After graduation, most women take their first steps along their chosen career path. While successfully completing your education is a critical part of pursuing many fields, crafting a strong career also requires diligence in other areas.
If you’ve recently received your degree and want to forge a career path that will help you reach your goals, here are some tips for recent female graduates to assist you on your journey.
Build Your Personal Brand
Often, landing a job isn’t unlike selling a product or service. Your ability to market yourself plays a big role, and having a personal brand can help you do so more effectively.
You can take a variety of approaches when it comes to personal branding. For example, landing positions at well-recognized companies can be beneficial, even if the role isn’t especially exciting. Setting up your own website and blogging about your field can also help, giving you a platform to establish yourself as a subject-matter expert and a professional.
Your First Job Won’t Be “Perfect”
Most grads want to find the “perfect” job after they leave school. However, your first position is rarely an ideal one. Instead, it serves as a foundation that allows you to get your footing in the field. Additionally, it is only one stop along your career path.
Don’t worry about landing the “perfect” job. As long as the role can help you move forward, it’s worth exploring. It’s also important to remember you won’t be in this position forever, and you’ll get multiple chances to find something that is an ideal fit as you gain skills and additional experience.
Ask for Feedback
While the idea of asking for feedback is intimidating, especially since some of what you hear won’t be positive, it can help you propel your career further. If you want to excel, finding out what you are doing right, as well as what you are doing wrong, gives you an opportunity to be more successful in current and future roles.
Without feedback, you won’t know where to focus improvements or what training and professional development opportunities to seek out. That means you miss out on a chance to improve, and that can be detrimental to your career.
Network Often
Networking has a lot of benefits. Besides connecting with other professionals in your field, you also get a chance to build your interpersonal skills, especially when you meet new people. This can help you feel more confident while allowing you to forge valuable connections that may make it easier to keep your career moving forward.
Don’t Neglect Cultural Fit
The culture of a workplace will have a big impact on job satisfaction. An unpleasant environment can make you feel miserable, even if the position itself is excellent. Plus, issues of gender bias, whether conscious or unconscious, can stymy your career, causing you to be held back even when it isn’t deserved.
If you are experiencing a workplace culture that isn’t a match, consider moving on. In most cases, the company’s culture isn’t going to change quickly even if they are trying to improve, and some may never change, especially if the effort is half-hearted.
While moving on can be difficult, it’s worth doing. That way, you can find a great role at a workplace you enjoy and may see your career move forward faster, too.
If you are one of the new female graduates seeking a new job, the professionals at TempStaff can connect you to exciting opportunities throughout the area. Contact us to discuss your career goals and see how our services can help you take the next step toward them today.
