6 Ways To Organise Yourself When Applying For Graduate Jobs

So you’ve finished university and now you’re looking for your dream job. You’ve signed up to all the agencies and every day your inbox is being bombarded with potential careers. It’s all too much… or is it?

If you want to succeed at finding employment, then you need to get organised. To give you a hand, we’ve listed six things to help you streamline the application process.

Know what job you actually want

If you’re looking for a graduate job, the first thing you need to do is decide what it is you actually want to do. This may sound simple, but with so many different paths open to graduates, it can be difficult to decide what’s right for you. It’s very easy to start panicking and apply for every single role you see that sounds slightly relevant.

As soon as you know more specifically the route you want to go down, you can immediately stop considering jobs that don’t tick your box. This gives you more time to focus on what really matters, applying for jobs that you genuinely see yourself happy in.

Think carefully about what the role requires

The same role can vary dramatically from company to company. For example, being a marketing assistant for a fashion company will differ greatly from doing the same job for a technology company. If you’re someone who loves fashion but has no interest in the latest gadgets, you won’t get very far in the latter.

Finding the perfect first job is more than what you’ve achieved academically. Think about your interests, your hobbies, and what you are most passionate about. We’re bound to work harder when focussed on a subject we’re enthusiastic about, so it makes sense to apply for roles you find interesting.

Prioritise your applications

Even when you’ve sifted out all the jobs you don’t want, there can still be an overwhelming number of positions available that you do want. If these aren’t properly ordered it’s easy to get in a muddle and end up missing deadlines, losing information, or even completely forgetting about jobs.

This can be easily solved. Write a list of all of the jobs you want to apply for, ensuring you include the full title of the role and the company. This way, it will be easy for you to search for it again if you lose it from your computer.

Next to the job titles, write down the deadlines for each position. You’ll easily be able to see which ones you need to apply for first, as well as which ones can wait a little longer. To organise this even further, you can write each role on a calendar, so you have specific days to work on specific applications.

Tailor your CV

When applying for numerous positions that are all very similar, it can be tempting to send the same CV to every company. Don’t do this! It may feel like the quicker option but actually it will be a waste of time as you’re unlikely to hear back from anyone.

Instead, make a master CV including all of your experience and skills. Then, carefully consider what each company is looking for and make a tailored CV featuring all of the skills you need for that specific role. Including the company name in your CV will make you stand out as someone who is genuinely interested in working for them. And remember, your CV should be no longer than two pages.

Proofread, proofread, proofread!

With every application, make sure you give yourself enough time to thoroughly check your CV and cover letter. Grammatical mistakes and typos will make you look lazy and employers will think you haven’t put adequate effort or time into the application.

When you’ve finished, give yourself a couple of hours, or even wait until the next day before you go back and proofread your work. You’ll be sure to find some mistakes you couldn’t see immediately. Some people find it easier to correct mistakes if they print out a copy. Another good tip is to read the whole thing backwards. This way you have to read each word individually, rather than glossing over sentences you have memorised, meaning you’re far more likely to notice errors.

Before rushing into applying for everything you see, take a breath and consider these tips first. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to organise yourself, and how much smoother this will make the application process for you.

Inspiring Interns is an internship and graduate jobs agency.