Job Search Guide For Graduating Students

Review some quick tips & sample docs Click here if you need some quick tips & sample resumes/cover letters. Downloadable MS word templates are available on Handshake in the resource library.

Meet with an advisor The Career Center offers drop-in advising (no appointment required) on weekdays from 1pm to 3:30pm in STU-110. Just bring your resume or cover letter (print out or on your device) and check in at the front desk with your student ID number.

VMock & Generative AI review Supplement an advisor review with AI-powered feedback. Try VMock (all students get 10 resume uploads per school year) or check out our AI Guidelines page for tips/prompts to help you get started.

With your degree you might have the opportunity to work in a variety of environments ranging from the private sector, federal government, nonprofits, and start-ups, but which one is the best fit?

Review Industry Exploration Resources on Handshake and a list of Interests/Industries.

• Vault offers industry guides detailing jobs, salary/location info, and more!

• Professional Associations are organized groups focused on advancing and connecting individuals within a particular profession. Most offer websites that contain insights on what it’s like to work in the industry and these are great pages to follow on LinkedIn.

• Want to see what industries recent USC graduates found jobs in? Check out Career Outcomes from the Career Center’s First Destination Survey.

In addition to exploring industries it is helpful to identify in demand skills.

Applying for a full time job can be quite competitive so leveraging your network is a vital strategy to stand out!

We suggest speaking with:

• Peers: Consider scheduling an appointment with an Industry Insider Intern
• Faculty: take advantage of office hours to talk to your professors about their academic/industry expertise
• USC Alums (Through the Trojan Network and LinkedIn, you can ask for informational interviews) to gain more insight into their career launch and professional experiences as you pave the way for your chosen path. The Alumni Associations also facilitates networking chapters based on shared interests/industries.

Strategies:

• Read How to Conduct an Informational Interview
• Review The Elevator Pitch

• Watch
  • The Inside Scoop – Networking Tips from Employers
  • Harnessing AI for Effective Networking and Informational Interviews

• Cold contacting/calling
  • Read How to Cold Call For a Job—and Stand Out from the Crowd (The Muse)
  • CareerShift provides a powerful set of job search, organization, and management tools to enable job seekers to find the companies, jobs, and contacts that will advance their careers

LinkedIn

• Need a headshot or a LinkedIn profile review? Check out our Headshots to Handshakes program.
• Watch Career Center LinkedIn Webinar Series

Career Fairs We host career fairs during fall and spring semesters. Graduating students still have the opportunity to meet with employers:

• Thursday, April 17, 2025 Recent Graduates & Students Virtual Career Fair

• Friday, May 2, 2025 Handshake Just In Time Virtual Fair (Business) – link coming soon

• Friday, May 9, 2025 Handshake Just In Time Virtual Fair (Engineering) – link coming soon

Trojan Talks Employers share information about their organizations and provide students a chance to network with recruiters and alumni. To learn more review “What is a Trojan Talk” and view Upcoming Trojan Talks.

Handshake is USC’s university-wide career services management platform and the largest career community for college students.

In addition to hosting advising appointments and an online career resource library, Handshake serves as a job board and networking tool allowing you to connect with employers hiring for full-time roles.

We have curated a list of industry-specific job boards for industries including the Arts, Music, Environment/Sustainability, Public Policy, and Management Consulting.

Tip: Visit the page What Can I Do With This Major and select a major/field of interest. Next scroll down to the bottom to view the headings “Related Resources” or “Employment Opportunities” to view additional industry-specific external job boards.

• Job Aggregators
  • LinkedIn
  • Indeed
  • Hiring Cafe – highly filterable
  • Drafted – apply with a video-based resume
  • Bandana – map out job opportunities based on commuting
  • CareerOneStop – US Department of Labor tool for jobs, training, and career exploration

• Find opportunities outside the private sector
  • USAJobs.gov Federal Pathways Program for roles in government
  • Idealist.org Nonprofits
  • unistart Start-Ups

• Job shadowing
  • Forage is a platform providing virtual job simulations and short courses to build real-life skills for real-life roles, offering a window into company and a preview of their day-to-day. 
• Short term experiences
  • Parker Dewey provides micro-Internships, short-term, paid, professional projects which are open to all college students and recent graduates of U.S.-based institutions.
  • Extern provides short, online, project-based work experiences offered by employers ranging from Fortune 500s to startups.
• Staffing/Temp Agencies – short term opportunities that might lead to longer term employment
  • Insight Global

• Refer to our Gap Year Preparation page
• The Academic Honors and Fellowships office (STU 300) has an Alumni & Graduate Students page
• Pre-Grad & Pre-Law Advising (GFS 320) sponsored by Dornsife provides support for students from all majors
• Pre-Health Advising (HNB 120) supports students seeking admission to a health professional program after graduation

For an overview visit our Interview Preparation page containing sample questions, tips for navigating different types of interviews, and resources for practice.

The Career Center offers mock interviews upon request and you can also access 24/7 prep using Big Interview (learn more below).

For an overview visit Salary Negotiation and What To Consider When Evaluating A Job Offer.

• Review our Career Development process for International Students
• Learn more about OPT from the Office of International Student Services

• Check out our YouTube playlist Tips for International Students

• Identify OPT-friendly and sponsoring employers using the Job and Internship Search for International Students resource page on Handshake

Career Advising for Recent Grads

• Learn more about Alumni Career Services
• Graduates from the past 3 years may request four quarterly 30-minute appointments per year during the three years following graduation by emailing careers@usc.edu

Handshake

• Accessing Handshake Until Graduation: Please be aware that you can continue signing in with your USC NetID and password until you lose access to your USC email which typically occurs within 3-6 months following graduation.

• Transition to alumni access without having to sign up again by doing the following:
  • Update your primary email address to a non-USC email – Step 1 Instructions
  • Create a new password – Step 2 Instructions

• Need Help? If you can’t access Handshake following graduation you may submit the following Alumni Handshake Request Form for assistance.

Resources not available to alumni users

• VMock
• Vault
• Management Consulted