Very few members of the class of 2010 will be hired right off their college campuses by recruiters for their first job. Most will need to develop a strategy for the tough task of landing their first job. Check out these first job strategies for the class of 2010.

Strategy 1

Lower your expectations, ideally a graduate will find work a Fortune 500 company that is well known and respected. But the employment climate nowadays is better for the class of 2010 with small to medium size businesses. They should be prioritized on a graduates target list.

Strategy 2

Next, the graduate from the class of 2010 should investigate the employment landscape in their area. Survey 20 to 25 jobs which are right for you. They must check out whether the qualifications and skill sets they have developed meet at least 3/4 of what the employer in requesting. If this is not the case the graduate is looking in the wrong market.

Strategy 3

Then the grad will need to access their stock. They will need to see how well their skill set portfolio matches up to what employer are looking for. The grad from the class of 2010 will want to copy the skills they have that match what employer request in a new employee, then they will need to rank them from the most valued to the least.

Strategy 4

After this they must branch out. They will need to let everyone in their network of contacts know that they are looking for work. This means everyone; friends, family classmates etc… This is one of the best ways to get referrals on employers who are looking to hire but they are not advertising.

Strategy 5

A good first job strategy is also to stay on top of locations where you have applied for a job. Make follow up calls and visits because when new listings come out, some human resource managers do not go through previous applicants. The grad may want to apply for new job openings that are available with the company.