Fresh Out of College… Now What?

Welcome to the professional world. Where no one cares about your attendance trophy or that one group project where you carried the team. If you’re reading this, chances are you're either looking for your first real job, stuck in the void of endless applications, or staring at your degree wondering why no one told you what actually matters.

Let’s fix that.

Your Professional Starter Pack

There are three things you must have before even thinking about sending in an application:

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1. A Kickass CV (But Not the Funky Kind)

Yes, a CV is still a thing, but it’s not a personality contest.

Think of your CV as an airport boarding pass: clear, structured, and informative.
Not neon pink. Not loaded with Comic Sans. And definitely not featuring your old Tinder profile photo.

Keep it simple. Neat layout, scannable sections, and for the love of usability - make links clickable. Don’t make me copy-paste your Behance link like it’s 2010.

Also, skip the fluff. Nobody needs to hear about your “passion for synergy” or your “proficiency in Microsoft Word.” Show what matters. Keep it real.

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2. The Cover Letter (Yes, Even If They Don’t Ask)

This is the one that separates the try-hards from the pros.

A great cover letter does two things:

• Proves you understand the company
• Shows why you’re the perfect misfit they didn’t know they needed

Don’t recycle the same block of text for every role. Hiring managers can smell generic a mile away. Make it custom. Be conversational if it suits you. Get specific.

A good cover letter sounds less like a script and more like a confident pitch from someone who gets it.

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3. Your Portfolio (The Real One, Not Dribbble)

Here’s the deal: in creative industries, your portfolio matters 10x more than your GPA.

You can be the most promising junior in the game, but if all you’ve got is a Behance link and no real breakdown of your thinking… you're not getting shortlisted.

What you need:

• A portfolio website. Your own domain. A clean, modern layout. Bonus points for having a custom email (info@yourname.com already screams "I’ve got my shit together").
  
• Case studies. Even if they’re mock projects. Walk through your process. Define a problem, show your thinking, and explain how you solved it.
  
• Use Framer. If you know your way around Figma’s auto layout, Framer will feel familiar. It’s your shortcut to building sleek portfolio sites without needing a dev.
  
  

“When people apply at Nexubis, I don’t even look at their resumes. That’s the COO’s job. I go straight to the portfolio.”

Set yours up like it matters, because it does.

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What To Do While You’re Waiting

So you’ve got the gear, sent out the apps, and now you're hitting the wall of HR ghosting. This is where most people check out.

Don't.

This is your buffer period and it’s where the real compounding begins.

Use this time to:

• Upskill. Learn a new tool. Get better at the ones you already know. You don’t need another diploma… just become more useful.
  
• Do pro bono work. Yes, free. For friends, family, lecturers, or small businesses. Turn them into real portfolio pieces.
  
• Network sideways. Reach out to peers, not just senior folks. Get into creative communities. Join Facebook groups. DM people on LinkedIn (without being weird about it).
  
  

Remember: Live projects > Mockups. And every skill you learn now is one less barrier to getting hired later.

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The 100/3 Rule

Want a job? Apply to 100 positions a week. Then wait 3 weeks before doing it again. You need volume, but you also need buffer time between rounds to avoid duplicate applications and burnout.

It’s a numbers game.
Just don’t stop at three and wonder why nobody’s biting.

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Final Thought: Momentum Looks Boring

Here’s the truth nobody wants to hear:

“It’ll feel like nothing’s happening… until everything happens at once.”

I left my first job and it took four months to land the next one. Thought I was cursed. Then three solid offers came in the same week. That’s how momentum works. It builds quietly… and then hits all at once.

So stay in the game. Get sharper. Get visible.
And for god’s sake, get that Gmail address off your CV.

You're not lost, you're just early.
Keep building.