A Fresh Grad’s Guide to Their First Job Hunt

Life outside of college is terrifying. It’s filled with uncertainty.

After so many years of only thinking about school, you’re now suddenly thrust out of what you’ve known for so long. Sure, exploring the world without worrying about multiple exams sounds exciting, but that doesn’t take away how frightening and anxiety-inducing it is.

One reason why life post-college is so stressful is that you’re now expected to put on your adulting pants and land your first job. Everyone knows that landing your first job isn’t the easiest thing in the world, which is why we’re here to help.

We asked 4 Kalibrr employees for any advice they may have for you. Here are their responses.

Tip #1: Identify your goals.

From Beatrice Sipin, Human Operations Team

One of the key things that fresh graduates have to do is to set goals for themselves. These goals would answer questions such as: what do you want to do for your first position? and what type of industry do you want to enter? By doing so, you will be able to have purpose and intent with your actions.

Understanding what you also want to accomplish for your first job can also help give you motivation. If you want to become a marketing manager from the start, then it would be easier for you to lay down the necessary steps to achieve that role. You would have a clear idea of what knowledge you need to acquire and what resources you would need.

However, not everyone knows what they want as soon as they get out of college. The reality is that many job seekers feel lost in their careers. This is completely normal.

If you don’t have an idea of what you want to do, keep an open mind and try new things which you’re interested in. If you don’t actively seek out these opportunities, then you wouldn’t be able to kickstart your career. However, make sure that you’re not forcing yourself to do anything, as this might cause you to shut down. Trying new things takes time so start small so you’ll eventually land something big.

Tip #2: Shoot your shot.

From Patricia Sangalang, Growth Team

“Just do it” isn’t just a sentence you hear from Nike. When it comes to applying for jobs, you should also live out this mindset.

When you’re a fresh grad, you might think that you lack some of the skills that your desired job requires you to have. You might also compare yourself to your peers who already have a stacked resumé even before they’ve set foot outside of university. This might lead you to avoid applying to certain job openings even if you really want to get offered the role. But the thing is, you have to remember that you miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.

If you think that you’re able to do the majority of the tasks that will be part of your role, then don’t hesitate to send your resumé to that company!

Don’t think of failure as the end of everything. Failure is just the beginning! You may not realize it now, but failure will open doors for you that you never knew existed. If you don’t at least try, you wouldn’t have the chance to grab these opportunities.

Tip #3: Network with professionals.

From Erica Pascual, Growth Team

In starting your first job search, it’s important to engage with like-minded people who have the same career interests as you. Though networking is important in every single stage of your career, having professional relationships in the industry as soon as you graduate college can help you kickstart your journey to success. This is because your network can help you get inside information and expert advice which you could use to secure your first job offer.

As a fresh graduate, you will enter the job market with little to no experience. Aside from that, you will be competing with hundreds of thousands of other fresh grads who will be looking for a job. Knowing the right people can help you find your first career!

However, note that these professional relationships should not be superficial. Sure, you could get a lot of support from these relationships but building friendships with other professionals in your industry should not only be based on your desire for referrals. Think of networking as making friends. Do you want to be the type of person to only use someone for their own personal gain?

One way you could start to engage with like-minded professionals is through social media. Social media is a vast space with endless possibilities which is why it’s no wonder how it’s now used by professionals to network.

If you’re curious about how you could start networking without leaving the comfort of your home, read this article to find out more!

Tip #4: Prepare for your interview.

From Kevin Ong, Growth Team

The job search doesn’t end with you sending out your resumé to companies. You will also need to learn how to ace the interview process to eventually get that job offer.

To ace your interview, one of the most important things that you need to do is to rehearse answers to common interview questions. These are called common for a reason, so make sure to prepare for these.

Some common interview questions include:

• Tell me about yourself.
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
• Tell me about a situation where you had to solve a difficult problem.
• Why do you want to work for this company?

You also need to research the company you booked the interview for. Make sure to know about the company’s mission and vision, accomplishments, products or services, and culture so you would be able to connect your answers to these. This will make your recruiter know how you can align with the company’s values.

Dissect the job role so you would be able to truly understand what are the skills and qualifications needed for this position. This could help you in your interview as you would be able to thoroughly explain to your recruiter how your skills and capabilities fit the role.

If you’re an introvert and the thought of sharing your accomplishments with a stranger gives you anxiety, know that practice makes perfect. Allotting time to articulate the points you want to touch up on can help you.

However, note that you don’t have to make the answers to your questions complicated. It’s important to keep it simple as you don’t want to sound like you’re reading a script. It’s easy to tell whether a candidate is simply reading.

Lastly, you also have to remember that there will be some questions asked of you which are specific to the company. This means that even if you’ve already prepared for this interview, you also need to know how to think on your feet. Again, your answers to these questions don’t have to be so complex. All you have to do is to be yourself and answer what is asked as best as you can.

Overall, these are some of the tips that you could use for your first job hunt. Remember that the outcome of your first job hunt won’t determine the path for your whole career so you don’t have to be too afraid of uncertainty and failure.

Kalibrr is a recruitment technology company that aims to transform how candidates find jobs and how companies hire talent. Placing the candidate experience at the center of everything it does, we continue to attract the best talent from all over, with more than 5.5 million professionals and counting. Kalibrr ultimately connects these talents to companies in search of their next generation of leaders.

The only end-to-end recruitment solutions provider in Southeast Asia, Kalibrr is headquartered in Makati, Philippines, with offices in San Francisco, California, and Jakarta, Indonesia. Established in 2012, it has served over 18,000 clients and is backed by some of the world’s most powerful start-up incubators and venture capitalists. These include Y Combinator, Omidyar Network, Patamar Capital, Wavemaker Partners, and Kickstart Ventures.

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