7 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I Graduated From College
1. You might not get a job immediately out of college…or for a while
We’re all indoctrinated to believe that once we step off our college campus, we’ll be handed a full-time job. The ugly truth is: life doesn’t always work that way. You may have a 4.0 GPA, graduated with honors, was the president of your college’s Student Government and did a million extra-curricular activities but that doesn’t guarantee you a job — unfortunately. All you can do is apply, network, and say a little prayer.
2. No job is too small nor too unimportant — aka get over yourself
Coming out of college, you may have expected to land a high paying job at a world-renowned company. In the case that you didn’t, you may have to lower your expectations, which can be difficult. I understand. However, once you change your perspective and realize that no job is too small nor too unimportant, your range of opportunities will expand.
3. Your ego is going to take a hit when you experience rejection, but that doesn’t mean you’re not employable
Rejection sucks. It does. You just graduated college and rightfully may expect to land a job immediately. Unfortunately, the job industry is a brutal world and you’re probably going to experience rejection. Realize that it’s not personal, and take it as a learning experience. If you go in prepared to the best of your ability, you just have to let the career gods take control for the rest of the way.
4. Making (good) friends takes time
The truth of the matter is you’re no longer in an institution where there is a readily available pool of people at your disposal to befriend. It’s rough out there in the big bad world to make one good friend. But fear not my friend, there are so many ways to meet people! “Meetups” is a great app to discover events in your area that people with similar interests attend. Chances are you’ll find people who you will connect with in your workplace or neighborhood. Give it time, don’t rush it, be yourself, and the friends will come.
5. You are your own limitation
When faced with adversaries in life, it’s easy to want to place the blame on everything around you for what’s happening in your life. It’s easy to remove responsibility from yourself and put it in the hands of others, but this method of perceiving the world isn’t helpful or productive for yourself. Once you begin to realize that you have the power to build your own success and pave the path of your life, you will begin to take the world by storm.
6. Focus on your own journey & stop comparing yours to those around you
You might be surrounded by friends who are working at highly esteemed corporations while you’re the only one without a job (or are working an unpaid internship…like me). But hey, remember that everyone’s journey in life is different and it’s pointless to compare your own unique journey to that of someone else. You are the captain of your ship, so focus on you because you’re the only one in control of yourself.
7. Believe in yourself
You graduated college — that’s an enormous feat in it of itself! You’ve done incredible, impactful things in your life thus far, so it is only logical to believe that you will continue doing such things. At the end of the day, you are the only person you are in control of, so it is necessary to believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect anyone else to?