How To Be Realistic In Your Graduate Job Search

How To Be Realistic In Your Graduate Job Search So, you’ve successfully finished your final year at University assignments and exams are finished and you’re feeling as free as a bird. As far as you’re concerned, you’re going to conquer the world! Here at Bubble we believe ambition is a brilliant trait to have you need to aim high in order to get that dream job. However, we’re sorry to say that you’re most likely going to have to start at the bottom of the ladder and work up before you begin to conquer the world! It’s essential that you’re realistic when you set off into the working world otherwise you’re going to receive quite a few knock backs and most importantly you’re going to waste your precious time. So take a look at our top tips to ensure you’re realistic in your graduate job search. Be Brutally Honest With Your CV Before you even begin your job search, you need to write your CV. If you’ve finished Uni with a tiny bit of experience from your part time job don’t start panicking. It may be tempting to add bits onto your CV here, there and everywhere… but it won’t work employers will know straight away if you’re lying. What’s more, I’m sure you don’t want to start a job where you’re completely out of your depth. It’s important to be realistic and understand that you need to learn those essential skills before moving up in the industry- THEN you can add all those amazing skills to your CV. If you want to know more about the importance of telling the truth on your CV take a look at this post. Be Realistic When Choosing Your Job Type We know that you have worked so hard to get to where you are now and you think that you deserve that big chance â€" but it’s time to slow down! If you haven’t got the right skills for that specific industry then as we said before you need to learn those basic skills. So there’s no point applying for a Digital Marketing Manager role, all fresh faced and out of Uni -because you’ll have no chance. You’ll waste your time and feel demotivated Try and apply for more junior roles â€" look for key words like ‘assistant’, ‘executive’, ‘junior’.   Then have a look at the job spec and check that your skills match those that are needed for the job. If you’re panicking because you think you don’t have any skills in your industry then take a look at this post that tells you what to do next when you have no experience. Don’t Expect To Be Rolling In Money So you’ve finished Uni and the first thing you do is begin to mentally spend all that money you’re going to earn when you bag your first job. But we’re now going to burst your bubble, so we’ll apologise in advance! If you are working in a junior role then you’re going to get a junior salary â€" it’s as simple as that. You’ve got to remember that your employer is most likely going to have to invest time and money to teach you those skills therefore you can’t expect to have a huge pay slip at the end of the month to begin with. If you’re struggling to understand what salary you should be getting, take a look at our more junior roles at Bubble. Whilst you’re having a browse, don’t forget to take notice of the location this will make a significant difference to how much you’re paid. For example a role in Central London will have a higher salary than a role in say Nottingham, as the cost of living is higher. Think of the next few years as a huge learning opportunity to get you to that career you’ve always dreamed of and then you can reap the benefits and expect your large pay packet. So, just remember when you begin your graduate career you’re not going to walk straight into a managerial role with a top notch salary. Be realistic and lower you expectations… remember you’re standing on that first step of the ladder and there are so many more steps to go. Try to relax and enjoy every minute of it. Good Luck!