Ever have the thought of, “Ah, I am so busy that I don’t have the time to job search before I graduate, what should I do”? Don’t worry you’re not alone. We are all busy with school and finding the time to job search in between classes isn’t an easy task, but trust me it isn’t impossible either.

No need to worry, there are some ways to get organized and motivated when it comes to finding a job during the process of graduating.

First things first, make sure you Prioritize and Organize while you are in school. Make a timeline of the possible classes you want to take, and possible internships that fall into your chosen career path. By making a timeline you can gauge to see how long school will take you and to see where you can start looking for jobs in your desired field.

Get an idea of what you want to focus on. Once you’ve gotten an idea, then you should start to put all efforts into your “chosen career”. Note that throughout your college duration your plans and interests might change. Once you have a set foundation on what you want to do, the next thing you need to do is Get Involved.

By getting involved it will show depth and range to any possible recruiters you come across. Getting involved doesn’t necessarily mean finding a paid job, but it also includes volunteer work, class participation, internships and anything that will give you experience and hands on involvement is one of the best ways for you to set yourself apart from other recent or past graduates. Remember you’re not the only one looking to find a job or gain experience.

Networking is also very important. Right now your “network” circle consists of your family, friends and teachers. Colleges and Universities are great places to meet and expand your networking circle and skills. Most importantly as a student you will eventually graduate and become part of Oregon State University’s Alumni Network, so making as many connections and “friends” as possible is very crucial.

Also, have you ever thought to visit your schools career center? Well, here at Oregon State University our Career Services office is a great place to find resources and information about certain jobs and career decision questions you might possibly have. It might be helpful to visit the career center because often times they have contact with companies that will be doing ‘on campus’ recruiting. Also, Career Centers usually hold workshops that will help you to prepare yourself for the job market.  You also might want to check out your campuses Career Fairs. This is a great way to network and get yourself out there to potential companies.

Visit Career Services website to check out the schedule for the Winter Career Fair.

Lastly, something that will be very important when doing your job search is to make sure you have a clean image. It’s important to not let media make your chances in scoring the perfect job sour. In today’s world media is the digital age so be prepared for anything. Be prepared to be looked up on the Internet, if you haven’t you might want to Google yourself and see what pops up. If there are things you don’t like then you might want to “clean” it up a bit.

Finding a job is never easy, even if it’s your first job or 5^th job, but don’t give up because with perseverance and patience you will definitely find one. Don’t forget to have fun as well. Don’t get too caught up in schoolwork, remember college is a once in a lifetime experience and you want to have some great memories of it as well.  So work hard and play harder, all this hard work will pay off in your future and you will appreciate it.

Posted by Hulali Kaapana, Career Services Assistant