Job hunting as a soon-to-be fresh graduate
Beginning the Hunt
Full-time job hunter, part-time student. That was how I felt in my last two semesters in university. Having gone through almost 2 decades of education, it was time to transition to the next stage — full-time work life. Prior to that, I had to first land a job (no shit, Sherlock). But how?
I was no stranger to the job application process. I had a few internships under my belt. But this time round, it was scarier. Internships were low-stake. If I didn’t like my job scope, I could simply tough it out for the 3-6 months and everything would be okay again. On the other hand, a full-time job would be my livelihood, and I can’t walk away so easily. It was important to find a role I liked, which my internships provided me with a good idea of.
The process of doing so was simple: Search for jobs, apply, interview, get a job offer and profit.
The Resumé
Before delving into applications, I had to polish up my resumé. I personally use LaTeX for my resumé, mainly because I love good typesetting (and partially because I’m a LaTeX purist). I added in all my job experiences, relevant projects, skillsets, yada yada, the usual things that go onto your resumé. I also got my friend to review it, which I found incredibly helpful to spot any blindspots in my resumé.
Applying and Applying
Armed with my resumé, I felt ready to apply for jobs. I started my application a year early (in July). My application strategy was simple. I would apply for roles that I wasn’t too interested in first. This was to receive interviews at these companies first, so I would be more prepared for the companies I was more interested.
However, I felt that this strategy wasn’t the best. Many companies review resumés on a rolling basis — this meant that later applications have lower chances. Given how competitive the market is, I felt that it was apt to switch up my strategy.
_Apply early, apply fast. That was my new mantra. I setup a browser profile for job hunting. This profile comprised different job boards and company career pages. I would refresh and browse these pages twice a day, and applied to any new job listings that I was interested in. I also used a browser extension to help fill those pesky Workday applications.
At the end of this process, I had amassed over 200 job applications.
Interviews
Out of the 200 applications, I received about 10 interviews (~5% interview rate), which wasn’t too bad. I bombed my first few interviews. Honestly? I am not a great interviee. I lack confidence and preparation. I absolutely detest HireVues (automated video interviews), but that’s part of the interview process.
However, practice makes perfect. Going for more interviews increased my confidence. I found myself proceeding past the first round more often a few weeks into the interview process. What helped me the most was to reflect on the shortcomings of every interview and learn from them, but not beating myself over the screw-ups. While I’m still far from perfect at interviews, I felt that this has helped me a lot in this process.
Giving Up
Along the way, there were many times I felt tired. I wanted to give up. Months and months of applications only to end up with:
Thank you for your application to [company]…
Receiving multiple of these in succession tanked my confidence. I think that’s absolutely normal — the job search process isn’t easy, especially when it’s an employer’s market. What kept me going was my mindset. I kept reminding myself that I only needed that one company to believe in me. Just one.
Now, now
And it worked. I’m proud to say that I secured a job offer after 6 months of spraying and praying. It was a huge relief. How this role will turn out remains to be seen. But at present, I’m happy with where I’m at in terms of my career.