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Searching for your first job is a huge milestone you should be proud of. And while entering the job market may be intimidating, plenty of companies are well-equipped to help you kick off your professional career on the right foot.
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Feeling underqualified or unsure of what you want to do is natural. It’s important to stay positive and patient when looking for employment. Your first job as a college graduate is an opportunity to learn the business world, develop your skills, and get a feel for how you want your career to turn out.
While submitting your resume directly to open roles on company career pages can feel like your resume is going into a black hole, applying on popular job platforms simplifies the hiring process and gives you a competitive advantage.
Here, you can explore some of the best job search engines for recent graduates to help launch your career.
Best Overall: ZipRecruiter
Recent graduates turn to ZipRecruiter to land their first job. This popular job search site is free to use and leverages AI matching technology to match your profile with relevant open positions. If you fit the criteria for a role, you’ll be invited to apply for the job—candidates who are invited to apply are nearly three times as likely to get hired.1 ZipRecruiter also has useful resources like templates for resumes and cover letters, so you can feel confident in your job search.
As your professional network grows, LinkedIn is a great way to keep in contact with professors, alumni and people you meet at networking events. LinkedIn is also a job board. Job seekers can filter for entry-level positions and see who in their network has connections to certain companies. Keeping your LinkedIn profile up to date with a current resume can show recruiters that you’re open to work.
Handshake
Handshake was made for recent graduates with no real-world professional experience. Over 750k employers trust Handshake, including every Fortune 500 company. It’s free to use, and you can sign up with your .edu email address.
Angel List
Start-ups are a great place to find entry-level positions, and AngelList specializes in tech and start-up jobs. Aside from being a job search site, AngelList includes a salary calculator and helpful blogs to stay up to date on everything tech.
College Recruiter
College Recruiter helps new talent find apprenticeships, entry-level jobs, paid internships, part-time work and more. They work with Fortune 1,000 companies and government agencies, so job seekers can find careers in various industries.
1 Based on self-reporting by over 10,000 logged in users who reported being hired for a job through ZipRecruiter from September 1, 2020 – October 31, 2020.
