As a college senior, the process of applying for postgraduate jobs can vary depending on the industry.
Jobs related to consulting, financial services and technology, for example, typically hire earlier in the school year than most. Students often need to apply the summer before their senior year or during the fall semester. Other industries may not recruit students until the spring semester, experts note.
Recent mass federal job cuts by the Trump administration have created some uncertainty in the job market, with 275,240 layoffs in March 2025 — 216,215 of which occurred in the federal government, according to an April 2025 report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an Illinois-based company that works with companies and exiting employees nationwide.
However, “don’t let the negative noise paralyze your efforts,” Dayna Levy, director of career and professional development at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, wrote in an email.
She suggests talking to “real people doing the work you hope to do — learn where the nuances are for your desired setting. In every economic downturn for the past 25+ years, employers have consistently indicated that their organizations are always looking for new talent. It may take longer and job-seekers may need to widen their preferences. But there are jobs out there and people are getting hired.”
Here are nine expert tips for college seniors who are applying for jobs.
1. Clarify Your Interests
Before browsing a job search website, determine the type of industry, location, company size and work environment that best fits your needs.
“Make a list of all the things that are important to you; maybe it’s commute time, maybe it’s being able to make a certain salary,” says Christine Cruzvergara, chief education strategy officer at Handshake, a career platform that caters to college students.
Then, she adds, “try hard to rank order that list as much as possible so that once you actually have an offer in hand, you can weigh your offer or offers against that criteria. You’re not going to get everything you want, that’s not common. But you will be able to start to figure out which trade-offs you’re willing to make based on your own list of values.”
[Read: Co-op vs. Internship: Know the Differences.]
2. Visit School Career Centers
College career centers — often open to alumni and offer summer hours — provide resources and information related to the job search. Whether to discuss career goals, review a resume or participate in a mock interview, you can schedule meetings with staff members at your university.
For those unsure about where to look for job opportunities, career centers also have a list of job search websites and alumni networks.
“Keep in mind that it can take an active job seeker 3-6 months or longer to land a position,” Levy says. “That said, there are many individualized factors that will affect when a person is ready to begin their search, so working with their college’s career center team can help them strategize and develop a personalized plan.”
3. Update Your Resume with Relevant Experiences and Skills
Job applications typically require a resume and cover letter. In some cases, hiring managers ask for an online portfolio.
Include any relevant experiences in a resume, like internships or summer jobs in that field. Employers also value learning about your broader experiences, including volunteering, job shadowing, coursework or part-time jobs, such as at a summer camp or in retail.
Before submitting your resume and cover letter, get a second pair of eyes to avoid any typos or mistakes, like using the wrong company name.
4. Network
You can network at school career fairs or through targeted messaging on LinkedIn, for instance.
Connecting “helps the recruiter to put a face to the name, to the resume, to the profile,” says Sharon Belden Castonguay, executive director of the Gordon Career Center at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. “They’re trying to read through typically an enormous number of applications, and anything that makes their job easier is going to beneficial to you.”
5. Reach Out to an Employee at the Company
See if there are alumni from your school at the company where you applied. That employee could give insight into the company, answer questions and possibly serve as a referral.
But don’t blatantly ask for an interview or job, Castonguay says.
“It’s implied when you’re reaching out to have those conversations that if the person likes you, thinks you’re a good fit for the organization, they can see why … the hiring manager would be in a good position to interview you, they’re going to help move things along,” she says. “But it’s considered bad form to overtly ask for the position to somebody who’s not directly in a position to do the hire.”
[READ: How to Prepare for a Job Interview]
6. Avoid Overapplying
Many graduating students apply to hundreds of jobs, often yielding few to no results, experts say.
They are “honestly not doing themselves a good service because they don’t actually know enough about all of those companies, the different sectors or industries that they’re applying to,” Cruzvergara says. “It’s like throwing spaghetti at a wall and they’re hoping something will stick.”
Instead, she recommends taking a more intentional approach by thinking about your desired roles and industries, and tailoring your materials to those jobs.
On the other hand, don’t limit your search by applying only to big companies with big names, Cruzvergara says.
“Students often can tend to lean a little bit heavier toward the brand name because of what they know, it’s what they’re familiar with or it’s what they’ve heard,” she says. There are many opportunities at organizations with fewer than 200 people, such as “the ability for a student to wear multiple hats, be able to have great professional development, be able to advance quickly (and) be able to maybe live in a mid-size city that also has a lower cost of living.”
7. Practice Interviewing
Don’t go into an interview unprepared, experts warn. Research the company ahead of time to understand its values, mission and work. Note recent news announcements, such as a merger.
Practice answering questions beforehand. Come up with specific anecdotes that highlight your skills and experiences, but avoid coming off as scripted.
For remote interviews, get familiar with being on camera and test out your Wi-Fi and software ahead of time to avoid mishaps.
At the end of the interview, ask questions, such as potential challenges you may face in the role or how they measure success. Additionally, get a sense of the company’s hiring timeline.
[READ: 7 Things Interviewers Notice First]
If you haven’t heard back by their designated deadline, follow up with the hiring manager for updates, Castonguay says. “In the absence of that information, I typically recommend following up roughly every 10 business days until you get an answer, one way or the other.”
Be sure to send a thank-you email within 24 hours of the interview that references some part of the conversation to “make it clear that it’s not a cookie-cutter message,” she adds.
8. Don’t Immediately Accept a Job Offer
Though it can be tempting, especially after weeks or months of receiving rejections, applicants should avoid immediately accepting a job offer, experts say.
“Thank the employer and ask for time to consider their offer before accepting or declining on the spot,” Levy says. “Then take at least 24 hours, but preferably more time, to review the terms of the offer and evaluate whether it meets most of their must-haves before deciding.”
Be sure to receive the offer in writing, she adds, which should include information about your job title, start date and salary.
College career centers can also help you determine whether the offer is competitive in the market.
9. Review the Whole Offer
Don’t look at just the salary; consider other benefits, such as retirement plans, health insurance and education benefits, Cruzvergara says.
“I always encourage students to take a more holistic look because your salary, in some cases, may be $10,000 or $15,000 lower than another offer,” she says. “But if you get all of those benefits that you actually need or want, it might actually turn out to be, on the whole, a better offer.”
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9 Job Search Tips for College Seniors originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 04/07/25: This article was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
