Students from the Class of 2026 are graduating into a challenging job market. It’s competitive, fast-paced, and can be exhausting. When the candidate pool is crowded, potential candidates need to be strategic in their approach. In addition to leveraging your liberal arts education, here are some other helpful ways to tackle the job search and application process..
Job Search Strategies in a Tight Economy
As you continue on in your job search process, let’s talk about some strategies for navigating in a competitive market.
- Pay attention to position posting date, not application deadline. Most employers hire on an as needed basis with a rolling approach to reviewing applications. As such, candidates who apply within the first week after a position is posted have a significantly higher chance of being considered for an interview.
- Research the position and organization. The better you understand a position and how it fits into the larger organization, the easier it is to make a compelling case for why you are both interested in and well positioned to succeed in a particular role. Most candidates take a generic approach to applications, so showcasing context-specific awareness of a position really makes you stand out.
- Tailor your application materials for each job. Does this mean you have to re-write these materials every time? Not exactly. But highlighting the experiences that are most relevant and even changing your word choices to speak the same language can make an impact. Look at the job description. Look at the words they use to describe the role, responsibilities, specific skills and characteristics they seek. Make sure your materials reflect those same key words.
- Check out our resume resources for help in getting started or polishing your document.
- Show impact. When talking about your responsibilities for the different experiences you discuss, go beyond the “what you do.” Use numbers to quantify outcomes. For example, instead of saying that you “updated social media content of [fill in the blank] company to grow followers,” say that you “Increased weekly social media engagement by 60% generating 50,000 content interactions over a quarter, resulting in a 40% follower growth rate.”
- Develop your online presence. Make sure that your professional profiles, like LinkedIn and/or Handshake, are up to date with your experiences and skills. Create a portfolio or personal website if relevant. Having something, somewhere, where you can share your work, interests, and things that are relevant to your industry interests is a great way to utilize some of your free time and offer employers a place to showcase your experiences and samples of your work.
- Be proactive. Is there a company you are interested in but they don’t have a position available? Reach out! Send an email, with your resume attached, expressing your interest in the company and a little about yourself. For jobs you have applied and/or interviewed for, be sure to follow-up! If you have not heard back within two weeks, it is appropriate to reach out to the direct contact or the hiring manager to inquire where they are in their hiring timeline.and ask if there is an update on the status of your application.
- Look first for an alum at the organization who you can connect with to learn more about the organization, roles and even help in getting your resume in the right hands. SwatLink and LinkedIn are useful tools to check for alumni at different organizations.
- Conduct informational interviews with alumni to build up your network, even (and especially) when there are not current openings. While it’s always a good idea to have a conversation with someone at an organization that interests you, particularly if you are preparing for an interview, the best time to reach out to people is often when there aren’t any openings. The conversation can then focus on the contact’s career path, their insights into the culture of the specific organization and what kinds of people do well there, and how/when hiring cycles typically work. You are then better positioned to be aware of when and what kinds of roles might make the most sense for you. In addition, you can use that as an opportunity to build out your network by asking for suggestions of others in the field that this person believes you would benefit from speaking with.
- Cast a wide (but ideals-focused) net. There are several tangible ways you can expand your search while centering your larger job search goals. If you are set on a particular kind of opportunity, perhaps you can be more flexible about location. Or, perhaps you can look for similar kinds of roles across multiple industries. We in Career Services are happy to work with you to help you prioritize this list and strategize appropriately.
- Prepare for interviews. Even if you don’t have one lined up yet, keep your mind sharp and your interview skills fresh. Research sample question and work on developing answers to situational questions in STAR format (situation, task, action, result). Work with Career Services Advisors, family, or friends on doing mock interviews to gain feedback and insights.
In Conclusion
As you take your next steps beyond Swarthmore, remember that your path doesn’t have to be perfectly mapped out to be meaningful. Stay open, stay persistent, and trust that the skills and experiences you’ve built here will carry you forward in ways you may not yet see. Wherever you go, the Swat community is behind you—now and always.
Check out our other “Dear Graduates” Blogs: Leveraging your Liberal Arts Education and The Artful use of AI.
