When you’re at university it’s very easy to bury your head in the sand and pretend that your student loan will last forever and you’ll never have to work again. But the reality is your student loan won’t last forever and you really should try and get on the career ladder as quickly as you can.
[ ALSO READ: 6 Top Tips for Minimising Your Student Debt Whilst Still at University ]If you’re looking to get a job within the digital industry it’s important to keep in mind that the digital job market is a competitive place. You need to make sure that you stand out from the crowd – so the sooner you start preparing for your job applications the better. It might seem a bit pointless at this moment in time – but trust me – you’ll be thankful when you finish uni and you’re all ready to start your digital job search.
If you’re looking to get into the digital industry then there are some key ways that you can make your life so much easier. To help you prepare I’ve got five top tips that’ll make sure your digital job search is a piece of cake when the time comes!
1. Digital Experience
Whether you’re in your first or final year of uni, there are loads of digital experience opportunities available. University societies are a great way of getting some digital experience – for example, if you want to go into digital marketing then you could take charge of the social media promotion of the society. Or you might be looking to go into the design side of things – so you could get involved with designing the logo, creating posters to pop all round campus or even designing the website.
You should also take advantage of the long summer and Easter holidays you get – try and fit in some work experience to find out and learn more about the digital job you want to go into and the industry overall There will be a lot of opportunities that are right under your nose – so keep your eye out!
2. Do Your Research
When you get to the interview process the employer will probably want to see how much you know about the digital industry. So start having a look through digital websites that offer blogs and digital news – this way you can show-off when it comes to the interview.
If you’ve done your research over the past year or so then you can explain how the digital world is evolving – this could really swing in your favour when it comes to the interview process. The fact that you’ve been pro-active and researched what’s going on in the digital industry shows that you’re genuinely interested in a digital career path.
3. Speak To Your Career Advisors
Your career advisors are there to help you bag your dream job – so use them! They’ll have loads of resources and advice that’ll help you get a digital job – so it’s just rude not to go and have a chat with them. They’ll also have lots of general advice as well – applying for a job can be quite stressful so it’s important to prepare yourself for it.
4. Get your CV sorted
Until I began my graduate job search I thought my CV was fine – but truthfully it really needed some work! Like I said before – the digital industry is a competitive place – so you need to make sure your CV is top notch.
Try and get your CV down to two sides and get a good structure in place with your key skills clearly laid out. Employers are busy people so they want to be able to find out all about you quickly and easily. If you’ve made spelling mistakes in your CV and it’s laid out really messily then they’re probably going to put you on the rejection pile.
[ALSO READ: Review Your CV With These 5 Easy Steps ]So make sure you spend some time formatting and checking through your CV – this rule applies to all jobs that you might apply for.
p.s. some free resume and cover letter templates for you below. **NO SIGN UP REQUIRED**
[wpdm_file id=10] [wpdm_file id=11]5. Convert Your Skills
Just because you’ve never had a digital job, it doesn’t mean you don’t have any digital skills. Think about all the transferable skills you’ve gained over the years.
Take your job at the SU bar – how on earth does this link to digital? Well, working in a busy bar means that you can work under pressure. The digital industry is always changing and you’re never short of something to do – so it’s really important to be able to work in a pressurised environment.
Another example is your part-time job as a shop assistant – a key part of this job is to be able to communicate well and give good customer service. Whatever digital route you go down –
Scarlett Wilson of BubbleJobs
it’s important to be able to communicate with potential clients and even your colleagues.
So make sure you have a good think about how you can convert your everyday skills to digital ones. It’s also really important to clearly apply those skills to digital within your CV so that an employer can see it!
So there you go; five tips to prepare for your digital job whilst at uni.
If you want to bag yourself the dream digital job ASAP then try and avoid leaving your preparation to the last minute.
Author Bio: Scarlett Wilson is a Keele University graduate and is
currently working as a Digital Marketing Executive for Bubble Jobs – a niche digital jobs board that specialises in advertising digital, ecommerce, media and marketing jobs from the UK’s top brands.
Follow her on Twitter: @Scarlett278 or find out more about Bubble Jobs at http://www.bubble-jobs.co.uk/
