Privacy settings
If you posted it, they can find it. As you enter into the professional world, be extremely careful with the public record of your online activity. Almost every hiring manager will do a basic search on Google or Facebook for inappropriate or embarrassing information or pictures. Take a preemptive step and limit your privacy settings to immediate friends and family.

Sharing job links
Today’s job market is more competitive than ever and you’ll need every available advantage to land that first gig. If you’ve discovered a job positing or company website that seems perfectly suited to your skills, keep it to yourself. You don’t want competition from friends or acquaintances on social networking sites that are looking for careers in the same field as you.

Over-networking
When it comes to social networking, quality counts for a lot more than quantity. You’ll want to explore every possible option among your professors, relatives, past coworkers and friends for viable job leads. However, avoid connecting with random individuals on sites like LinkedIn if you have no real-life affiliation with them. If you’re looking to introduce yourself to an HR manager at a potential employer, send them a friendly email instead.

As you begin to receive more complex assignments at your office, don’t be afraid to reach out to your coworkers for help. Bonding over work-related issues is one of the most common ways work friendships begin. Even if you aren’t having that much of a problem with your task, consulting someone for some general advice or pointers will help break the ice.

Food brings people together and the most social part of any office comes during lunch break. If you see a group of coworkers heading out to a local sandwich shop or the cafeteria for a bite to eat, ask to join them. Meeting people during lunch will also help ensure that you’re not interrupting anyone while they’re working on something important.

Notebook
Within minutes of arriving at your new job, you’ll be receiving a ton of information about your coworkers, the company, ongoing projects, your daily responsibilities, computer passwords and more. Bring a trusty notebook along for the ride to keep tabs on all the advice your supervisor will give you.

Personal information
If you plan on getting paid, you’ll have to bring along some personal information and documents to help human resources and payroll sort out your paycheck. Typically, employers require a voided check, Social Security card and driver’s license to enter you into their payroll system. If you grew up abroad, you’ll also need any relevant passport or visa documentation.

Lunch money
A great way to make friends and get to know your coworkers is by eating with them. Rather than brown bagging it on your first day, bring along some extra cash and try to join some of your new colleagues for a bite in the cafeteria or a nearby restaurant.

Start shaking hands
While you may learn the names of everyone around you by your first day, your coworkers may have instantly forgotten your name. As in any job, internship success depends as much on your professional relationships as it does on your abilities. If you want to stick around past graduation, make sure the right people remember your name and why you matter.

Know the lingo
Many internships provide a mixture of menial and meaningful assignments. You may be making coffee one minute and sitting in on a client call another. Standing out among your peers during those vital assignments requires having an insider’s level of knowledge about your work. Make sure you’re well-versed in trade news, company history, past projects, company jargon and other professional details that point to a potential employee.

Keep busy
If you find yourself without an assignment, look around for one. Your supervisors and coworkers will not only be impressed that you completed an assignment, but that you came straight to them for another one afterwards. Developing a “go-getter” reputation around your office is a helpful step towards convincing your boss to hire you full-time.

Before you approach any of your professors, intern supervisors or previous employers about giving you a recommendation, make sure these are really the people you want. While you might have a great relationship with your former boss at a summer restaurant job you worked, this person’s endorsement won’t count for much when you’re applying to jobs in finance. Make sure the people you select are relevant to your chosen career path.

It’s also important that you give your professional and academic references plenty of advanced notice. You don’t want them to receive an unexpected phone call from a hiring manager one day, so make sure you ask early so they can prepare glowing comments about you. This consideration is also good manners, which will score you further points when a former professor explains to a potential employer your finer aspects.

Get creative
When crafting a resume and cover letter, you may have heard that going in a creative direction can help you stand out in the crowd. While this might be acceptable in more artistic professions, stick to a traditional business format for most other career paths. The best way to stand out is through a well-written cover letter and impressive resume – colorful designs won’t help.

Passive applying
If your application process involves finding an online posting, submitting your application and waiting to hear back, you’re not doing enough. This type of passive applying can yield results, but typically you should be more proactive by following up with hiring managers, networking and requesting informational sessions. A multifaceted approach is the best way toward scoring an interview.

Low expectations
In a competitive job market, it might seem like a good idea to lower your expectations regarding salary and benefits to make yourself seem more attractive and affordable to employers. However, hiring managers don’t like to hire people who undervalue their worth – they’re looking for the best candidates, not the cheapest.

Freelance
Even with a wealth of classroom and internship experience, it can be difficult to score a full-time newsroom job right out of college. Instead, consider seeking out some freelancing opportunities at local newspapers, magazines and online to develop connections and establish a real-world reputation in journalism. You’ll have to work hard to find stories and earn a decent salary, but you’ll have taken an important step toward achieving your dream.

Small town papers
While you might have your sights set on working at major outlets such as the New York Times or Washington Post, you might have to begin your career working at a local small-town newspaper. You may not be covering national events, but you’ll gain experience in the fundamentals of news writing and reporting.

Create a blog
Journalism employers want to see that you’re a prolific and active writer in all aspects of your life. In addition to professional work, you may want to create a blog to exhibit different examples of your work while establishing a stronger online presence.

With the rise of the internet, mobile devices and social media, the marketplace looks far different than it did even five years ago, and companies that don't keep up with the changing trends are at risk of getting left behind by the best and brightest applicants. Here are three things to keep in mind about what recent college graduates expect from employers.

Social media policy
Let's face it, organizations who haven't already developed some sort of a social media strategy are way behind the curve. Between sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, an increasing number of job applicants – young and old – are turning to social networking tools to drive their career search. Not only are these websites great resources for posting and sharing available positions, but they also allow candidates to network with industry professionals quickly and easily. A strong online presence demonstrates that a company is on top of the latest wave of technological innovations – an important distinction for a competitive organization.

Small companies
In the past, working for a large organization meant greater opportunities for professional growth, but today many young people are getting their start in smaller companies. Offices with only a handful of employees provide a chance for recent grads to distinguish themselves and take on more responsibility, instead of struggling to stand out among hundreds of coworkers.

Career advancement
While salary and benefits are ever-important factors for job seekers, many young people don't mind working for reduced compensation so long as they know there are opportunities to advance at the company. Unless businesses know how to groom recent hires for higher positions within a year or two of starting, they can expect those employees to begin looking for another job before too long.

Get some rest
Nothing will ruin your attitude like feeling out of sorts when answering tough questions about your educational and professional background. To prevent this calamity from ensuing, make sure you eat a healthy, well-balanced meal the night before – avoiding hot spices or heavy red meat that can interfere with getting a good night’s sleep and cause discomfort the next morning. Additionally, make sure you go to sleep early to look and feel your best.

Study common questions
While your interviewer will no doubt try to throw some curve balls your way in the meeting, most interview topics are derivations of common questions that many employers use. Scour the internet for general subjects and queries relevant to the job you’re applying for and come up with some thoughtful responses.

Practice
Writing down answers to questions is one thing, but speaking them out load in a professional, coherent manner is another matter. Grab a parent, sibling or friend to play the role of interviewer to allow you to practice your responses and identify any problem areas you need to smooth out.

Get there early
If your meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m., get there at 8:30 a.m. There’s nothing worse in establishing your reputation as a reliable and professional individual than looking like you just sprinted to make the interview on time. This will give you some breathing room to mentally prepare and announce your arrival to the secretary. Don’t make your interviewers wait for you.

Put your papers away
While not as bad as showing up late, allowing a hiring manager to see you pouring over notes and rehearsing answers in the waiting room won’t help your chances of landing the job. When your interviewer comes to greet you, you should make him or her believe that you’re already fully prepared, not somewhat ready.

Dress well
Even if the interviewer and rest of the office staff are dressed in casual attire, your interview outfit should exude serious professionalism. If you land the job, you can adjust you apparel to match the office culture.

As you likely don't want to blindly disqualify certain people without further investigation, it would take far too much time and effort to bring each one in for a regular interview. In cases like these, the preliminary interview is particularly useful for narrowing the candidate field. Here are some tips to help get your initial conversation off on the right foot.

Typically, preliminary job interviews are conducted over the phone, as this is a good way to impress the more casual and convenient nature of the discussion. This will also help put less qualified candidates off their guard with the chance they will reveal some damning piece of information that will make your decision much easier. To keep the ball rolling, only set aside 15 to 30 minutes for the call so as not to cross into in-depth interview territory.

As you begin the phone call introductions, provide a little bit of information about the job to establish the type of candidate you're looking for right off the bat. Next, a series of general questions about the applicant's educational background, internship history, career aspirations and work ethic will also give you a sense of his or her character. While you don't want to get too tricky, some common yet difficult questions like "What was the most difficult obstacle you had to overcome at your last job?" or "What is your greatest weakness?" can gauge the person's ability to provide a succinct and appropriate answer under pressure.

Once you've taken a brief survey of the applicant pool, you can decide who sounded like the strongest candidates, and call them in for a more formal interview.

Backpack
Even if you’re wearing a suit that screams professionalism, this look can quickly be undercut by something as simple as a backpack. While this accessory was great for lugging books around in college, it’s a surefire way to remind coworkers of your inexperience as a recent college graduate. Instead, pick up a leather briefcase, messenger satchel or bag that’s better suited to office culture.

Ill-fitting clothes
Making sure your clothes fit well is another important step in establishing your workplace reputation. If you show up on your first day in a suit that’s clearly too large or a skirt that’s too revealing, it shows that you don’t understand the importance of office attire – the mark of someone fresh out of college.

Wrinkles
Finally, take the time to iron your clothes weekly so they look crisp and clean at work. Showing up every morning with wrinkles and creases in your newly-bought professional apparel is almost worse than donning a wrinkle-free T-shirt and jeans.

Avoid complete sentences

While every academic instinct in your body might resist this, you should avoid using complete sentences in your resume. Hiring managers will only glance at your application for a couple of minutes at most, so include brief chunks of only the most important information.

Keyword inclusion

The language you used in your resume might be succinct and well-crafted, but it may not be the language employers are looking for. As you read over job descriptions that list requirements and qualifications, include these key terms in your application – this will help you stand out as an ideal candidate.

Colorblind

Unless the position you’re applying for specifically asks for creative applications, stay away from overly colorful designs when making your resume. A single color to offset the all-black text is usually OK, but don’t go any further than that – you’ll only achieve making hiring managers chuckle.

The U.S. Department of Labor's April job report found that only 115,000 new positions were added last month – a significant drop-off considering the numbers were nearly double that at the beginning of 2012.

While the survey did note that the national unemployment rate dropped from 8.2 to 8.1 percent, this shift is hardly of much significance in the overall economic picture. In fact, this dip in unemployment is likely down to approximately 342,000 workers abandoning the job search in April, reports The New York Times.

It remains unclear what the next several months will hold in terms of hiring, but further stagnation could mark a major roadblock toward economic recovery.

"I think you're going to have crosscurrents," said chairman of President Obama's Council of Economic Advisors Alan B. Krueger to the news source. "One factor is that extended benefits have kept people in the labor force. But then some of the reforms that the president proposed and that Congress has passed will encourage the unemployed to search for a job."

Office Space
Mike Judge’s cult comedy classic tells the story of white collar drone Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) who hates his job working at Initech, but desperately fears losing his job. Stressed and overworked, Peter visits a hypnotherapist in order to help him cope with his miserable office life. However, the therapist dies in the middle of Peter’s hypnosis, leaving him in a subdued and carefree state – one which prompts him to attempt embezzling money from his company.

The Pursuit of Happyness
Will Smith and real-life son Jaden star as Chris and Christopher Gardener in the acclaimed drama, The Pursuit of Happyness. Based on a true story, the film follows the due as father Chris struggles to make it as a homeless salesman in San Francisco after losing his family’s life savings in a bad investment.

Falling Down
In Falling Down, Michael Douglas stars as William Foster, an unemployed defense worker who decides he’s had enough of the corporate grind. While trying to get home for his daughter’s birthday, Foster encounters all manner of obstacles which cause him to go on a crime spree across Los Angeles.