Every college and university has a career services department that is complete with career counselors who help students find the jobs that thy have always wanted. Basically, they provide guidance in finding careers and also finding internships that will lead students to their careers.

When you are ready to start looking for the job of your dreams, you need to consult with the college counselors that work within the career services department. You’ll be making a career change from a college student to a college graduate working in the corporate world. You just need to make sure you go about it in the right way.

The dos

Do go to the career services department and tell the college counselor what you are looking to do. Depending on your field, you may need to move into an internship or you may be able to move straight into the job. You will find out when talking to a counselor. Either way, you’ll have to go on your job hunt the same way no matter what type of job it is.

You also want to do some research of your own. If you find an opportunity that you like, talk to your counselor about it. Your counselor can look into the company for you and let you know what it is you need to do in order to land the internship or the job. If the job is a paying one, you can also get a good idea of what kind of salary you need to ask for. It can be difficult to ask for the correct salary when even the base salary is more money than you’ve ever made, so you don’t want to ask for something too low or the company just might save some money.

So make sure you follow all instructions by your counselor and don’t deviate from what they tell you. Chances are they have information on what it takes to land a position within the company you hope to land a position with.

The don’ts

Don’t bypass your college counselor. Don’t think that you don’t need them because these are professionals who have helped many students just like you in their job hunting. You want to make sure you listen to everything and not create rules of your own when trying to land an internship or an actual paying job.

Even when you do your own research, don’t take it upon yourself to jump in and try to acquire a position with that company. This is why some search for jobs for so long and find themselves working in career fields that have nothing to do with their major. If you’ve ever heard anyone say, “My major is this, but I am working here because no one would hire me,” it might be because they took matters into their own hands.

So keep this in mind so that you are not scrambling for a job after college and find yourself paying student loans for a degree that you are not even using.