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11 Most Common Mistakes Recent Grads Make When Looking for a Job in 2024

Finding a job requires patience and thoughtful preparation. A candidate with the most prestigious education can discredit his or her obvious merits with one random disappointing mistake.

If you don’t want this to happen, you can contact professionals from different services such as EssayPro for creating a perfect CV. Also, you can pay a recruitment professional to curate your application process. But if you don’t want to entrust such an important matter to anyone, you can read our article and get a job yourself.

Here are the most common mistakes recent grads make when looking for a job:

1. Unpresentable social networks account

Today, HR professionals and recruiters often check the social media of candidates. Therefore, before applying for a job, we recommend you check your accounts for attractiveness. Here, you can read the best ways to improve your media profile quickly.

2. Cheating or lying in a resume or at a job interview

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This does not mean some exaggeration of skills or achievements. This is about writing something that has no connection to the truth. Remember that if you state you have some skills, people will rely on them. This means, you’ll have to prove your skills at some point.

Honesty is the best policy and all the secrets become apparent. When you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything or master a skill last minute.

3. Being late to a job interview

Recruiters most often invite several candidates in a row at intervals of 30-45 minutes for one vacancy. Besides demonstrating unreliability, you can also break the recruiter’s schedule by being late. And the HR manager’s impression determines your value as an employee.

4. Passive job search

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You’ve sent out your resume to a few companies and are sitting there waiting for a call? Even if you are a great specialist, remember that there are ten more applicants for this opening! You should take the initiative, call the HR manager, call a potential manager, remind of yourself, get a meeting as soon as possible. The timing matters.

5. Overestimated salary and career ambitions

Often, high declared salaries and attractively named positions are just baiting for candidates because recruiters want to have more choice. And vice versa: a seemingly unremarkable position can give you a serious push and rapid growth in your career. Look wider, look deeper, consider the prospects.

If you don’t have an impressive experience or recommendations, consider lowering the bar.

6. Negative reviews about a past job

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What shouldn’t we say about past workplaces? A lot of things such as conflicts, gossips, scandals etc. Try to say neutral things about your last employer. You can concentrate your speech more on the aspects of self-development and connect it to the reasons for finding a new job position.

7. “Trial period at a new job? Never!”

The trial period is shrouded in various fears that the salary will not be paid, you will be fired as soon as the trial period ends, and so on.

This is also possible if you are caught in a fraudulent job. Take the trial period as an opportunity to look closer at the company you are going to work for. Think of it as a probation for them, not for you. During this period you can make conclusions about the company as a whole, your position, responsibilities, salary, team, and management.

8. No Respect for the Recruiter

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Don’t you want to make a positive impression on the recruiter, considering them an unnecessary intermediary? Do you ignore this person, or show a little contempt? Wrong. Your future fate sometimes depends on him or her. We advise you not to show your bad temper.

9. Take your time

If you are told that they will let you know about the interview results themselves, it is better to be patient and not call them until they do so.

10. “Test task is a hoax.”

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Many job seekers refuse to do test assignments. Candidates think that in this way employers make a profit from their free work, rather than testing for professional aptitude.

Check the company for reliability and read the reviews. If there’s nothing suspicious, then agree and show your best qualities on the test task. You can even ask your friends for help. Moreover, if you are employed, a test task is likely to be paid.

11. Bad resume

This is the last and most important point. A bad CV goes straight to the bin, and then you might not even dream of a job interview. Make sure to proofread your CV, make it visually attractive and readable. Do you have a friend who works as a designer? Great, have them help you!

When a recent grad is embarrassed by their little experience, they try to compensate for this “flaw” by mentioning different general skills. And they fill half of the resume with pattern qualities: stress tolerance, creativity, ability to learn, and so on. All this is fluff, and your uniqueness dissolves very easily in it.

Conclusion

Finding a job requires as much professionalism as the job itself. We advise you to take it very seriously. You should sublimate your young or not so young energy into a quality plan and interview success. Good luck!

About Adam Miller