<p>I'm going to be starting my senior year soon and I was wondering when I should start looking for jobs. I'm a Computer Science Major, in case that matters. I've heard tell that now(the fall) would be a good time to do so, but I thought I'd ask here as well.</p>
<p>start looking now.</p>
<p>Use your school’s career services center for guidance… it is very helpful.</p>
<p>Before you start your last year, you should be doing the following:
- Research industries and tracks that interest you
- Once you finish that research, start coming up with companies/organizations/agencies for which you would like to work
- Update your resume with anything you have done recently. Your resume should contain anything that makes you appealing to an employer (meaning if you were on leadership of a campus group, talk about your responsibilities as if they were part of paid jobs!)
- Create a generic cover letter. You should NOT use this as a go-to when you apply, but writing a generic cover letter will get you thinking about what you SHOULD write. Have both your resume and your cover letter reviewed by career services AND a friend.
- If you haven’t already, buy interview attire (I don’t know what girls wear, but a suit for guys is always appropriate.</p>
<p>Once you have identified the industry or industries to pursue, start getting specific. Every industry has standout companies and not-so-great companies. A great resource you can use is glassdoor.com, which gives you excellent information about companies, work environments and interviews. As you go through, start a spreadsheet; include at the very least, the company name, industry type and application window (many companies recruiting college students have specific recruitment windows that you can learn about).</p>
<p>If a company has a defined resume drop period (for example, an on campus recruiters may say that students may apply between September 19 and September 26), then it doesn’t really matter whether you submit an application at 12:01AM on September 19 or at 11:59PM on September 26. Your application gets sent through a system and will be reviewed like everyone else’s. Make sure you send applications only when you are satisfied enough to send them. Same goes for interviews. If you must select an interview slot, try to remember that recruiters do this for a living, and it doesn’t matter whether you have the first, last or a middle interview slow; if you make a good impression, you will get called back.</p>
<p>You will find around now that some industries have already concluded their recruiting for employees with June, 2012 start dates; you will also find that some industries have yet to begin their 2012 recruiting, so don’t worry!</p>
<p>Some important things to remember about the recruiting process:
- Most important, do not stop applying for jobs until you have ACCEPTED an offer. This means that even if you get a verbal offer, you should continue to apply for new jobs until you are certain that you have gotten the best opportunity available to you!
- Do not sell yourself short in your communications, be they resume, cover letter, email, phone or in person. At the same time, be careful not to make assertions that are either untrue or that seem boastful.
- ALWAYS be gracious when you speak to recruiters. Even if it turns out you don’t want the job, the world is small, and you may wind up running into people down the road. It is better to have made a good impression from the start.</p>
<p>Recruiting and job hunting is something I went through a year ago, and I got pretty good at it. If you have any questions, please feel free to PM me!</p>
<p>You should’ve started a year or 2 ago when you scored summer internships and preferably did well in them to land a starting offer…but now would also be a smart time to start applying.</p>
<p>Hey there,</p>
<p>This is very nice question I have recieved. Many many thanks for your sharing. The best time for apply job in the month of march by every year.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot
Baldric Wells</p>
<p>The best time to apply for jobs is now. Many companies are recruiting both on line and at various campuses. You shall start applying and keep going until you are offered and accepted a job offer.</p>