Undergraduate Blog / Career Development

Finding Motivation for Full Time Job Applications

This blog was written by Peer Career Ambassador Stela Maksutaj ‘17

Seniors- It’s finally our year to shine. But although reaching our fourth year seems like a milestone to the outside world, we all feel the elephant in the room- FULL TIME JOBS. Pressures for landing a full time job are seeping in, and as the beginning of the semester begins to fade away it gets easier and easier to push off applications for the last possible moment. Here are a few tips to keep on your back burner when finding that motivation for to full time applications.

Nobody Else Can be YOU

We all have that friend that was offered a full time position after their internship over the summer, and are quite literally swimming through senior year. It is important to ground yourself, and understand you should never compare yourself to someone else. You are full of ambition, drive, and skill. Your path is on its way, and things always fall into place one way or another. However, nothing will be handed to you. Push yourself to pursue every potential opportunity, and believe in the hard work you put in that has prepared you for this moment.

Nobody can ever be you, so use your differences to make yourself stand out.

Let the Employers Worry About if you’re Qualified or Not

“I’m not good enough” “I’m not smart enough” “I can’t do that”

Every one of us has mumbled one of those phrases at one point. Pro Tip: Apply to as many jobs that you are interested in as you can, and let the employers decide if you’re qualified or not. There are a few ways this scenario can pan out. You might not get interview, and that’s ok, because it puts you in the same position as if you never applied. You might get an interview, but not get invited back to another. In this instance, you have practiced your interviewing skills and learned more about a company of your interest! Finally, you get an interview and you get a job offer out of it. This situation was only made possible by having faith in yourself and taking a chance at failure.

Thinking Long Term

Although it’d be nice to stay in college for the rest of our lives, the real world is calling. It is hard to imagine your life a year from now because the opportunities are limitless. But the point of going through this application process is to figure out what might be your first career path. Applications give you the chance to take those opportunities and be open minded about the results. You have already done the hard part- grades, organization/sport/club positions, internships, etc. Now is your time to frame the last four years in a way that makes sense for your future. Start thinking about where you want to be a year from now, and go from there.