By UCLA Alumni Class of 2020
Job searching is usually a strange period of time, and that goes double for anyone graduating during the pandemic. I graduated in 2020 in the midst of the general upheaval and learned a lot. I collaborated with a few friends who also graduated in 2020 to make the UCLA Post-Graduate Guide to Navigating the Job Search in the hopes that some of the lessons that we learned will make life a little bit easier for you!
The PDF guide is pretty cool, but if you take nothing else away or if your quarantine pet requires feeding so you have no time to read this guide, consider these three main tips:
1.) Your first job is a stepping stone, not a major life decision that dictates what you’ll do for the rest of your life. Treat it as a place to learn.
2.) If you don’t know where to start in the job search process, make limits for which jobs you apply for based on quality of life factors like location, salary, or benefits. This narrows down the job search to a smaller window that’s more manageable. You can always find a different job in the future or expand your search, but overwhelming yourself may just mean that you don’t take action to even apply.
3.) Reach out to people via LinkedIn and other platforms to learn about their jobs and their paths. Make PERSONAL CONNECTIONS! People are so interesting.
Good luck with the job search. We wish you the best and Go Bruins!!