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It is about that time where college students become graduates. With graduation around the corner, are you ready to put your best foot forward in your next job interview?

I’m getting a lot of personal website requests from students worrying about getting their name out and making a good impression on their potential employers. Do you have a website that displays your best work and your resume? Well lets step back. Do you even have a resume? If not, I compiled a list of steps to keep up with with the latest tactics in landing your first job!

Step 1: Start with the basics. Create your paper resume. Remember that employers get piles and piles of these darn things, so keep it simple, well-written, and to the point. If you don’t have much to put down yet, don’t add fluff.
Great starting points- vault.com, about.com

Step 2: If you want a professional job, act the part. Get your thoughts organized. I posted a video on productivity. There are many resources on the internet about productivity. Also reading up on articles within your industry helps your keep in that mindset and stay focused. The power of Google!

Step 3: Start creating your online presence and networks. There are so many social networking sites. They are all free. By joining these social networks, you can expand your network and also create a web presence. Join these websites and keep your message consistent.

• LinkedIn – Social networking for professionals. Expand your network and also allows you to get recommendations from your fellow professionals! Here is a nice article on how to use it!
• Facebook – Social networking. Stay connected with your friends, family, and people you meet along the way!
• Flickr – Photo sharing website.
• Twitter – Share you thoughts in 140 words or less with others you know or just meet!
• Mashable – Social bookmarking
• Delicious – Social bookmarking
• StumbleUpon – Social bookmarking
• Tumblr – Easy blogging Tumbling!

Look at all the social networks there are!

Step 4: Create a business card. You can create free business cards at vistaprint. I personally would suggest investing in nice business cards once you have a good design in mind. You can also get them done at vistaprint. I’m sure you’ve all seen this video if you have been looking at making a business card.

Step 5: Create a website. Key things to have on your website are: resume, about you, your best work, way of contacting and connecting with you. Be sure to link all the social networks you joined! You can easily make a website yourself using such tools as google sites or weebly.

Step 6: Advertise yourself! Start passing out your business card, start talking up your twitter/social networking sites, start blogging, do whatever you need to do to get your name out there!

Let me know what you think! And be sure to follow my tweets @ryanscottlum