College graduates are expected to have a lot of career options available to them, but the reality is that many recent grads are still struggling to find their first professional job. The good news is that there are a number of entry-level jobs that college graduates can start with and grow from, including:
Customer Service Representative – Customer service representatives work in many industries, including retail, hospitality and financial services. They answer questions about products or services and help customers with billing issues. Entry level positions for this job usually require a high school diploma or equivalent.
Administrative Assistant – Administrative assistants work in offices and perform clerical duties such as answering phones and organizing files. The position requires few skills beyond office management, but it can lead to promotions into other administrative roles within the company.
Marketing Assistant – Marketing assistants work in marketing departments where they assist with research, data analysis and other tasks related to creating marketing campaigns for products or services offered by the company. This position requires some experience with Microsoft Office programs like Excel and PowerPoint, but no previous experience in marketing is required.
College Grad Entry Level Jobs
Graduate recruitment programs are widespread in most of the developed world. Employers commonly attend campuses to promote employment vacancies and career opportunities to students who are considering their options following graduation. In the United Kingdom, the process of employers visiting a series of universities to promote themselves is called the milk round. The Pandemic brought about a significant switch in how employers engage with students on campus[1] with many moving to virtual events to engage with university students. For many employers, not being able to hand out their brochures and other print literature brought about a wider reconsideration of their impact on the environment, with the establishment of the Sustainable Recruitment Alliance.[2] For many employers, the switch to virtual campus engagement was not only more efficient from a time and resource perspective, but it was better for the environment. As such, many employers may look to continue with virtual engagement instead of campus visits.
Selection methods used by employers include interviews, aptitude tests, role plays, written assessments, group discussions and presentations.
Many schools, colleges and universities provide their students with independent advice via a careers advisory service which is staffed by professional careers advisors. The careers advisory service often organizes a careers fair or job fair where a large number of employers visit the campus at once giving students the opportunity to meet a range of potential employers.
Employers involved in graduate programs often form themselves into professional bodies or associations to share best practice or to collaborate in setting a recruitment code of practice. Larger companies with high levels of graduate employment opportunities often install online recruitment devices to deal with the high number of applications. These can be made up of several question based screening stages in which the candidate has to pass before reaching an interview.
Careers advisors also form themselves into professional bodies or associations to ensure that current best practice is shared across members and passes onto students.
Examples of professional associations in the graduate recruitment sector include the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) in the United States, the Canadian Association of Careers Educators and Employers (CACEE) in Canada, the Institute of Student Employers (ISE) [3] and the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) in the United Kingdom, the Australian Association of Graduate Employers (AAGE) in Australia, and the New Zealand Association of Graduate Employers (NZAGE) in New Zealand.
