After four (or more) years of attending classes, taking lecture notes, preparing homework, and passing the requisite exams, the magical piece of paper known as the Degree is conferred on the student. With a handshake and a smile, the student completes his or her walk across the graduation platform and heads proudly into the Real World.

The primary reason individuals pursue an advanced education is to make themselves more marketable in their chosen professional field, but too many recent graduates find themselves coming up short when it comes to legitimate job offers after pounding the career pavement with their shiny-new degrees in hand.

The competition out there is tough in general, and the more specialized one's career, the more difficult one can find it to land that entry-level job.

There are ways to make the transition easier:

1.While you take classes working toward your degree, build your resume. The best way to accomplish this is to spend time in an environment relevant to your career: volunteer or become an intern. Companies will often hire a new graduate who has very little professional experience if the applicant has made an impression as a volunteer and/or an intern.

2.Get to know the companies for whom you want to work. Investigate trade magazines, Web sites, and newspapers for information about your field and the companies that best represent them. If you can find out details about company recruiters and/or human resource representatives, write letters asking them for career advice.

3.Be an active member of your school's community: if you want to be a journalist, make sure you are a part of your school's newspaper. If you want to be in public relations, take part in school promotion. If you want to be in business, join a club and become a member of the club's board.

4.Learn how to sell yourself: you can't control the competition, but you are in charge of the impression you make on a potential employer. Have a current resume and cover letter ready at all times, and revise both whenever anything about you changes. Even if you don't have much to put down, the impression a clear cover letter and a clean resume makes is invaluable. An employer might be willing to take a chance on grooming a new graduate who seems sharp.

5.Don't give up. Remember, everyone had to start somewhere, and few people have landed the job of their dreams right out of college. Preparation, persistence, and professionalism will eventually pay off for you.

Learn more about this author, Shawn Hansen.
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