Looking for a job? Recently employed grads share their tips

When it comes to job searching, everyone has an opinion. There’s plenty of advice out there on resume formatting, interview etiquette and how to write a great thank you email. But who’s more qualified to tell you how to find a job than someone who’s just gone through it — and succeeded?

Follow the lead of these recent grads, who share how they landed their jobs and how they stayed sane during the process.

Don’t be afraid to look outside your major

Stacey Pecor, 24, graduated in 2013 from the University of Connecticut with a degree in communications. When a family friend suggested she apply for a job as a client service associate at UBS Financial Services, she realized her communication skills were useful in industries she’d never considered.

“This is a field within finance I don’t know anything about, but the role itself is things I know how to do,” she says. She works with UBS’ wealth management clients as an assistant to the bank’s financial advisors, and her ability to work on a team and relate to others has been more important than knowing financial terminology, she says. “Everything else they taught me,” Pecor notes.

It’s often your soft skills, or the interpersonal skills that you can’t always pick up in a classroom setting, that will set you up for success in your career. That means if you’re not finding jobs that exactly match your major, consider other opportunities that require similar abilities. If you studied English, for instance, public relations or social media management are areas where you can make use of your writing and analysis chops.

Let your connections know you’re on the job market

Pecor isn’t alone among recent grads who found their jobs through connections. Ernesto Melero, 23, now runs his own Los Angeles-based lacrosse coaching business, Coach Ernie’s Lacrosse. But when he moved back home to Los Angeles after graduating from Tufts University last year, he reached out to people he knew growing up to let them know he was looking for a job.

That’s how he found his first gig out of school: customs department manager at a startup called Legends Lifestyle, which designs and sells athletic socks.

“One of the owners of the startup that I worked for,” Melero says, “was one of my lacrosse mentors growing up.”

After he graduated, Melero called his former coach, whom he’d been in touch with once a year or so throughout college, he says. Melero’s mentor suggested he come work for Legends Lifestyle, and he was soon one of its first-ever employees.

“There’s someone always out there that is willing to lend a hand,” he says.

Turn an internship into a full-time job

Drew Gaczewski, 21, a 2015 graduate in business administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo, interned for Target last summer in Niagara Falls. Two weeks after he finished his internship, the company offered him a full-time position as an operations team leader at a Boston Target store. He started his new job in June.

“I had a ton of friends that were scrambling in April and even May,” he says. “Just knowing that I had that security was pretty awesome.”

Gaczewski landed his plum gig with the help of the career resource center at Buffalo, which has a relationship with Target, he says. He completed two interviews for the full-time position right on campus, and preparation was key — especially for scenario-based questions like ‘Tell me about a time you made a mistake’ or ‘Give an example of a time you worked without direct supervision,’ he says.

“I would physically write down on paper five of the things I was most proud of or that I accomplished throughout my collegiate career,” he says. “Based on the behavioral questions they ask, you can tailor those five stories in a lot of different directions.”

For Gaczewski, getting to the interview stage was all about making that initial decision to pursue an internship over the summer. Make the best of opportunities you come across during college and maintain strong relationships with your internship supervisors, and you’ll have a good shot at turning your internship experience into a job you’re excited about.

Be thoughtful during — and after — the interview

It’s important to prepare like Gaczewski before a job interview, and it’s also key to keep your cool once you’re there.

Giselle Abalos, 22, an undergraduate advisor in the department of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles — and a 2014 UCLA graduate — reminded herself to do just that when she interviewed for her current job.

“In my head I thought that once someone asked me a question I have to respond right away,” she says. “I learned that it’s OK to take your time and pause before answering.”

That also helps make sure your interview answers don’t sound robotic, Abalos says, especially if you’ve prepared a lot. “It doesn’t sound like a speech when you’re taking your time,” she says.

Appropriate follow-up can be as important as how you conduct yourself during the interview. Send thank you emails to your interviewers within 24 hours, ideally just a few hours after you’ve met with them. Take it up a notch, Pecor says, by also sending them handwritten thank you notes.

“I think that was definitely a positive thing to do, because then once they received it, I got a phone call from them saying, ‘Wow, thank you for that card,’” she says. “It’s just a little bit more personalized.”

Your job search requires a lot of patience and professionalism at each stage of the process, whether it’s networking, interviewing or following up with potential employers. Staying positive and making a good impression will go a long way now and in the future, Abalos says.

“Always be kind to everyone you meet, because you never know how that person can help you later on,” she says.

More from NerdWallet:

Expert Tips on How to Land a Solid Entry-Level Finance Job

Top 5 Money Moves to Make After Graduation

5 Things to Do Before an Interview to Impress a Hiring Manager