Five job-hunting myths dispelled

It can be hard to know what advice to take when you leave university and start job-hunting. Most academic courses don't have modules on 'how to get a job', so how are graduates meant to know the dos and don'ts of the application process? Here are five common job-hunting myths dispelled, to help you seperate truth from fiction:

MYTH 1. Finding a job after uni will be easy. Contrary to what some job-sites will have you believe, taking the first step onto the career ladder is not always straightforward. Today's graduate job-seeker must be informed, persistent and focused in order to succeed. It's called job-hunting for a reason - jobs won't necessarily come to you.

MYTH 2. The more applications you make, the more interviews you will get. Resist the temptation to spread the net wider in the hope to snag an interview. Filling up the inboxes of your potential employers with un-polished and irrelevant applications will not help you one bit. Job applications take time and consideration - it will be obvious to a recruiter if you are not really interested in the post. Also be careful not to fall into the cut-and-paste trap; what you write should be specific to the company and the post, demonstrating your enthusiasm.

MYTH 3. If I lower my salary expectations, I'm more likely to get a job-offer. This is a dangerous myth to believe. If you apply for jobs that you are overqualified for, you are very likely to face rejection. You might be able to do the job well, but an employer will recognise your skills and talent and realise that you might not feel challenged in the role. Don't underestimate your own worth - look for graduate positions that will utilise the abilities you developed whilst studying.

MYTH 4. All jobs are advertised in the papers or on the web. There are many ways that job vacancies can be announced, including internal postings and word-of-mouth. It is a good idea to research companies and send out speculative letters to organisations you would want to work for - it is not unheard of for people to get jobs this way.

MYTH 5. It doesn't matter what job you accept, as long as it pays. It's a bad idea to go for a job that you don't really feel 100% about. For one thing, you spend a large proportion of your life at work, so it's important that you like what you do. A lot of the graduates we place say that they had a 'feeling' that their job choice was right - this was probably because it fulfilled most of their prerequisites. Try writing a list of the things that are important to you in a potential career - you will find that it will help you to focus your job-search.

Have you got any job-hunting horror stories? Share them with the graduate community by adding your comment below and let others benefit from your experience.