Every semester brings to the real world a fresh supply of anxious, over exuberant new graduates with bachelor or master degrees in hand ready to conquer the world. Those who will succeed in conquering the professional world first, or at least getting their sought entry level positions, are those that started preparing before they were even close to graduation.

Ideally, preparation for your career begins as early as the first year in college. College career centers have a wide range of career tools and can be very helpful in providing support; and information on career fairs, job search assistance, and internship opportunities. Internships are invaluable to new graduates. Not only do they introduce college students to the business world but they also offer excellent achievements, experience, and references to include in future resumes. Almost 60% of college interns are offered permanent positions after graduation.

Career centers and career coaches can provide direction to your career goals. They offer behavioral assessments and an array of tools to sort through decisions with the students, including choosing a major, discussing industry interests, and narrowing field and position interests. It can be very overwhelming for anyone to make such life altering decisions and even more confusing for first time career goers that literally have endless possibilities available to them.

Employing effective career coaches that will incorporate career assessments and professional behavioral assessments can better inform soon-to-be graduates of their own strengths and weaknesses. This is useful when weeding through the industries, fields, and work environments that best suit the students. These assessments often provide lists of career options that will help narrow the numerous career choices.

Determining your introductory career objective is a first step in finding the right job for you. The path your career follows will change through out your life. Focusing your pursuit on a narrow path will put your career in motion.

Once you have determined how you want to focus your job search, you can begin developing your career tools. The most important documents will be your resume and cover letter. Enlisting the help of a certified resume writer, experienced in new graduate resume development is a great way to build these documents. Many times they can work with you throughout your entire career search, offering the latest information on what employers are looking for from new graduates and where the jobs are for recent graduates. A focused resume is critical if you are going to shine among the hundreds or thousands of other new graduate resumes.

Along with your resume, a stellar cover letter and supportive references are also critical at this time. Covering letter is where your ambition, passion, and personality are used to provide specific examples of your qualifications. You references should include no more than six contacts and can be from past professors or teachers, employers from internships or previous jobs, sports coaches, and association or volunteer leaders with whom you were associated.

Proper preparation for your interviews includes researching companies and industries of your choice, practicing the tougher interview question responses and presenting a self-confident, motivated young professional. Your career coach can walk you through preparation, research, and resume distribution strategies.

Searching for entry-level jobs in the industry or field you have decided upon can also be overwhelming. I usually remind my clients not to put all their eggs, in one basket. So, put your resume on the top job boards, although their success rates are low, the largest group of successes is in entry-level positions. Contact a recruiter in your area who specializes in your industry and keep in touch with him so he will keep you in mind for available jobs. Resume distribution services target specified industries, locations, professional levels, positions and salaries, sending your resume to employers looking for employees with your qualifications.

Networking is quickly becoming an overused term but it is still the best way to find a job. Get in touch with alumni, faculty, teachers and counselors from your college; past employers; church, organization, or association contacts; parent’s friends, co-workers, and associations; and anyone else you can think. They can be helpful in either finding out about job openings or introducing contacts for specific companies, you are targeting. Bring up your job search often when you are out during the day and have plenty of your resumes on hand. Treat your job search like a job, using preparation and motivation and you’ll find the right job – fast! CONGRATULATIONS GRADUATES!

Kris Plantrich is the owner of ResumeWonders Writing and Career Coaching Services. She is certified in Resume Writing and Interview Coaching, offering expert career advancing tools, services, samples, FREE critiques and more. Her work is nationally published in several career industry books. Visit Kris at http://www.resumewonders.com.

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