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The class of 2025 is graduating into a tough job market: the unemployment rate for recent grads increased to 5.8% in March, while the share of new grads working jobs that don’t require their degrees (known as being “underemployed”) rose to 41.2%.
Christine Cruzvergara has advised thousands of college students in all kinds of economies in her nearly 20-year career. Her biggest advice to today’s graduating students is to remember: “You only need one job,” Cruzvergara, now Handshake’s chief education strategy officer, tells CNBC Make It.
“There’s still lots of opportunities out there that you can apply to and can get,” she continues. “You’re going for one. You just have to find one that you really are interested in.”
It’s a good reminder at a time when AI and online job boards make it easy to mass apply to hundreds of jobs, which can make the sting of not hearing back hard to comprehend.
What is a job that is going to teach you something where you will learn, you will grow, and it feels like the kind of environment that you can personally thrive in?
Christine Cruzvergara, Chief Education Strategy Officer, Handshake
Cruzvergara says staying focused and intentional on your application efforts is important in any kind of job market. Rather than striving for a big company or flashy job title because you feel it’s what’s expected of you, consider what you really want out of a first job and how it can funnel into your career goals in the long run.
“I’m not even a big proponent of the notion of a dream job, but rather: What is a job that is going to teach you something where you will learn, you will grow, and it feels like the kind of environment that you can personally thrive in?” Cruzvergara says.
It’s important to recognize if you thrive in a fast-paced or slower-paced environment, a place that’s collaborative or competitive, and what kind of management you need in order to succeed, she says.
Don’t get wrapped up in the types of job your peers are going for or what headlines say about the job market, Cruzvergara adds. “Just focus on you, on what you like, and what helps you to succeed and be the best contributing member you can be.”
Then, it’s a matter of tailoring your resume, application, and interview presence for that particular type of job.
What young workers agonize over that’s not worth the time
That being said, Cruzvergara says one thing she often sees students agonize over is their resume; instead, she’d like to see students spend less energy on their application materials and more on nailing their interview strategy.
“Sometimes people think that your resume or your application is going to get you the job. It’s not going to get you the job, it’s going to get you an interview,” Cruzvergara says. The No. 1 rule for a resume and cover letter, if required, is that it’s skimmable and shows you have the basic requirements to get the job done.
That’s not to say having a concise and impactful resume isn’t important, she notes, but consider it simply a way to “open the door” but not what alone can get you the job.
When preparing and practicing for your interview, make sure you can talk about how your abilities directly align with what the job will require of you. Don’t forget to express your own enthusiasm for the role, company or brand mission to show how you’d bring your own unique perspective to thrive in the role.
What young workers agonize over that’s not worth the time
That being said, Cruzvergara says one thing she often sees students agonize over is their resume; instead, she’d like to see students spend less energy on their application materials and more on nailing their interview strategy.
“Sometimes people think that your resume or your application is going to get you the job. It’s not going to get you the job, it’s going to get you an interview,” Cruzvergara says. The No. 1 rule for a resume and cover letter, if required, is that it’s skimmable and shows you have the basic requirements to get the job done.
That’s not to say having a concise and impactful resume isn’t important, she notes, but consider it simply a way to “open the door” but not what alone can get you the job.
When preparing and practicing for your interview, make sure you can talk about how your abilities directly align with what the job will require of you. Don’t forget to express your own enthusiasm for the role, company or brand mission to show how you’d bring your own unique perspective to thrive in the role.
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Ugur Karakoc | E+ | Getty Images
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