Guest post by Elizabeth Ross
Finding a job isn’t always easy, especially in today’s economy. You’re competing with countless others who have been unemployed for months or years, and you’re competing with new grads who have the exact same degree as you.
So how do you stand out?
1. Get experience
If you didn’t have a plethora of internships in college, don’t despair. There’s still time for you to gain the experience you need to land that dream job. One thing you may have overlooked: Volunteering at an organization relevant to your field.
While volunteering obviously doesn’t get you money right away, you’ll gain experience that looks good on a resume – and you’ll probably learn some new skills along the way, too. And if nothing else? It’s always good to help others, no matter the task.
2. Earn extra credentials
So you have your degree. An associate’s, bachelor’s, maybe even a master’s. But nothing says you have to stop there. Consider pursuing further education in the form of a certificate or stackable credential.
While having more education doesn’t guarantee a job, it likely can’t hurt. And if you’ve been unemployed for a while, it can show hiring managers that you’re serious about your profession and you’ve kept on top of the latest trends in the industry.
3. Think outside the box
Do you think that all resumes are a few pages long and something you ship off to a hiring manager who may or may not look at it? Think again. Remember, your resume is your employer’s first impression of it. It’s also one of the deciding factors as to whether or not you land that job interview – so make it count.
Numerous resumes have gone viral in recent years, bringing attention – and often, a job – to their creators. Philipe Dubost created an Amazon-like resume, Chris Spurlock made his resume an infographic and Victor Rodriguez printed his resume on a cereal box. What can you do to make your resume stand out?
The bottom line
Finding a job can be a lot of, well, work. But if you can find ways to make yourself stand out from the hundreds of other applicants who are applying for the same jobs as you, you’re bound to make a good impression. Who knows, maybe you’ll even land your dream job!
About the author: Elizabeth Ross is an Inbound Marketing Specialist at Rasmussen College. She enjoys writing about a variety of topics and programs, including health information technology. Connect with Elizabeth on Twitter or Google+.
Campus To Career 
Hey Elizabeth,
Here is a question that has befuddled me for the 17 years I was a placement specialist at Goodwill. There are certain questions that are illegal for a prospective employer to ask the past employer of a prospective candidate. Theoretically, the only thing the past employer is allowed to say is “Yes, this person worked here from such a date to another such date.” BUT, we all know that past employers aren’t always so politically and legally correct. The “kiss of death” question is “Would you rehire this person again?” As far as I know, this is a perfectly legal question and if the past employer says, “No” then it’s all over. I heard the head of the Tuscarawas County One-Stop say on the radio that if you were fired from a job, it’s a good idea to call your past employer, apologize and state how much you have learned about not doing whatever you did to get fired. I’m not so sure that’s a good idea at all. It just sounds like brown nosing for an obvious result to me.
Any thoughts? Thanks Elizabeth.
Barry Scholles
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Hi Barry,
I agree that calling the past employer doesn’t seem like a very good idea. The general consensus online is that many large companies have a policy against answering questions like, “Would you hire this person again?” Like you said though, policies aren’t always followed. There are ways to contact a former employer without “brown nosing,” though. This article gives some examples: http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/outside-voices-careers/2012/03/05/how-to-handle-a-bad-job-reference
Additionally, the job candidate should be prepared for questions about their termination and respond in an honest, straightforward way. Here’s a great resource: http://jobsearch.about.com/od/interviewquestionsanswers/a/interviewfired.htm
Overall, it seems like those who were fired may have to work a little harder to find a job, but it’s certainly not impossible!
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I wanted to thank you for this good read!! I absolutely loved every little bit of
it. I have you book marked to check out new things you post…
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