After graduation, it is typically difficult for students to land a job because as a new graduate, you do not have experience in the working field. However, it has proven to be even more difficult in today’s day and age due to the economic slump that our country is currently in and employers are unwilling to pay the high pay rate of a recent grad – with some simply not having the funds to pay even a newly qualified graduate.
Regardless, though, there is an upside to having just graduated with an IT degree – the future of an IT graduate outlasting other career field graduates is very high as the need for these areas are expected to continue to grow as far as the year 2100!
Utilise Campus Resources
Some students are aware of the college resources available to them, but simply choose not to utilise them – whilst others are not even aware that someone at the college could help them land employment after graduation. Your college should have a careers advice centre that would allow you to gain information regarding specific job professions within your field of study, as well as testing and job listings.
In this same location at the university, you should be able to speak with a career advisor or seek out the help of an advisor or expert to help you with your C.V. and/or application to make sure that it hits all the right points and doesn’t lack quality or vital information. The career advice centre at your campus should be the first place you contact.
Go with High-end, Reputable, Financially Stable Companies
One of the best ways to land an IT job after graduation is seeking employment with a reputable company that is high up the financial ladder. An example of a company like this would be JP Morgan Technology as they offer three different primary graduate IT jobs: Application Developer, Business Systems Analyst and Infrastructure Engineer.
Get Experience
As previously stated, one of the primary reasons many companies won’t hire you even though you are an IT graduate with excellent grades, is because you lack the necessary hands-on experience to execute the job properly. While you may feel that you can execute each job function above and beyond the company’s expectations, the company is going to feel more comfortable hiring someone who already has experience in the field.
You can beat this with one simple word: internship. Get a college internship. It could even secure you a position with that very company once you become an IT graduate. JP Morgan Technology offers internships as well as IT graduate jobs.
Realise You Need More Than Education
One of the most important things for you to realise as a new IT graduate is that you are going to need more than your education to get you the job. You are going to need to show the employer that you are a well-rounded, strong, motivated individual that is ready to do whatever it takes to succeed in this competitive marketplace.
Academic ability is no longer going to be the only thing that is looked at when it comes to landing IT graduate jobs. However, it is important to not let yourself get down over this as you already have the upper hand over a number of other individuals as you have attended and graduated from university.
Get Involved
You can drastically separate yourself from everyone else by getting involved in your university’s societies, clubs and extracurricular activities. It also looks good on your C.V. to have some volunteering experience, which could potentially be the deciding factor on whether you get the job or another IT graduate does.