· Take advantage of summer employment opportunities! Our career services office is inundated with information on jobs in various resorts-Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, the Grand Tetons, summer camps, etc.-what a wonderful opportunity to not only see a different part of the country, but earn some spending money as well! When you enter the world of full-time, permanent employment, you will never have this opportunity to have your summers off (unless you enter the field of teaching, and most teachers I know teach summer school!)

· When you mail out your resumes, follow up! It can be as simple as a phone call. Keep a log of who and where you mailed your resume to, and call a week later. You can even begin your conversation with something like, “I have been very busy with finals and part-time work (wow, what an overachiever you are!) and was afraid I had missed your call. I just wanted to make sure that you had received my resume”. If you interview for a job, send the person who interviewed you a “thank you letter”. This recruiter may interview 10 to 20 applicants, and you may be the only one who is considerate enough to send a thank you note! This may be the “icing on the cake” and land you the job!

· Don't give up! At the end of fall semester, we even had computer science graduates struggling to find jobs! I am entering the field of teaching, and school systems are notorious for “waiting until the last minute” (I have become discouraged in my own job search because of this). Keep in contact with your friends, career services office, possible networking contacts who will encourage you and keep you uplifted and positive! These contacts have been my “saving grace” and will be yours, too!

· Please notify your Career Services Office of your plans. If you accept employment or pursue further graduation, they need to know! Many departments are required to report the post-graduation plans of their graduating seniors to their Board of Regents. This information is beneficial to our existence! If our governing bodies know that we are utilized, we will continue to exist and help future college students!

In closing, you may have to take the less desirable job when you graduate. A lot of companies require some post-graduation experience before hiring, and this may be your best opportunity to gain more hands on experience. One graduating senior who was interviewed and struggling to find employment decided to take advantage of summer employment opportunities to “ride out the economy” until something came available. Not a bad idea! Good luck to all!

The above is an excerpt from The Last Job Search Guide You'll Ever Need: How to Find and Get the Job or Internship of Your Dreams, which is available for sale for $19.85 in our bookstore or $27.00 at Amazon.com but for free to those who subscriber to our free career newsletter. This hot new book contains job search secrets of the most experienced, most knowledgeable and most respected career experts. Learn career planning, job hunting tools and tactics, interviewing, cover letter and resume writing (lots of samples!), networking, and how to find an internship. Written by 149 career experts. To receive a free copy, subscribe to our free career newsletter.

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