduates. There’s so much you can learn from other people and their experiences, so make sure to dig into their resources. – Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms

6. Consider Further Education

Consider continuing your education if you just can’t find anything. Is the pandemic slowing down? Absolutely. Has the job market caught up to this fact? Not necessarily. So if you’re stuck in a rut and just can’t find anything worthy of your efforts right now, maybe go back for another degree or obtain a relevant certification. Several months from now, things might be a bit more clear for your career journey. – Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

7. Improve Your Writing Skills

My advice is to hone your communication skills. Now that remote work is more common, there’s going to be heavy dependence on written communication. You should think about how your text content sounds when the other person can’t hear the tone you’re using. It’s important to write and speak clearly and to the point. I’d suggest using a grammar-checking tool to help you write better and send emails or chat messages that are grammatically correct. Being able to communicate well has always been important. But now that your ability to develop interpersonal relationships in real life is limited to what you can share on a screen, you need to improve your writing skills. – Syed Balkhi, WPBeginner

8. Refine Your Online Presence

I think that the most important step a young graduate can take is to build their online presence. Now more than ever, people rely on content from social media to give them information about a candidate. Take control of what information is available about you. Create industry-related blog posts or social media posts. Join relevant communities, create a profile on networking websites and be active online. Your online activity can make it easy for hiring personnel to know more about you and it could make them feel more comfortable hiring you. – Blair Williams, MemberPress

9. Give Yourself A Break

This has been one of the most challenging years of our lives. The pressure to attain early success has never been higher, and if you fail to measure up to these expectations, it can leave you feeling crushed and insecure. Instead, abandon the assumption that your identity is wrapped up in what you accomplish. This will liberate you from the tyranny of perfectionism and the mythical pursuit of significance. Can’t find a job in your career path? Instead of letting this paralyze you, use it as an opportunity to diversify your skill set. Be happy with whatever job you find, knowing that it can be a stepping stone to something in the future. These investments pay dividends in character, and provide experiences you would never have gained from your five-year plan. – Brian Greenberg, Insurist

10. Remain Open And Flexible In Your Career Plans

The best thing for recent grads to do is to be open and flexible. No one knows what the world will look like five years from now or really even one year from now. Everything is changing constantly, so if an opportunity of any level comes your way, make the most of it. You don’t know when the next one will come around, and if something bigger and better does come around, then you can figure it out, but take advantage of anything and everything that comes your way. And if opportunities aren’t quite landing on your plate, then don’t be afraid to go create them yourself. LinkedIn, Facebook and even Google are incredible resources. Reach out to anyone and everyone you can find and show them you’re committed to your career path. You never know what could come out of it! – Codie Sanchez, Contrarian Thinking

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