Express yourself: Improve your odds of finding a job

College students and recent graduates shouldn’t feel ashamed when asking for help with the job search. After all, they don’t have to be alone in this process. Communicating can only help, not hurt, students and graduates, as it expresses their desire to find jobs. Heather Hiles, Senior Education Advisor at Cengage Learning, shares tips job seekers can use to improve their chances of gaining employment.

Heather Hiles, Founder and CEO of Pathbrite and Senior Education Advisor to Cengage Learning

“Show me, don’t tell me. I often say evidence is worth more than a thousand words. When hiring, I am looking for candidates who truly ‘walks the talk’ – and a great way for candidates to demonstrate or prove their ability, passion, skills, and knowledge is by using portfolios – which go well beyond a static resume.

Tap your resources – an untapped one is worthless! When networking, reach out to known contacts first such as family members, peers who already graduated, old professors, and family friends. You never know who knows whom or what connections could be made if you don’t ask.

Step outside your address book for new contacts. Use your social media skills to reach out to influencers in the industry; comment on blogs and join conversations on Twitter; go to a networking event. You may be shocked to know that a lot of professionals are often quite willing to help you if they can; these people know the value of paying it forward and almost certainly got to where they are now thanks in part to networking.”

In January, College Recruiter is sharing the advice and opinions of employers and career services professionals to help students connect the dots on their path to career success. Check out College Recruiter’s blog and connect with College Recruiter on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Heather Hiles is the founder and CEO of Pathbrite, and Senior Education Advisor to Cengage Learning, a leading global education company. Now part of Cengage Learning, Pathbrite – the world’s leading digital Portfolio Platform – is used by over 4.5 million college and university students to showcase their work, talents, and achievements when applying for jobs. Although originally launched in the education market in 2012, the Pathbrite Platform is now being used by top companies as a tool for evidence-based hiring and performance evaluations, and was recently acquired by Cengage Learning.