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When To Start Applying To Jobs Before Graduation?

Published over 1 year agoΒ β€’Β 6 min read

Are you graduating soon and wondering when to start applying to jobs?

This is a common question and one I got at my last Public Health Happy Hour. This is an important aspect of your schooling career and still there is a lot of confusion about when you should start applying to jobs before graduating.

I was able to secure the my post grad position a few months before graduating. This was possible because

  • I started doing career research early in my journey
  • I started putting on job alerts around 9 months before graduating,
  • I started applying 6 months before I graduated.

Which eventually got me a job 2 months before I graduated.

Today I'll give you a simple 3 part framework to increase your chances of getting a job before graduating. This will help reduce your post grad depression, ensure school does not feel worthless, and to enhance your oppportunities to land a position you want.

Some context:

The public health workforce is fundamentally different from when I graduated in 2019 to how it was during the early and mid days of the pandemic to now.

Public health graduate programs applicants increased on average 40% for many programs. And now these applicants - many of you here - are going into the job field.

This is while much of the public health funding that was available during the early days of the pandemic has dried up. This reduced the number of opportunities are available especially for state and local public health roles.

Before going into the phases, shout out to you for the amazing work you've done to get to this part of your journey. Many people have not made it this far, so be appreciative to yourself for getting to this point.

You are on your path to becoming an impactful public health professional.

"When do I start looking for a job before graduating?"

Phase 1: Career Research

Start this around 9 months before graduating. This should focus on honing your understanding of the public health landscape and the roles you are interested in.

This looks like going in-depth into job positions. Learn about:

  • What jobs and roles are available
  • Learn about interesting companies
  • Understand the skillsets they are asking for
  • The pay and other tangibles like work flexibility and other benefits

Start finding positions, titles, and roles that align with what you ideally want to do after gradaution.

  • Put onStart setting up informational interviews with people in those roles
  • See what aligns from your experiences and skillsets, and what can be improved upon and take actions to improve those skills
  • Turn on job alerts on google jobs, indeed, and of course LinkedIn

Be sure to think outside the box. Public health skillsets are being valued in so many fields so be sure you’re looking at a wholistic potential of jobs after graduating.

Phase 2: Applying Phase

Start applying to jobs 5-6 months before graduating. This is the perfect time where you are not so far off from graduating that hiring managers won’t consider you for roles.

It also gives you enough time in the hiring process which could many times takes on average 3 months to complete and get an offer letter.

When you get to this 5-6 month mark before graduating, you want to:

  • Set up a spreadsheet tracking the jobs you applied to
  • Save the job postings so you can refer to them months later if needed
  • Get into a cadence of applying to a certain amount of jobs a week
  • Make this your homework, get into a groove, find an accountability partner

Really understand what your career visions are and what you want to get out of the opportunity once your graduate and enter the workforce. Then find opportunities that align and support that career vision and goal.

Phase 3: The Hunt

Become a strong candidate.

How do you do that? By using the information we just covered to empower yourself with the skills and experiences and connection to catapult your career.

You become a strong candidate by doing the work that needs to be done and that you have been doing as a student, intern, and employee.

You also do this by updating your resume or cv and tailoring it to each application you apply to. Yes, a time consuming process, but definitely one worth it.

Tailor your cover letter too. Ensure it is not an exact replica of your resume.

Start talking to your references and updating them frequently on your job hunt.

Lastly, 80-85% of jobs are found through networking & referrals. Optimize your LinkedIn to ensure you are standing out to the best of your ability.

Use informational interviews to understand what they do and also share what you are looking for in job roles.

Continue to develop a network especially on LinkedIn. See if you can reach out and create relationships with recruiters.

Get interview preparation! This could be through professional services or just with a friend or colleague.

As you can see, knowing when to start applying for jobs before graduation is incredibly helpful. Not only will the timing maximize the number of opportunities you get, but you’ll be able to plan out how to prepare.

Which one of these pieces of advice most stood out to you?

Does anyone have an app or website they use to get more information on local politics?

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​Checking in πŸ’“:

I'm looking for a podcast producer to join The Public Health Millennial team. If you know anyone that may be interested pass along this form to them! It will be a position that is paid $60/per episode.

Trying to give myself back capacity to create great content I haven't been able to create yet as well as work on other projects. So please do share this - all the editing will be light and I can teach you how to do much of the responsibilities.

What's more important is that this will be someone that is passionate about public health and this be a helpful role in the development of their career journey

Next Steps βœ…:

  1. Share Public Health Careers with a friend.
  2. Respond to this if you want me to come to speak at your school or association.
Omari Richins, MPH (he/him)
Founder, The Public Health Millennial

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The Public Health Millennial

Helping public health people navigate career success. Helping you learn, navigate, and transform your public health career with valuable insights. Host of Public Health Careers Podcast 🎧

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