7 Steps to Getting Your First Proper Job

It’s time.

Time to get out into the real world for good. Time to earn the bucks for yourself. Time to get a job!

It’s not as scary/boring/annoying as it sounds. In fact, getting started on the job hunt can actually be fun: you’re literally planning for your future! This job is the stepping stone to get you where you want to be - tons of reasons to be excited about that.

You may be already have a job: through an internship, through a part-time job, through networking or through simply having started super early. If that’s the case, congrats to you, my friend. If not, no worries. Financially Mint saves the day with 7 golden steps to getting a job out of uni. All for you.

1. Pick and choose

Don’t feel pressured to work in a job following your degree. Yes, I said it. ‘What’s the point of my degree then?’. That’s up to you answer - in my opinion, university isn’t all about the degree. It helps, but many times it’s not necessary.

So, what do you want your job to be? Imagine yourself working for 5 years: what would you like to be doing?

Start big:

Which industry? Serving which customer? Related to my degree?

Then small:

Direct contact with customer? Managing people? Helping people? On a computer?

Make up a list of questions and try to answer them; what exactly would you like to do for the next 5 years?

Yep, it can be pretty daunting not gonna lie - but take it bit by bit. Trust me it gets exciting.

Todd is graduating with a degree in Politics. He loved the degree, but isn’t really sure he wants to work in the field with politicians. He realises what he loves doing is learning about politics and discussing the issues. He also loves writing. He decides to look for jobs in the journalism industry so he can write about political issues.

2. Research

So you kind of have an idea of what you want to do and the role you’re pursuing. Now it’s time to search the job market: what’s out there?

There are three main things to include in your research: location, salary and company.

Location: where do you want to work? Same country? Same city?

Salary: How important is the starting salary to you? What would be your minimum?

Company: Big or small? Famous or not? Startup or well known?

Once again, questions are your friends. They are what make the clogs in your brain turn and give you ideas for the future.

Make a list of places you’d like to live in, your minimum salary and the kind of companies you’d be interested in working for. Don’t be afraid to be ambitious, remember this is the next 5 years of your life we’re talking about. If your minimum is £40,000, then you’ll bust your butt looking for a job that offers that amount. Don’t settle for an average job - go out there and really get what you want.

Our friend Todd wants to work in the journalism sector to explore political issues. He studied in the south of England and his ambition is to work in a northern country. He lists countries such as Germany, Norway, Austria and other EU countries. He’s not too fussed about the salary and decides to set a minimum of £20,000. He’d also be interested in working in a small and new company where he would be noticed more and possibly have more influence.

yes microscopes offer research

3. THE Search

This is the exciting part!

Excel is your friend - time to use it.

Set up a spreadsheet with factors such as salary, company size, location, job position, company reviews and requirements on the left (see below). Then on the right you’ll put the name of the company you’re interested in and where you found the ad. This will help you monitor the jobs you’re applying for and it makes it all nice to see and easier to track.

Then, hop online. Websites such as Indeed.co.uk, Monster, Jobsite and Reed are constantly updated with new jobs and have a ton of different resources. Another place to find jobs: job fairs. Your university will offer these. If not, look for networking events with recruiters online on websites such as Eventbrite and Meetup. You could find something interesting there.

Remember that list you created to identify where you want to work, the salary and company? Use it to filter out jobs on the websites so you can pick the right location, salary and type of company. Once you’ve found a job you’re interested in, simply slot in the numbers into your spreadsheet.

Todd creates his spreadsheet and has started searching for jobs. He’s found 5 he’s interested in and has slotted in the different characteristics into the spreadsheet. He can now compare easily between the jobs and work his way through it when applying. Well done, organised Todd.

a lil example of Todd’s spreadsheet

4. Thy CV

You got the jobs you want to apply for - time to dig in.

Hopefully you know how to write a CV by now (if not, here’s a guide) and you know how to make it stand out. The key: make your CV honest and simple. It draws attention and makes companies like you.

Same with the cover letter: personalise it for each company. If you’ve followed the steps above, you’ll hopefully be applying for something you want to do and are looking forward to it; let that show through in the letter. And again: honesty and simplicity. They are the key.

Todd isn’t a fan of writing cover letters. He set a time during the day to do all 5 in one go so he can then forget about it. He explains how he hopes to use his Politics degree in journalism and how much he loves debating and writing about different societal issues. He uses his achievements and activities in school to provide evidence and show his enthusiasm. He pays special attention on one job he’s most interested in that’s offering a position as a junior content writer in a position in Germany. He’s a little excited.

5. Follow up

After applying to each job, tick it off in the Excel spreadsheet so you remember when you’ve applied to a job (would be awkward if you apply twice).

Wait a week. If there is no response, email them again. If there is still no response one week later, phone them. Keep going until they say a big NO. This may be the job you’re looking for, so don’t let them get off too quickly.

Todd has sent over his 5 CVs and cover letters. He waits for some responses: 2 want to interview him, 1 rejects him and 2 don’t answer after a week. He does some follow up and 1 rejects him and the other wants to interview him. He declares it a win: 3 interviews out of college! And the company he was eyeing is one of them! It’s really starting to get exciting now.

6. Interview

Ah, the dreaded interview. This is your moment. Your moment to give a good first impression and make the company want to hire you. How do you do that?

I always go back to the two same things: honesty and simplicity. Dress simply, and use honest words. What you’re looking for in the company, what you’re hoping to achieve, where you see yourself in 5 years. There are no magic words and specific things to wear to make the company hire you - there’s just you. So use yourself wisely.

Todd will be doing the interview with the company he’s especially interested in on Skype, since they’re all the way in Germany. He’s a little nervous but also excited - this is what he was looking for and he wants to make sure the company knows it. The interview is 1 hour long and he answers all their questions as honestly as possible - he even told them he hadn’t decided he wanted to work in journalism till a few months ago. He thinks the recruiters liked him, but he doesn’t want to get his hopes up.

do you see her sweat patches

7. The actual job

It’s after the interview that you know if you got the job or not. Keep an eye on emails and your phone.

If you got it - CONGRATS and go open a bottle of champagne. If you didn’t - keep going. There are tons of jobs out there and finding one is not impossible.

Before graduating work on your 15%. This will give you a nice emergency fund that’ll give you more time to find a job. You don’t want to get the first job that comes available, you want to get the job that you want. Don’t settle for less.

And if after some time you decide you need a break from studying, look into taking a gap year or even some alternatives to getting a job. The possibilities are endless.

Todd opens a bottle of champagne: he got the job! And he’s off the Germany in a few weeks. He’s excited and looking forward to it - now he will actually have a purpose when discussing and writing about issues. Yay for Todd.

Finding the right job takes time. The first one might last a few months, the second one a year or two and it might not be till later till you find something that ticks all the boxes. What’s important is to not settle for something you just tolerate. As Barney said in my interview with him, keeping a job you just tolerate and not saving any money in the process is simply: a tragedy. You are wasting your life away and you have nothing to show for it. So keep searching for the right job - you’ll be spending a lot of time on it.