Finding that first job after college sucks… trust me, I know. It can take months, sometimes even years of relentless searching to find something that really fits with what you envisioned for yourself. This means that often times post grad students are forced to get a less than desirable job just to make ends meet for awhile. My path in life may have led me to self-employment, but I know that isn’t for everyone.
You may have heard the cliche’ it’s “who you know” not “what you know” that will land you a great career. To a certain extent, that is true. Making connections can be very important when it comes job searching. Certainly if you a related to or know someone within a company your likelihood of getting a job there increases – I’ve seen this happen first hand at plenty of places I’ve worked.
But if you are struggling to find ANY job right out of college, don’t give up. Even if you don’t have the right connections (or seemingly no connections) there are plenty of opportunities online if you know where to look. I want to spend some time talking about a few of the best job search sites I’ve discovered for college graduates.
USA Jobs – “The Federal Government’s Official Employment Site”
Unlike other huge job hunt sites that may not specialize in any one area, USA Jobs has its niche within government positions. If you are looking for this type of career after college – whether it’s a position with the IRS or to work for the National Park Service – it is a great place to begin your search.College Recruiter
For over 20 years, College Recruiter has been committed to helping college students and graduates find careers and internships. They help roughly 2 million find employment each year. Most companies that recruit via this site are federal agencies or fortune 1000 companies.
The site also gives you access to helpful articles, videos, salary calculators, and gives you tips on the best places to work. In addition, they have a free resume critique so you can make sure to submit the best possible version of your resume (free of errors).
After College
Aftercollege.com specializes in helping students and graduates find their first career after college. It specifically helps people find jobs that match their degree, school, skills and interests.
Keep in mind the majority of positions within this site are STEM, healthcare or business related fields. If you are not searching for something in that direction you may have a more difficult time finding jobs that fit – but it can’t ever hurt to at least look.
College Monster
A sub-site of the larger job board, Monster, College Monster was created specifically for college students and graduates. It filters from Monster to post entry level positions appropriate for those right out of college within a wide variety of industries and companies. This can definitely help save you some time on your job search.
This site can also be use to find internships and local recruitment fairs, as well as helpful articles and tips on finding a career after college.
Craigslist
Everyone is familiar with Craigslist, but most probably wouldn’t think to look there on a post college job search. It may be controversial, but as long as you are very careful and know what to look for, CL is worth at least checking out.
Because it is way less expensive to post job listings, small businesses and startups tend to use it more for recruitment rather than the larger job boards. If you are looking for a position within a smaller company, Craiglist may be a really good place to look.
Just remember, it IS full of spam so you do need to be careful.
Read the full review for tips on how to use Craiglist for your job search
By no means is this list all-inclusive of where to look for jobs, but they are some of the better job boards I’ve found for those looking for an appropriate career after graduating or for a college level internship.
With such high competition in today’s market it can be extremely tough on new graduates even if they seemingly do everything “right”, so even though it’s only part of the battle, knowing some great places to look can never hurt.
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