You’ve done the hard part. Your exams are over. You have a warm, sunny, beer-filled summer ahead of you…and then it’s time for the cold, hard reality of the graduate job hunt to smack you in the face. So where do you start? Why, Gumtree’s student and graduate jobs section of course!

It’s a great place to get a feel for what’s on offer in your area, the kind of wages you can expect, and the types of skills and qualifications employers are looking for from graduates right now. And once you’ve done a bit of delving into what’s on offer in the current job market, it’s time to start thinking about what you can do to stand out from that ever-growing graduate crowd.

While there’s no question that the graduate job scene has become more competitive, it doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of opportunities out there! Gumtree’s here to help you boost your chances of success.  Here are a few top tips to help you pip your competitors at the post and climb that career ladder to the stars.

Get a Life

Employers tend to look for three main qualities – knowledge, skills and attributes. To prove you’re more than just an exam-passing robot, employees want to see that you have more to offer than just pure academic ability. So get out there volunteering, travelling, or doing community work. It’ll not only broaden your range of experience, introduce you to new people and help build up your confidence, it’ll provide a great added talking point for your CV too.

Do you know where you’re going?

It can be hard for graduates to know which career path to take once their uni days are over. It’s really helpful to do a bit of research to explore your options before you go applying for any jobs. Think about the types of companies and job roles you think you might enjoy and find out more about them. Check out practicalities, like the skills and experience needed for each role, and what payscale you can expect – this way you’ll have more concrete goals to aim for.

Get social media savvy

A mistake many modern graduates make is forgetting the importance of their online footprint. Instead of spending hours and hours obsessing over your CV, in today’s social media-savvy world, remember that your online persona can say far more about you than your CV ever will.

So go ahead and Google yourself and see what comes up. Do you look employable? Maybe it’s time to delete those warehouse rave photos from Facebook eh? Or at least have a good fiddle with those privacy settings. Get onboard with more professional social media platforms like LinkedIn and Google+ that can help you network and scout for work, and remember to keep your profiles relevant and bang up to date.

But about that CV…

That said, CV crafting is still an important part of the process, as most employers require one as a must-have for graduate jobs. The important thing is to keep it clear and concise, sticking to two pages, and avoiding any fancy gimmicks, smart-alec chat, crazy fonts or wacky paper colour choices. You’ll also find useful services online where you can upload your CV and receive feedback from others – a handy way to gain a second opinion before you mail out a million copies of the thing.

Have you got any top tips for our graduate jobhunters? What helped you on your way to your dream job? Spill the beans and give these graduates their first big break!