Written by Chris Richardson

Chris Richardson is an editor at https://www.essaygeeks.co.uk. He is also a professional content writing expert in such topics as career growth, self-improvement, blogging, and technology innovations. Feel free to connect with him on Google+.

If you want fast career advancement and amazing job opportunities once you graduate from university, it’s important to stay active and perseverant throughout your academic years. Make sure you learn how to balance your time properly and conjoin studying with social activities.

To get work right after graduation and start climbing the success ladder faster than your competitors, you’ll need to have patience and commit a lot of your time to gain work experience and transferable skills and building your network. Setting life goals and priorities is crucial; without a clear idea of where you are heading, your plans might quickly turn into dreams, and you’ll end up disappointed and downhearted.

Below you can find some quick tips on how to boost your chances of getting a graduate job right after the end of your course while making the most of your time at university!

After you finish reading, I recommend you go to MyJobsOnline and search for graduate roles that match your interests.

1. There are plenty of resources on the Careers website to help you continue learning and gain new skills. For example, have a look at the Excel skills section where you can practice to become an expert Excel user. For more continuous learning resources, explore the Grow section.

Learning continuously is the key to success! If you are uninterested in acquiring new information, you lose important advantage. Make sure you create a continuous learning environment by:

• Being curious and asking questions about your field of study, your course, the industry you would like to work in.
• Using LinkedIn to network with professionals in your area of interest, following their work and, why not, asking them to share their knowledge with you.
• Challenging your friends to compete with you in acquiring new skills.
• Joining different interest groups, university societies and chatting with different people.
• Engaging in interesting discussions with mentors, peers or lecturers.
• Attending career events, insight days, sessions or workshop organized and led by employers where they share invaluable information about their companies.
• Using technology to stay up-to-date.
• Setting clear career objectives and working to achieve them.

Engaging in continuous learning at university and after you graduate is extremely important. You’ll become a well-rounded individual with amazing life goals and plans, which will help you find a career quickly after graduation. Trust your instincts, go with the flow, and keep collecting new information constantly!

2. Network

Network, network, network! Networking is crucial in boosting your career opportunities. All the people that you meet might make up great connections in the future so keep an open mind and communicate freely with everyone you’ll run into. Don’t be shy, go up to them and start chatting! Here are a few steps to begin networking:

• Find a group that shares your passions and interests. Have a look at the list of RUSU societies at the University of Reading.
• Attend your university’s career fairs. Many employers will be present at these events and, even though you’re not a finalist, this is a great opportunity to meet professionals from top companies.
• Follow up with the contacts you’ve made. If you exchange contacts, make sure you save the correct details and get in touch with them whenever you have a question about a job you’re interested in or a particular sector. You can even connect with them on LinkedIn to monitor their activity and congratulate them on their achievements. You can also engage with them by tagging their profiles whenever you come across interesting content that is relevant to them.
• Ask your personal tutor, your lecturers or mentors if there are any things you could help them with (from designing fundraising campaigns to hosting events). Everything helps! It’s easy to make new connections by offering your help.
• Develop self-awareness and build self-confidence. Get out of your comfort zone, surround yourself with successful people, and learn how to manage your state of mind. Building confidence might take a while, but it’s never too late to start. Approach strangers, develop new habits, learn something new, be innovative!

When networking, it’s important to be honest with yourself and the people around you. Being brave and curious about other people’s lives also helps. Try not to fake interest or be too polite when it is unnecessary. Act exactly how you feel and everything will come naturally, you’ll see.

Remember: networking opens new doors for you, both career-wise and personal-wise. Start networking now!

3. Track your progress

In order to ensure your progress, start tracking it. After you’ve set your goals, design a plan, stick to it, and write down the steps you’ll take in order to achieve your goals.

Planning is essential.

• Write down your objectives on a piece of paper.
• Ask yourself why you want to achieve them.
• Write down your explanations.
• Mark your weekly activities in your calendar.
• Divide your time into segments, and respect your schedule.

Sticking to the plan is crucial.

• Share goals with someone important to you, your tutor or a friend. Make sure they are knowledgeable enough and prepared to give advice.
• Book an appointment with a Careers Consultant and show them your plan. Book in more one-to-one sessions throughout the year to touch base with them and inform them about your progress. They might be able to help when you feel stuck.

Rewards are important.

• If you do complete your career goals and fulfil your promises, reward yourself! It’s good to let your mind know that you appreciate its efforts.
• If you never look back on your accomplishments and thank yourself for the efforts you’ve made, you won’t be able to advance your career.
• Celebrate your progress by finding time for yourself – do whatever you enjoy, take breaks, relax!

Tracking your progress and seeing where you stand at the end of the day will have a powerful impact on your life. By understanding your level, you’ll know what to strive for, and how close you’re getting to the graduate job you want.

4. Ask for advice and feedback

Talk to your professors, personal tutors and mentors about your progress constantly, and ask them for feedback or advice on different topics. Educators love helping out and appreciate students willing to succeed in their career.

• Be polite when asking for advice, and listen to their opinion even if you don’t agree.
• Nicely state your point of view.
• Be honest, don’t distort the facts.
• Be clear in your requests and concise in your explanations: what exactly do you want from your mentor?
• Let go of expectations.
• Keep an open mind.

By taking the above steps in your career development process, you will succeed in your field of interest. Learn continuously, network (network, network!), track your progress and ask for feedback whenever necessary. This way you’ll get the graduate job you’re after sooner than you think. Good luck!