3 Biggest Mistakes First-time Job Seekers Make

1.Leaving it too late

The general advice on this matter is to begin looking for relevant and meaningful placements from the summer after first year. This will set you up to gain the correct experience prior to the final year - allowing for more focus on those all important exams. More to the point, it all sets you up rather well to find a job as soon as possible after graduation as, in a sense, much of the hard work is already out of the way.

2.Easy as A..B...CV

Regular readers will know that I've a personal bugbear about bad CVs. The biggest mistakes first-time job hunters make in this department is either fail to have a CV, assume it to be unnecessary, or make a half-arsed job of compiling one. Without labouring the point, or dissolving into a typical rant, the CV is one of the more bankable aspects of an application. It can't choke in an interview situation, they're relatively simple and they are often the point of first impression.

3.Taking it easy

This final point might be the most important by virtue of being the more general of the three. Taking it easy can apply to everything from how you approach an interview and how you seek out positions, to your behaviour when finally on the job. Many first-time job seekers underestimate the hard work needed to secure a job, especially during a period such as this, where there is a wealth of applicants for every role. Others neglect the professionalism required to keep same. For the majority, these examples are laughable and obvious. And yet, there are those who, for one reason or another, fall into said traps. Hopefully you're now prepared...