As the school year comes to an end, students are starting to look for jobs; whether it be only for the summer or their first job after graduating college.

“Students should really start looking for full time employment 6-9 months before graduation,” said Sara Van de Streek from the Career Center.

In some areas of study companies will begin hiring a semester or two in advance to fill open positions. In other areas of study jobs open up periodically and hiring happens on an immediate basis.

Van de Streek said students graduating in May still have time to find a job, and “the sooner you can start the process the more options you will have.”

The earlier you can start looking for a job, the better; and the more work put into application materials the better chance of landing the job you want.

Uploading resumes and hitting submit on job boards may not always be enough and connections with recruiters may be necessary to demonstrate professionalism.

The Career Center has avenues available that can aid in building the connections needed to land some jobs.

“Talking with faculty, advisers, alumni and current students in your major is a great way to learn about all the opportunities and potential career options you have … along with building connections to network your field,” Van de Streek said.

Resumes need to reflect technical and transferable skills that can be used for the job you are applying to.

Resumes and applications should be tailored to the job that students are applying for to set themselves from other applicants. Employer instructions for the application should be followed and students are urged to apply early.

The Career Center can help students with resumes and applications to aid students in being confident in the materials that they are submitting.

“Companies are looking for candidates with strong academic and real world experience that can easily transition into a professional business setting,” said Van de Streek.

The Career Center also has a new interactive website that features student and alumni spotlights on different careers and resource pages to find jobs.

There is also a job board through the Career Center, CAREERlink, that shows internships and full time entry level positions for students.

On the CAREERlink page there are 5,315 employers listed that students can go through and be routed to the company’s website to apply.

Van de Streek said alumni also have access to this job board for positions requiring a degree and years of experience in a particular field.

Students are also encouraged to attend Career Fairs to start networking with employers and seeing what specific employers are looking for in applications.

LinkedIn is also another tool that students can utilize to network with companies and to learn if about any openings in the company and positions that students are looking for.

When doing a long distance job search, Van de Streek said students should to look at the local chamber of commerce and economic development council web pages to research companies and access local job boards.