You'll never get a job - Career realism
Despite the seemingly crushing title of this blog post, it has some encouraging advice about not being your worst critic. It provides encouragement for finding job satisfaction, and believing you deserve it. I particularly liked this piece of advice, which highlights the importance of doing what's best for you, regardless of what others may think: "We have to let go of the toxic concept of finding work that impresses others."
Job seeker uses "hire me" campaign to pursue dream job at Chipotle - Corn on the Job
This blog post analyses how one job seeker, Bianca Cadloni, created an entire social media campaign to get her dream job in America. Bianca went to some serious effort here - which I think is a lesson in itself - but her campaign is also something of a masterclass on how to tailor a job application and demonstrate how much you understand and want to work for a particular employer.
Infographic: How effective is social media marketing
This infographic, primarily for recruiters, reveals the current state of social media marketing and how its use is set to evolve in future years. But it provides some useful insights for graduates into how recruiters are using social media platforms to recruit; such as the 6.9% increase in using social media for recruitment since last year, and the fact that 64% of companies agree hiring through social media has been successful. Another one to watch, as it were, is YouTube - this is what companies are planning to use most this year. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are also up there as the platforms which currently provide the best return on investment, so take advantage of this in your job search, and make sure you're on all of them.
Half of all student internships are still unpaid, survey shows - Guardian
The unfairness of unpaid internships - and how widespread they have become - has been widely debated in recent years. But this Guardian story, based on findings from Graduate Prospects, puts a figure on the size of the problem
A new survey of 22,000 UK graduates has found that 43% of internships are unpaid.
While it's interesting to know the figures, it doesn't solve the problem graduates have when faced with the prospect of an unpaid internship We all know how important gaining experience is to graduate employers, but there is a conflict between gaining great experience, unpaid or taking on a job unrelated to their career but pays the bills.
How a temp position can build your career - Resume bear
Forget those figures for a moment - unpaid internships are not the only way to get a foot on the career ladder. I found this piece particularly interesting as this summer I have done some temping work and really enjoyed it. To my surprise, someone I spoke to while on an HR job for a large retailer, told me that she got into HR, after doing an English language and literature degree, through temping. This post gives some great advice on how to use temporary jobs to kick-start your career. Stuff such as: "Connect to all of your temporary co-workers on LinkedIn and request recommendations from them." This is certainly something I will be doing with my new LinkedIn profile, and a route I will consider when I graduate. It also highlights the importance of conversing with your temporary colleagues to gain an insight into how they got into their current position.
Why volunteering is good for your career - The LinkedIn Blog
"Volunteering offers a whole new world of qualified and valuable connections."
As this post highlights, volunteering can be a great way into an unexpected career path. As a graduate you probably know that volunteering is a great asset to a CV, but it can also provide you with valuable connections which could lead to paid work. This post has top tips on getting the most out of a voluntary position, and why you should seriously consider it. It reports on research that has shown "one out of every five hiring managers in the US agrees they have hired a candidate because of their volunteer work experience."
To get more content and advice like this – including links to forthcoming Q&As – direct to your inbox, you can now sign up for our weekly Careers update.
