Now that you’re done with college, it’s time to get a “real” job.

But how can you get the right job for you? The current market is tough, and you will need to make sure that you have an edge. It’s vital that you show potential employers that you are the right fit.

Here are 5 tips that can boost your ability to find a job after college:

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In recent years, there has been discussion over whether a college education is worth it. Indeed, in some cases, it turns out that going for a graduate degree might not be worth the cost.

Recently, though, even the value of the bachelor’s degree is being called into question. In fact, a recent study from the Center for Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University indicates that an associate’s degree might be more valuable than a bachelor’s degree — at least at the outset.

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One of the questions facing the members of Gen Y is this: Will I be ready for retirement?

There are a number of challenges facing Gen Y (roughly defined as those between 18 and 34 right now), and many of these challenges are making it difficult for members of Gen Y to plan for retirement. Many of them are struggling just to get by as it is, much less prepare for a retirement that seems a long way off.

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“Too many people believe that estate planning is simply for ‘old people’ or ‘rich people,’” says Eido Walny. Walny is the founder of Walny Legal Group, a firm that specializes in estate planning and asset protection.

“Regardless of demographic,” he continues, “there are several important parts to an estate plan that would be critically important to anyone over the age of 18. …Estate planning is more than about death.”

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One of the most difficult aspects of almost any job is the salary negotiation. When you’re asked how much you want to be paid, whether you are starting at a new job, or whether you are looking for a raise/promotion, it can be difficult to pinpoint what you’re worth.

Deciding what you’re worth spills over into helping you decide which jobs to take (if salary isn’t negotiated), as well as whether or not you feel as though you can stick with your current position.

Tom Hart is with Eliassen Group, a staffing and consulting company. “We place over 1,000 people a year in temporary and permanent positions,” he says. Hart has a few ideas for how you can figure out how much you’re worth.

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One of the issues facing women as they take on more of the breadwinning roles outside the home is that of housework.

While there are some traditional gender roles changing with regard to career and housework, there is still a gap. Even though women are starting to catch up to men in terms of number of hours spent doing paid work, they are still doing a higher proportion of the housework. A recent Pew study pointed this out, and Sheryl Sandberg addressed the issue in her book Lean In.

So, with both parents working, how do you divide up the housework?

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Not too long ago, I was on the Credit Sesame site. A little pop-up window appeared, asking me if I wanted to refinance my loan.

I’ve been wanting to refinance my home for a couple of years now. I’d asked my bank about it, but they were unwilling to go below 4% with my self-employed income. I knew that I qualified for HARP under the expanded eligibility guidelines, but my bank didn’t seem to be interested in this loan.

I put it on the back burner until I received that pop-up message from Credit Sesame. On a whim, I went ahead and clicked “yes.” Within three minutes — I kid you not — a representative from Quicken Loans was calling. I let the call go to voicemail because I was, to tell the truth, a little unnerved by how fast the lead went out.

After a week of once-daily messages from Quicken, I decided to go for it. I called and explained my situation.The loan officer told me that I qualified for HARP, and that we could start on the paperwork immediately. He assured me that my income situation wouldn’t be a problem, since I have several years of tax returns to show my income is fairly steady. It also helped that we had yet to miss a mortgage payment in five years — and we have good credit.

This was February 6.

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Toward the beginning of February, I began the process of refinancing my home with the help of Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). This is a government program that recently expanded its eligibility requirements. However, many people aren’t aware of the fact that they might qualify for this program, which is fairly helpful — if you can get through some of the nightmarish paperwork.

Another reason that others might be reluctant to take advantage of HARP is that they don’t realize that this is a legitimate program. It sounds suspicious at first, and some of the less than truthful advertising surrounding HARP has also turned off some homeowners. But, if you still have a mortgage rate above 5%, HARP, if you qualify, can be a really good thing.

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