4 Ways to Get Your Foot in the Door

Times in the job market aren’t that simple anymore; with the concept of walking out of college with a fresh degree in your hand directly into a stable career being a long lost relic of the past. Nowadays, people have got to go to all sorts of lengths to get their head above the competition and their foot in the door of the career of their choice. Thankfully there are all kinds of ways you can go about doing this and most of them can be accessed with ease. So without further ado, let’s get stuck and discover some ways in which you can get your foot firmly in the professional door.

Do Some Volunteering/Enrol in Courses

For many graduates and young people looking to break into a competitive field, be it journalism, marketing or even teaching, getting yourself known by doing some voluntary work is a must. There are also courses – both online and offline - with organisations such as NowLearning, who offer the chance to learn some key professional skills ranging from caring for the elderly to medicine that will make your will stand out on your CV like a sore thumb. Companies are always looking for volunteers, and this can range from doing some support work in a third world country to volunteering on a conservation project. Not only will your CV benefit from volunteering, you’ll also have the chance to meet and mingle with some people who will help you along your way, which leads us to…

Networking

You’ve seen it on films – executives in suits assembling in fancy settings whilst they exchange business cards and discuss the stock exchange. This isn’t the reality however, as networking events are full of people just like you who are looking to get themselves out there, and they’re also events where you may meet someone who’s looking for someone just like you. Regardless of your desired field, networking events are easy to pinpoint using the power of the web, and are more often than not free to attend. So what have you got to lose? Get yourself out of the door and into the world of networking. As the old saying goes, it’s often not what you know, but who you know.

Get Yourself an Online Presence

There are various professional online networking sites (such as LinkedIn) where you can get yourself heard. Add your skills, join a forum, start a discussion – this will all link back to your name and these websites are constantly scoured by head-hunters. If you’re looking at propelling yourself into the creative sphere, setting up a personal website isn’t a bad ploy either. It’s not that expensive and there are various tools that make web design easier than ever. Here you can showcase your work as well as link back to your website every time you join in an online discussion or post something on social media.

Try a Speculate Approach

You’ll be surprised at the amount of jobs out there that aren’t actually directly advertised online or in newspapers. Of course you can try your hand at sending out countless CVs to various jobs vacancies that you get emailed to your inbox on a daily basis, though why not take a different approach by finding a company that operates in your desired field and whack over your CV to their HR department. In the body of the email you can introduce yourself and let them know (without being too cocky) what you can offer and why they should hire you.