From Unemployed to Landing My Dream Job — Here’s What I’ve Learned

10 tips that will help maximize your chances of getting hired as a fresh graduate

“Thank you for taking the time to apply. Unfortunately, we have decided to not progress with your application.”

“We have carefully reviewed your application against the program and assessment criteria and unfortunately, we will not be progressing your application to the next stage in the recruitment process.”

“We spoke to a number of well-qualified candidates and unfortunately, we have decided to move forward with other candidates whose backgrounds are a stronger match for this role.”

One by one, rejection emails started to pile up in my inbox.

I couldn’t help but think, “what did I do wrong?”, “what if I’m not good enough?” and “do I really need to go back to school?”

Not to mention the additional pressure from seeing all your friends who have already secured a role right out of university.

Everyone, just not you.

Impostor syndrome, low self-esteem, uncertainty. You name it, I have experienced pretty much all of them.

But most of all, I felt stuck and trapped. As someone who strives on progress, the feeling that I was remaining stagnant in life was killing me from the inside.

As most people will tell you, rejections are part of life and that you should embrace them and think of them as lessons and stepping stones to something greater but I can honestly say from experience that, in the moment, they most certainly do not feel that way.

In reality, rejections are painful and often hard to swallow.

They are especially painful when you know you have given your all, did the right preparation, answered every single question that was thrown your way to the best of your ability and walked out of the interview feeling confident that you nailed it.

And yet the next thing you know, rejected. Not once but repeatedly week after week, month after month.

I don’t expect everyone to empathise with me but if by any chance that you are reading this and find yourself in a similar situation, just know that I completely understand how you feel.

After devoting the past couple of months of my life to applying to jobs, attending interviews and repeatedly getting rejected to finally landing a full-time position at my dream company, I want to assure you that, as frustrating as it is, you will eventually succeed but more importantly, there are things that you can do that can help maximise your chances of getting hired.

My hope is that, through the lessons that I am about to share, you can avoid the same mistakes that I made along the way and position yourself to not only landing more interviews but also passing those interviews with confidence.

In order to make this article as general as possible, I have managed to put together some tips that I am confident that everyone can benefit from, regardless of your college major or the role that you are targeting.

As you will see later, some tips are more practical than others but broadly speaking, they all serve the same critical purpose of helping you put your best foot forward during the interview process, both physically and mentally.

So, without further ado, here are my top 10 tips on how to succeed in landing your dream job out of university.

Tip 1: Interviewing is a team sport

“But how is it team sport? You are literally going after one role at one company as one person. That doesn’t make any sense.”

Let me explain.

Yes, you are right in that you yourself are trying to secure a single position at a single company but the process of you getting there doesn’t necessarily have to be alone.

I might even go as far as argue that you are actually lowering your probability of success if you attempt to tackle the interview process completely on your own.

In contrast, by including more people in the process of preparing for your interview, they can not only provide feedback on your performance but more importantly, pick up on things that you might not notice yourself. This includes proofreading your resume and cover letter, doing mock interviews and so on.

The best person to reach out to, ideally, would be someone who is already working in a job or at a company that you are trying to get into because they have gone through the whole process themselves so chances are, they have a good sense of exactly what the recruiter is looking for and potentially useful advice to help you stand out at each stage of the recruitment process.

Remember, people are there to help you. You just need to ask.

Furthermore, speaking from personal experience, people love talking about themselves so it’s actually a win-win for both of you. Thus, I highly encourage you to lean into your existing network and use it to your full advantage.

One of the biggest mistakes that I made during my job search was underestimating the importance of teamwork and collaboration. I attribute this to my ego and know-it-all mentality which I quickly came to realise that was doing me more harm than good.

Having a good support network around you also means you can speak openly about your struggles, rejections and failures with people that you know and trust. It’s like embarking on a long, arduous journey with your closest and most loyal peers who will constantly have your back.

Of course, this collective effort also goes both ways. If anyone ever reaches out to you for help with their interview, volunteer to help them! I can almost guarantee you will gain a new perspective being on the other side of the interview and as a result, pick up on things that you can implement in your own interview.

Tip 2: Prepare, prepare, prepare

This almost goes without saying but in order to do well in an interview, you must prepare sufficiently and thoroughly.

Do your due diligence on the company that you are interviewing with, research about the industry and their competitors, look up the projects that the company has done in the past and if applicable, go on Glassdoor to see what questions they have asked previous candidates. The list goes on.

As you can see, there are so many different things that you can (and should) do in order to excel in an interview.

It is also worth remembering that you are not the only one interviewing with the company. There are probably hundreds of other applicants who are willing to put in the time and effort. At the end of the day, what separates an excellent candidate from an average one boils down to the amount of preparation that they have done and whether or not they are willing to go that extra mile.

As embarrassing as this might sound, I used to not take interviews seriously. I used to think to myself, I am smart, I have decent extracurriculars and prior internship experience working at a Big 4 company. What could go wrong? I don't need to prepare.

Oh boy, was I wrong and I learned my lesson the hard way.

I was invited for a technical interview at a data science company and after looking up the interview process online, I felt fairly confident going in.

The only problem, however, was that I did not practise communicating what I knew, or at least what I thought I knew. So, by the time the interview came around and I was asked to explain a machine learning algorithm to the interviewer, I struggled to articulate a coherent explanation of what was on my mind.

Needless to say, I did not progress to the next round.

It was only after that experience that I learned that it is one thing to think that you understood a certain concept but a completely different thing to be able to explain it to someone because only by speaking your thoughts out loud, you realise where your knowledge gaps truly lie.

And it is much better that you do this prior to the interview rather than during the interview itself, which comes back to having the right preparation.

Instead of being complacent, what I could have easily done was do a mock interview with my friends and asked for feedback.

It is attention to detail like this that will add up to make a huge difference on the day of your actual interview.

So remember, prepare, prepare, prepare.

Tip 3: Start the job before you have it and share your work

This quote was stolen from Daniel Bourke. I heavily subscribe to his idea of going around the conventional online job portal to applying to jobs and getting noticed.

This is not saying that online job portals are useless but in order to stand out in an ever-increasingly competitive job market, you need to consider adopting a different strategy other than just sitting around and waiting for the recruiter to respond back.

To put it simply, “start the job before you have it” means to demonstrate your passion for a job, an industry or a company by owning the responsibilities of someone who is already working in the role.

For example, if you want to become a graphics designer, put together a compelling portfolio that highlights your creativity and passion for art. If you aspire to become a software engineer, build a robust web application that shows off your ability to use different technologies. If your goal is to become a trader, participate in trading competitions and put your knowledge about the financial markets to the test.

You get the idea.

In doing so, you are differentiating yourself from the rest of the crowd by showing resilience and initiative to learn a new skill that will be directly applicable to the job that you are applying for.

There are dozens of websites like Forage, Coursera, Udemy and edX that allow you to expand your skillset at little to no cost and in the case of Forage, you literally get to work on projects that have been provided by companies like Deloitte, Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Goldman Sachs themselves and many more.

Personally, I knew my journey transitioning from actuarial science into data science wasn’t going to be easy simply because I did not have much project experience or any knowledge about data wrangling and machine learning.

I had to rely on Kaggle to get started and slowly progressed to working on projects to further develop my skills. But more importantly, throughout this time, I have consistently documented my learning journey on platforms like Medium, YouTube and LinkedIn.

As a result, I have had multiple recruiters in the past brought up the work that I was doing during an interview and asked me to elaborate on those experiences.

In addition, by producing content on the things that you are learning, you are also indirectly reinforcing your understanding of a particular topic. This can be incredibly helpful in the event that you are asked a question related to that topic during an interview and being able to answer it confidently because you already know it front to back.

Tip 4: Be organised and follow up

If you are actually serious about landing a job, chances are, you have probably applied to several roles at various companies, all with different recruitment processes and timelines.

Without an organised record of your applications, how can you possibly keep track of the status of each application?

The answer is simple: you can’t.

Application deadline, online testing, video interview, assessment centres etc. It is so easy to lose track of where you have applied to, let alone trying to recall which stage of the recruitment process you are currently in.

Nevertheless, the most crucial part of keeping a proper record of your applications is knowing exactly when to follow up with the recruiter regarding the status of your application.

Think about it, there are hundreds if not thousands of people applying to the same company each year. The probability that your application falling through the cracks is very high.

As a rule of thumb, you want to follow up with the recruiter if you haven’t heard anything back after two weeks.

Tip 5: Always send a thank-you note after every interview

A gesture as simple as sending a thank-you note after an interview can go such a long way in making a positive impression and is certainly something that I wished I knew when I first started applying for internships and full-time jobs.

We were all taught at a very young age to say thank you every time someone does us a favour. Interviewing for a job is no exception.

Recruiters, or sometimes even the managers themselves, have taken the time out of their busy schedule to speak with us about the exciting opportunity at their company. The least we can do as interviewees is to show our appreciation by expressing our gratitude in the form of a thank-you note after the interview.

Rather than sending a generic thank-you note, it is also recommended that you personalise each message by including some unique insights that you have gained from that interview specifically.

I personally prefer drafting my thank-you email as soon as the interview ends, that way I can remember clearly what was discussed during the interview and brainstorm what I want to include in my email. I then schedule the email to arrive at the interviewer the following day.

Tip 6: Record yourself during an interview

Interviewing for a job during a global pandemic, when most companies nowadays conduct their recruitment process online, has enabled something that I never thought was possible and that is recording myself during an interview.

Simply set up your phone or camera on a tripod and place it behind your laptop (so that your interviewer won’t see it) as the interview is taking place.

By keeping a video record of yourself performing an interview means you have material that you can use to study after the interview has ended. Use this opportunity to review your approach to answering questions, your body language and word choices to see if you can pick up on things that you want to improve on going into your next interview.

Were you speaking clearly and concisely or did you “uhm” and “ah” through most of your responses? Do you have a bad habit of not smiling or hunching your back? These are just some examples.

I know the idea of recording yourself might sound foreign at first but once you get over the first few attempts, everything will feel more natural and I can guarantee you will glad that you did.

Using this technique, I have managed to identify certain flaws in how I present myself during interviews that I was previously unaware of. For example, I realised have a tendency to speak quickly and not take pauses in between my sentences which sometimes makes it difficult to follow what I am trying to communicate to the interviewer.

In the event of an in-person interview, consider using a voice recorder instead!

Tip 7: Maintain a predictable and productive routine

Upon graduating from university, I am sure most of us have grown extremely accustomed to the schooling system. After all, we did spend the last 15 years or so following a timetable that’s been carefully set up for us to attend classes, making sure we submit our assignments etc.

To all of a sudden having all the freedom in the world, which might sound exciting at first but in a lot of ways, equally daunting. More specifically, leaving behind a lifestyle that we are so used to and entering a completely new territory of life where we are fully accountable for our actions and decisions.

Having a consistent schedule is one of the most overlooked aspects of looking for a job out of university because without a predictable routine, it is very easy for one to slack off and procrastinate indefinitely.

It is also important that you make time for other activities other than applying to jobs not only to maintain your sanity but more importantly to make your job search more effective.

A misconception that I had during my job search was thinking that the more time I spend applying to jobs and refining my cover letter, the better off I will be but as it turns out, that was far from the truth.

Because I was spending so much time doing the same thing over and over again, I slowly started to feel burned out until a point where it started to negatively impact my ability to focus and consequently my overall performance during interviews.

To address this, I learned to organise a daily routine which consisted of a morning workout, doing a part-time job or some form of volunteering, catching up with my mates and self-studying.

As a result of having a more balanced and predictable routine, I immediately felt more productive and started to see more success in my subsequent interviews.

Tip 8: Be patient and don’t compare yourself with others

I’ll be the first to admit. I have been there and done that.

“Wow, he just landed a position at a big company. He’s so lucky!”

“Look, she just got promoted! She must be enjoying her job very much.”

Comparing yourself with others doesn’t do you any good but brings your morale and confidence down. Being envious of your friend’s achievements and fancy new job title only takes time away from what you can actually be creating for yourself.

Limit the time that you spend on social media and focus solely on your goal. What you want in life has nothing to do with other people so let them worry about themselves.

Once you have determined your goal, devise a detailed plan on how you are going to get there and progressively work towards that goal every single day. It is that simple.

Life is a marathon, not a sprint.

You might think that your friends are ahead of you but how much do you actually know about their struggles? In reality, they could be hating their job or dealing with family issues.

My point is that everyone is dealing with their own sets of problems in life. Therefore, you should focus on your own.

Also, learn to be patient because good will things take time.

It took me more than a year to land a job at my dream company so if you are expecting success to happen overnight, think again.

Tip 9: Schedule your interviews strategically

This one is pretty straightforward so I won’t spend too much time here.

Essentially, when asked to book yourself in for an interview, make sure you allow for sufficient time between now and the day of your interview in order to be fully prepared. Taking it one step further, if possible, pick a time during the day when your body functions at the highest level.

I usually aim to have at least 3 days to prepare before my interview and I would go for interview times in the morning. This is going to be different for everyone but personally, that is when my mind is at its peak and I feel most energetic.

On the day of the interview itself, I like to go on a morning run to get my blood flowing and after my run, take a cold shower for an extra kick of adrenaline.

Figure out what works best for you and just do that.

Tip 10: Practice makes perfect

Think back to the first job interview you ever had. In fact, think back to every time you tried learning something new for the first time. Pretty bad right?

Interviewing, like most things, takes time and practice. The more you do it, the more you will learn, the better you will get.

I used to have this mindset of only applying to jobs that I was confident that I was going to get, mostly because I was afraid of rejection and failure. The problem with this mindset is that I was actually limiting my exposure to different interview scenarios which can serve as great learning experiences even if I don’t end up getting the role.

Yes, rejections are painful but at the same time, they don’t cost you anything at all. Plus, being able to bounce back after a rejection is also another important skill to have when looking for a job.

Thus, I urge you to apply to several companies even if they may not your dream company. Treat them as practice and opportunities to refine your interview skills so that by the time you are interviewing with your dream company, you are well prepared.

Well done on making it all the way to the end of this article and thank you so much for reading!

I hope that you have learned something useful in this article that you can apply in your own journey of landing your dream job.

If you are currently looking for work, be patient and know that rejections don’t ever define you. Deploy patience and have faith because with the right preparation and determination, it will pay off in the end.

Looking back, I am actually grateful for my rejections because not only did they make me stronger as a person but more importantly, they made the moment when I finally received an offer even more special and worthwhile.

Do let me know your thoughts and feel free to reach out to me via LinkedIn or Twitter.

I look forward to seeing you in my next article but until then, keep pushing and go after your dreams!