Tips for Finding Your First Big Job Out of College

Finding your first big job out of college may seem like a mountainous task to overcome, or worse, you may think that you'll be a shoe-in for any position you choose to apply for. If you take care, though, you'll be much better off, and far more likely to land just the right job quickly rather than fumbling blindly for months trying to find work.

1. Study humility. Your first job is an extension of your education, so treat it as such. Don't walk in the door thinking that you're prepared for any situation to come along. Carry your humility with you to your interview, as well, and the interviewer will see it along with your eagerness to learn more about your chosen profession.

2. Keep a part-time or full-time job if possible for your last year of college, and save your money religiously. This will give you some breathing room so that you won't be forced to take the first job that comes up, and you will be able to field offers from several different companies.

3. Remember your contacts. That little black book you kept with all the hotties you dated in college? If you didn't burn any bridges, than you've got more than potential dates there. Reconnect with people from high school, too. They might just know someone who needs another employee, and the best way to break in is, of course, to know someone on the inside.

4. Avoid credit card debt whenever possible. Many major employers today check credit references as well as professional references when you apply for a job. A clean credit history shows them that you are a responsible individual who is eager to learn a new job, rather than be strapped to thirty years' worth of begging for raises because they couldn't control their spending. Employers shy away from employees with a poor credit history because it shows that you are irresponsible at best and self-destructive at worst. Ask yourself, "Do I really need a plasma-screen T.V.?"