Graduating college is a huge milestone in life, so first of all congratulations!
No one should ever make you feel that what you have achieved is nothing. The amount of work, dedication, money, time and energy that you put into your studies was everything needed for you to graduate, and graduating is a huge achievement in life.
Now that we got that settled, let me say what I have wanted to say for a long time:Welcome to the real world, as they call it.
Life in the streets is different, but here are the ten things you should do after graduation to ease the transition:
1. Rest – your mental health is important
Take sometime to rest before you start job hunting. This is also good for your mental health because, even though job hunting is a different activity, it requires similar mental energy as your studies did. So if you go straight from graduation to job hunting, you will get tired in the first three months.
2. Sign up to job advertising websites
There are several websites in the country and out of the country that post about jobs related to the field you graduated in.
Sign up so that you get updates about new jobs that they will be posting or even easily apply to jobs posted.
Here are sites that post about jobs in the country and out of the country that I recommend:
3. Sign up on LinkedIn
This is the social media platform for job seekers and people who offer jobs.
On LinkedIn you will get tips, post yourself as a job seeker, and see new jobs posted as soon as they are available on this site.
Beware of scammers, but despite that, this is a good site for you to join.
4. Take free online courses
While you are job hunting, it is important to add more skills and knowledge to your CV.
For that reason, or just to fill up your time with something else, take an online course. It will help you in the job market but also you will get to learn about new things that you are interested in that you didn’t study in college.
5. Volunteer / Intern
This is a sensitive topic these days, and I’m not going to go deeper on this issue on this article but I think it is important to gain news skills in a place where you don’t feel exploited.
I think it is also good for your CV to have couple of companies as reference to the places that you have been. So for that reason, I genuinely advise you to find a place to volunteer for some time, if you don’t get a job right away.
6. Join WhatsApp groups for fresh graduates or create one
This is what I did right after I finished my exams: Create a group of people who are in the same boat as you, for inspiration, sharing opportunities and your interview experiences, etc.
The time that you are looking for jobs can feel lonely, so it is good to have a support system, be it people who are also looking for jobs who will give you hope when they find something or just people who will give you company as your fellow job seekers.
7. Read books about graduating college, careers, and attend career workshops
To know the ins and outs of career advancement and life after college, I recommend reading books about that topic and also attending workshops.
Here is the list of books that I recommend for fresh graduates. Always be on look out for corporate events and career building workshops happening in your city.
On top of all of this, I re-emphasize you to always take care of your mental health. The transition from college to the real world can be hard sometimes, and your mental health may be affected by all the rejections and unmet expectations, change in routines, and your minimal social life now that you live far from your college friends. So it’s very important to take care of your mental health during this period of your life. In addition to that don’t feel pressured, it will all work out for you.
More on early careers:
