Looking for your first real job after college can be an intimidating, overwhelming experience. I should know—less than two short months ago I was shaking hands with my university’s president, not knowing whether to be more excited or terrified about all the unknown ahead of me.
As a communications student, I had some advantages in the realm of job hunting. After all, a college graduate entering the job market for the first time is much like a company trying to introduce its products or services to a new audience. But despite having some background knowledge to apply as I tried to market myself to employers, I still felt uncertain about how to tackle the challenges of getting a job.
I think the biggest reason for my feeling of ambiguity was the fact that I didn’t really have a strategy for approaching my job search. Having now familiarized myself with Mustang’s own brand of marketing strategy—the RoadMap—I can clearly see how that same approach businesses take (or, should take) to improve the effectiveness of their campaigns can also apply to new college graduates looking to start their careers. So before you start mass-producing cover letters and resumes, consider following the steps of the RoadMap (for more detailed information, visit www.harrisroadmap.com):
Goals
It’s important for new graduates to identify specific goals. A general statement like, “My goal is to get a job,” is likely to lead to many hours of scouring job postings and eating Doritos, but is not likely to actually result in the acquisition of a satisfying career.
It’s also important to be realistic. While saying, “My goal is to work for a prestigious company, make $80,000 per year and have no commute,” may be specific, it’s also probably impractical. By setting attainable goals—and prioritizing them so it’s easier to decide which ones can be sacrificed for the sake of the others—it is possible to streamline job-searching efforts. This may still lead to many hours of eating Doritos, but it also increases the likelihood of actually obtaining a rewarding job.
Audiences
Once clear goals have been identified, the next step is figuring out where to direct your personal marketing efforts. Your audience may depend on the type of industry and position you are seeking, but in all cases it’s useful to familiarize yourself with the norms, values and perspectives of prospective employers. It is also important to recognize the differences between your new audience and the audiences you have dealt with in the past. You will likely need to present yourself differently to employers than you present yourself to friends, family or even professors.
Messages
In today’s competitive job market it’s essential to effectively communicate your strengths to employers. The best messages are ones that clearly identify what makes you different from the countless other candidates and convey how you can benefit the company. Your message should be apparent in all the communication you have with a potential employer.
Vehicles
Resumes, cover letters and interviews are obvious vehicles for a new college graduate’s message. But there are other vehicles to consider, such as LinkedIn, portfolios and industry-related networking events. Again, the best choices will depend on industry and position. A future designer might want to use vehicles that showcase their design skill—such as interactive resumes and snazzy business cards—but a future doctor would likely rely on different vehicles
Sales Cycle
At each step in the job-hunting process, it’s important to be aware of the way your message is delivered. In the beginning of the cycle, you may use a cover letter and resume to get yourself noticed. Then, if you land an interview, you may need to bring a portfolio of your work and a list of references. Following the interview, you might want to write a follow-up thank you email. And so on. Whatever materials you present to employers at any stage should communicate your message using the most effective vehicles.
Communications Audit
Not everything you develop to market yourself during your job hunt needs to be created from scratch. If you already have resumes prepared or a LinkedIn profile, they may just need to be updated. Past work from college courses or internships may be the foundation of an excellent portfolio. Or, you may be able to evaluate your past communication efforts and get a pretty clear idea of what not to do this time.
Budget
While most of the materials necessary for job hunting don’t require extensive monetary budgeting, it’s still important to budget your time. This is especially true if your financial situation requires you to find a job quickly or work several part-time jobs while you look for a full-time position. Effectively budgeting your time requires identifying the efforts that are most likely to lead to results. It also means balancing the effort you put toward ideal opportunities that might be long shots and the effort you put toward possibilities that are less ideal but more plausible.
The 4 C’s
Once you actually begin developing your “campaign” materials, there are just a few more points to consider. Remember that clear, consistent, continuous messages are usually best. Finally, remember that creativity can be the thing that makes you stand out from other candidates, but only if it actually enhances your message.
Even though my own RoadMap-less job search did lead to a position at a certain super-awesome company called Mustang Marketing, I can certainly say it would have been a much easier journey if I had viewed my efforts in terms of strategic marketing!