Your first job after graduation: a practical plan

This guide is for you if you have just finished a B.Com, BA, BBA, B.Sc or any other degree and want your first proper job. You will get a way to choose a direction, the places fresher jobs are actually posted, a weekly routine, and what to check in an offer letter before you sign it.

1. Pick two or three roles, not twenty

Applying to everything feels busy, but it spreads you thin. A resume written for “any job” convinces no one. Choose two or three roles that sit close together, so one resume and one set of interview stories can cover them all.

1. Write down what you did well in college: numbers, writing, talking to people, organising events, computers.
2. Open 20 fresher job posts across the roles you are curious about. Note the tasks and skills each one asks for.
3. Pick the two or three roles where you already meet most of the must-haves. For a B.Com graduate that might be accounts executive, accounts payable associate and GST assistant. For a BA graduate, customer support, content writer and HR recruiter trainee. For a B.Sc graduate, QC chemist trainee, lab assistant and medical coding trainee.
4. Note the one or two skills you are missing for each, and learn them in the evenings: Excel, Tally, typing speed, spoken English, or the tool the posts keep naming.

2. Where fresher jobs really are

• Company career pages. Large employers such as TCS, Infosys, Accenture, HDFC Bank and the Big Four audit firms post their fresher and trainee programmes on their own careers pages. Bookmark ten companies you would like to join and check them every week.
• Campus and off-campus drives. Use your college placement cell even if your college is small. Off-campus drives are hiring rounds open to recent graduates from any college; IT services companies run them regularly, usually starting with an online test.
• The National Career Service portal (ncs.gov.in). Run by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, it lists private and government vacancies, job fairs and career counselling, and it charges no fee at any stage.
• Graduate apprenticeships (NATS). Under the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme, government institutes, PSUs and companies train recent graduates and diploma holders, including B.Com, BBA and B.Sc graduates, for six months to a year with a monthly stipend. You register on nats.education.gov.in and apply to openings there. Each notice states the stipend and the passing years it accepts.
• PM Internship Scheme (pminternship.mca.gov.in). Paid internships with large companies for young people who are not in full-time work. Since April 2026, final-year students can apply too, with a no-objection certificate from their college. The rules were revised in 2026, so read the current eligibility on the portal before you apply.
• Internships that convert. A two- or three-month internship at a firm that hires its interns full time (a pre-placement offer, or PPO) can be the shortest way in. Ask at the interview how many interns were offered jobs last year.

3. A weekly plan that works

Treat the search like a part-time job with fixed hours. This week fits around a course or a part-time job.

1. Monday: find 10 to 15 posts for your chosen roles. Keep a simple sheet: company, role, date applied, status.
2. Tuesday and Wednesday: apply to the best 8 to 10. Change your resume’s headline and skills line to match each post’s words.
3. Thursday: one hour on the skill your posts keep naming, and one polite message to a senior from your college who works in your target role.
4. Friday: practise interview answers out loud. Record yourself on your phone and listen back.
5. Saturday: follow up on applications older than a week, and check your bookmarked career pages, NCS and NATS.
6. Sunday: rest. Update the sheet and set next week’s targets.

4. Apply well

• Read the whole post. Many rejections come from missing something it clearly asked for: a location, a shift, a typing speed, a certificate.
• Use the post’s exact words for skills you really have: “Tally Prime”, “Advanced Excel”, “GST returns”.
• When a cover note is asked for, write three lines: the role, why you fit, and one proof.
• Answer screening questions honestly. Being able to join immediately is a real strength for a fresher, so say so.
• Recruiters may call from unknown numbers. Answer politely, note the company and role, and ask them to email the details.

For the resume itself, our guide on writing a fresher resume with no experience shows how to present projects, internships and part-time work.

5. Handling rejection and gaps

Rejection is normal in a first search, and most of it is silent. It rarely means you are not good enough. Often the role closed, went to an internal candidate, or needed something the post did not mention.

• After every 20 applications with no calls, change one thing: the roles, the top third of your resume, or where you apply.
• If you get interviews but no offers, practise answers out loud and politely ask one interviewer for feedback.
• A gap after graduation is fine if you can say what you did: a course, family responsibilities, exam preparation, freelance or part-time work. Say it in one line, without apologising.
• If you prepared for a government exam or for CA or CS for a while, say so. It shows discipline. Then explain why you are choosing this job now.

6. Before you sign the offer letter

Read every line. Asking questions in writing before you accept is normal and professional.

• CTC breakdown. CTC (cost to company) is not your monthly in-hand pay. Ask for the split: basic pay, allowances, employer PF, gratuity, insurance and any variable pay. Your own PF is usually 12% of basic pay plus DA, deducted from your salary, and the employer adds 12% of its own.
• Bond or service agreement. Some employers ask you to stay for a set period or pay an amount if you leave early. Find out the amount, the period, and whether it reduces over time. Be wary of any employer that wants to keep your original certificates.
• Joining date and location. Get both in writing, and ask what happens if the date is pushed back.
• Probation. Many offers start with a probation period. Check how long it is, how you will be assessed, and the notice period during probation.
• Notice period after confirmation. Note it now. It will matter when you look for your next job.
• Training and shifts. Night or rotational shifts, weekly offs, training location and any training stipend.

7. Stay safe from job scams

• No genuine employer asks you to pay for a job, a training kit, a laptop or a “security deposit”. The NCS portal itself says it never charges jobseekers any fee.
• Be careful with offers that come without an interview, or only over WhatsApp from a personal number.
• Check the company’s official website, and whether the recruiter writes from the company’s email domain.
• Never share OTPs, bank logins or card details with a recruiter.
• If you lose money, call the national cyber fraud helpline 1930 at once and file a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in. Reporting quickly gives the best chance of the money being stopped.

Mistakes to avoid

• Sending one generic resume to hundreds of jobs.
• Waiting for the perfect first job. Your first role is a starting point, not a life sentence.
• Ignoring smaller employers such as CA firms, mid-size manufacturers, hospitals and local IT companies. They hire freshers too, and you often learn more hands-on.
• Accepting an offer without reading the CTC split, the bond and the probation terms.
• Paying anyone who promises you a job.
• Going silent on a recruiter. If you take another offer, tell them politely.