This year's’ graduation is right around the corner and all of us almost-grads are trying to figure out how the rest of our lives are going to go. Not the easiest thing in the world to do, trust me. And while the debt piles up, relatives ask infuriating questions, and school gets stressful, life post-graduation does not wait for us to get our things sorted out. If you can answer these 5 important questions for yourself though, don’t stress because you are ahead of the game! If you can’t, then try to start thinking about them!
Does the place you currently work for promote from within?
Trying to find a full time position after college is one of the most stressful situations ever. The average job search (for a career position) is about 8 months- so if you are graduating this May then you better have started looking for a job last summer otherwise your search could take a while. That said, many organizations promote from within, and if you currently have a job in a company with that same policy (and you like the company) you might just be better off staying in your job and then looking for promotion opportunities. For example, many large companies have a legal department, and while you might be a server or hostess now, you could easily end up on the top of their hiring list without having to go through that eighth month job search!
How about grad school?
Grad school tends to scare off a lot of people. It is hard, time consuming, stressful, expensive and worst of all another few years of school. However, if you are not sure what you want to do within your field, going on to higher education probably won’t hurt you. Quite a few people go back to grad school after a few years getting into a field and building a career but there is no reason it has to go that way. Grad school can help you delve into your major, connect with professors and professionals in that field, give you more time to choose your career, and most likely end up in you receiving a higher salary farther down the line. Plus, it gives you more time to mature. After spending four or more years in college you would think that you would have matured enough or at least past the point of where college can help you but that is not the case. Going to grad school gives you time to get more established in the life that you are trying to grow and gets you used to more “real life” type deadlines and experiences because if you can handle grad school you can handle anything.
Where do you want to live in the future?
To some extent, finding first entry level position into your career is taking what you can get wherever you can get it. Many people that I know chose a city to look in and around and then went from there- unfortunately that does not always work and jobs can end up being hundreds of miles from where the search started. Other people do it the opposite way and apply for jobs all over the country just trying to find something. This is not a good strategy if you care about what part of the country you want to live in long term! For example, us Californians pretty much have to either stay in CA or plan on staying away. California is one of the most expensive states in the country (along with Hawaii and DC) and as such the amount of money you need to achieve the same standard of living here as in Missouri is way higher than you would think. Moving back here is not cheap! Keep that in mind when doing all this job hunting and choosing where to plant yourself!
Could anything in the next few years change your plans?
Something that we get to escape in college is thinking about the future. For the most part, we know we have another year or two left and when asked about it by other people we can laugh off that we are still in school. When you start making decisions about the future though post-graduation you have to think a little farther ahead. Are you planning to move in with a significant other or friend who is still in school? What happens when they graduate, are you going to move together? Are you planning to get married or have kids? Does your family need you to come back for some reason? It takes a few years to get settled into a new job, especially when you are trying to start something potentially long term that will affect your future. The last thing you want to do is start a job and put your time and energy into it and then have to end it and start over somewhere else. You can’t always plan for everything but it is something to keep in mind!
What do you not want to do?
Every question we get asked is “what do you want to do?” and “where do you see yourself in five years?” but that is not the important question. It is much more prudent to your future to think about what you do not want instead. There are probably multiple things that you can see yourself doing, multiple paths that you can see yourself going down. But if you can say for sure that there is something you do not want to do, some place or experience that you do not want to have, that is a good place to start! If working nine to five every day and wearing a designer suit day in and say out then that is very important to consider when you choose a job or career path. If you can’t stand making and returning phone calls or you need a job that does not require traveling then know that before you commit to something. Basically, there are certain things we can deal with and certain things we can’t and while someone who asks “what do you want to do” is trying to help you out and know a little but about your future (so prepare a good answer for them) but keep in mind your dislikes as well!
Happy graduating everyone!
