Finding a job in today’s competitive world has many obstacles. From getting selected to attend your dream college to getting a job in today’s competitive job market after graduation, you are always competing with thousands of others to secure your dream career.

To sail through the competition, one should learn how to stand out amongst others. As a high schooler, you can take some steps to start to ensure this. An early start will give you the advantage of exploring and validating your interests fully. We have compiled a list of 6 things one must do to thrive and move ahead of the competition.

Have A Goal:

Often, we fail to define a proper goal for ourselves. Setting goals motivate us to push ourselves harder to achieve them. Of course, these goals may change as we continue through higher education and later in life, but setting a goal allows us to work towards something, even if that path changes at some point.

To do this, we advise you to use the following steps-

Try breaking down your goals into long-term and short-term plans. Short-term goals should be aligned with the long-term goals of your life.

Short-term goals are flexible and can be changed depending on the situation.

Long-term plans reflect what you want to achieve in your life. One of the most important goals is to explore and make a career plan.

As a part of long-term plans, analyze what your interests are and which career you want to pursue. For example, you can research the courses that will help you and which colleges offer those courses. Think about where you would like to see yourself in 10 years and use these long-term goals to set your short-term goals. Lastly, work hard to achieve them!

To learn more about planning a goal for your career, read our blog “How to plan a career goal in high school.”

Planning Is The Key:

We all have heard the famous saying, “Time is Money.” One thing that all achievers have in common is that they plan and prioritize their tasks. Plan your chores for the day or week using a planner. This will help you in managing your time and will get you in the habit of prioritizing your tasks from an early age. Effective use of time is often the most crucial yet easily ignored step to success.

Choose The Right Career Path:

It is essential to choose a career path that suits your personality and interests. Many people get dissatisfied with their jobs and change careers later on. Having a simple idea about your preferred career path will save you from a career-crisis later on in life.

To know about which career path fits you, try our Career Map feature. It gives top career matches for you that goes well with your personality and skills. Another simple way to be sure of your career path is to explore as many fields as possible. High school is the best time to discover fresh opportunities and gain insights into the professional world.

Learn New Skills:

Here’s a short rule- the more skills you have, the more impressive your resume will appear. Gaining new skills, especially those relevant in today’s job market, acts as an icing on the cake. You can take courses in demand to get an advantage and stay ahead in the competition.

InternMart offers many courses on a variety of trending skills. These courses are especially for high schoolers to make them career-ready. Some in-demand skills to get started include Digital Marketing, Software Programming, Content Creation, and Event Management.

Make Yourself More Employable-

To stay ahead in a competitive job market, you need to make yourself more employable. Fresh college graduates often struggle to find a job due to a lack of work experience. This is by far the most crucial step to gain an advantage over your competitors. Doing an internship in high school and college is a sure shot way to increase your employability. The hands-on training that you gain while interning will give you an unmatched benefit.

InternMart offers internship opportunities from different industries exclusively for high school students. Check out our portal and apply for your favorite internships now!

Never Underestimate Networking-

Always be on a lookout for opportunities where you can interact with professionals in your chosen industry. Networking with professionals is a great way to gain knowledge from someone experienced in the field. Career fairs are an excellent way to interact with industry leaders. Also, the next time you do an internship, try to talk to your seniors to gain invaluable insights on how to make it big in your career.

These are some fool-proof ways to thrive under competition. Millions are graduating out of college each year, and the number of graduates seeking entry-level jobs is increasing every day. It, therefore, makes it even more important that you know the correct strategies to make yourself more employable and stand apart in the job market.