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Getting a good job today can be a challenge, so finding your dream job is an even more daunting task. The majority of graduates who get their dream jobs are either well connected or attended an IVY league college.

Merely . Impeccable educational qualifications do offer an entry point, but you will often find that they are only a part of the package that potential recruiters seek.

Recent data shows that a shocking . These talented and driven people are often found working in low-wage or part-time jobs. Hence, there is a need for creativity to ensure recruiters can spot you in the crowd.

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Here are five tips that will increase your chances of landing your dream job.

1. Create a professional online presence with LinkedIn.

Having a professional online presence is one of many critical steps in ensuring you land your dream job. Today, the most popular platform for professionals is . Statistically speaking, recruiters and hiring managers use LinkedIn more than any other website. Build a strong LinkedIn profile by documenting your professional achievements and experience.

Be sure to list any menial jobs you’ve held. They not only convey that you are enterprising, but also show that you have successfully shouldered responsibility. You can even list your extracurricular activities and throw in a few of the awards you have earned.

2. Network.

After establishing a professional presence online, it is important to start making connections and associations. This point reinforces the indispensability of professional social media platforms such as LinkedIn. The platform is essential for professional engagement, and you should prefer it to the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

A brick-and-mortar alternative to LinkedIn would be your college’s career services center. Arguably, the best these offices can offer for your career prospect is connecting you with alumni that work in your field of interest. Most colleges now have a database of previous students and where they currently work. Try to get it touch.

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3. Get an internship quickly.

Another secret to landing your dream job is your ability to commit. One of the best ways to show your commitment is to drop the break-after-graduation notion. While summer internships are a great idea, . Most of the big companies may not hire you right out of college, but they will more likely consider offering you an internship, often without pay. Showing you are committed to your intended career will certainly increase your chances.

4. Find a good mentor, or be a good mentee.

Securing the guidance and help of a mentor will greatly help. Recent research studies indicate that the highest percentage of students who claim to have at least one mentor chose their parents. Next are those who enlisted their professors, family or friends.

While parents, teachers, relatives and others in your circle can be a tempting option, you should expand your search. Find experts and professionals working in your desired field. Make sure they are people you can relate to. Get some of their books if they have written any and make an attempt to understand their experiences.

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5. Get certified in the industry you wish to work in.

Many graduates think their college courses alone prepare them for their dream jobs. The reality is usually a lot more demanding. Millennials just out of college can be overwhelmed by the demands of their dream jobs and often realize they fall woefully short. To avoid a situation where you are intimidated by the expectations of your job, it is advisable to opt for specialization courses that offer a much more focused outlook, and skill sets that are more suited for your dream job.

Getting certified is an added advantage. Many of these training platforms are partnered with major industry players.

Social media plays a valuable role in , sales, and more. That’s why it’s vital for your company to keep up with new social media channels and constantly evolving practices. Knowing who your is and what the best times to post are key components toward an effective social media strategy.

Start by conducting industry research and checking out your competition’s social channels. You may be overwhelmed by the number of posts out there and find yourself confused about when you should deploy your own content. That’s why, after analyzing 17.5 million social media posts by 17,737 brands, marketing analytics software provider has released its .

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The best times to post vary by industry, channel and target audience. On five of the major social media networks — Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Pinterest — user interaction peaks at certain times. The report reveals that Thursday at 5 p.m. (all times Eastern) is an ideal time to send out a tweet, while Thursday at 8 p.m. provides the greatest chance of a customer clicking, liking, sharing or commenting on a Facebook post.

Fridays evenings are an ideal time to reach Instagrammers, and Pinterest’s peak hour is 1 a.m. on Friday. Unsurprisingly, Wednesday morning is an effective time for a LinkedIn post — you’re most likely to get in touch with business professionals before they start the work day.

The report also examines post times specific to 75 industries. From airlines/aviation to fashion to law, optimal post times differ according to when target and followers tend to check their social accounts. In the aviation/airline industry, the best time to post on Twitter is 1 p.m. on Friday — probably because people are preparing for trips or commuting. For the architecture industry, the best time to send a tweet is on Saturday morning when people have time away from work to think about home projects or renovations.

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When and what to post on your brand’s social media channels is different for every business. Often, what you post on Facebook will not be suitable for Pinterest. Or even if it is, the best post times for each will likely differ. Being in tune with your audience and understanding which types of content work for which channels will help you devise a strong .

Check out the graphic below to find out what times your company should be posting online, or click  to download TrackMaven’s Cheat Sheet for 75 Industries.

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With the dawn of the IT age in India, one has seen umpteen number of coders mushroom across India. Some do it for a living and seek this talent to get employed, while some just cultivate this as a passion and hobby.

While are a number of employment opportunities available, picking the right person for the job has become a challenge for companies like Amazon, LinkedIn and many others. What comes to an employer’s rescue is an online platform like HackerRank, where coders are ranked on the basis of their skills evaluated by the codes submitted by a coder. Organizations like Amazon, LinkedIn, Quora and Facebook use HackerRank’s platform to hire top coders from across geographical dimensions worldwide and India.

In an email interaction with co-founder Harishankaran Karunanidhi, who is also the chief technology officer at the company, we tried to figure out as to what these biggies actually look for in young coders today!

What do key recruiters like Amazon, LinkedIn look for in coders prior to hiring them?

Companies like Amazon, LinkedIn hire candidates who are the best in town. They look out for the most talented of the lot. Companies like Amazon and LinkedIn certainly prefer candidates who think beyond just college curriculum, but look to actively get involved in various other open source projects or be part of competitive online programming communities like the HackerRank community that has a strength of over 1.5 million coders. This gives access to open source projects that help the individual to understand the industry need and thus hone their coding skills accordingly. A coder is also expected to do background research on the company he plans to join, and should have strong sector knowledge. This approach will help the coder align quickly with the business needs of the company and come up with solutions accordingly. Programming skills are soon becoming even more significant, and rapidly turning into the core competency for all kinds of coding related jobs. Hence a coder looking for that should get coding online and hone their skills because working and reworking a resume will not land a coder with a job anymore.

Two college mates, Harishankaran and Vivek Ravisankar identified the flaws in the recruitment process in colleges. Traditionally recruitment was manual, tedious and time consuming. This meant, some brilliant minds sometimes weren’t uncovered simply because traditional methods made it difficult to find them – or they were not privileged enough to go to a tier 1 college.

The duo wanted to solve this problem and make hiring more transparent, simpler, effective and efficient so that every coder gets equal opportunity. They then made a product that disrupted the tech hiring space. What started as a software which helped students evaluate their coding skills soon became a platform that ranks programmers based on their coding skill. The platform ranks programmers based on their coding skills, helping companies source great programmers and reduce the time to hire.

Tell us something about the quality of coders in India? Is there an oversupply according to you?

There is certainly a demand for good coders in the industry as every company is transforming itself into a tech company. Requests for coders are coming from the most unexpected quarters like financial companies and banks. This provides tremendous scope to programmers nationwide to put their skills to use. Also, the enterprise sector in India has a strong holding with some of the IT bellwethers like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Microsoft etc constantly on the lookout for talented programmers. There is a sudden boom in the startup ecosystem over the last decade and due to this, there are plenty of opportunities in the offering. All one has to do is grab it.

Tell us about the key challenges a coder faces in India for getting hired.

The Indian education system leans more towards a theoretical approach as opposed to a practical one. Unfortunately this does not favor students pursuing technology. Recruiters want to hire programmers who are well versed in applying the latest technology but the candidates fall behind in this aspect. Technology is ever evolving and candidates have to keep up. One of the ways to do this is take part in more competitive coding contests to stay on top of the game.

Over the last five years, HackerRank community has grown to 1.5 million users and the company aims to touch 2 million this year. Since enterprises are the key focus, adding new clients to the company’s portfolio will continue to remain a priority.