How to Navigate Life After Graduation
“The scary news is, you’re on your own now. The cool news is, YOU’RE ON YOUR OWN NOW.”
–Taylor Swift
You might be coming up to graduating from college/university, have just graduated, or are a few years out of college. When you think about how to navigate life after graduation, you might be excited, nervous, scared, and everything in between.
As someone navigating life a couple of years out of university, I’ve learned a lot along the way. There were things I wish I could tell my younger self in preparation for this stage of life, so instead, I will share them with you.
Here are the top 5 tips you need to know about life after graduation.
1. Throw out your expectations of what you think life will look like
Most of us have a picture of how we see our lives and the future we want to build for ourselves. Most of the time things don’t work out how we saw it going post-graduation. You might expect that after you graduate, you’ll land a job in your chosen field. You might, but there’s a strong chance you won’t right out of school. I’ve always heard that everything good takes time but I didn’t really believe it until I finished my studies, and I quickly realised that the saying holds up.
I spent two years out of university hating the fields I was working in two jobs that I didn’t like, and it was starting to paint a pretty bleak picture. I hated thinking I would have to go into a job every day that I couldn’t stand just to make a living. But the reason I was so miserable was all my doing. I didn’t see that those jobs were giving me the experience I needed when I was just starting, and I didn’t have to stick with it forever.
On the other hand, it’s important to draw a line where your mental health is concerned. If something isn’t working out for you, it’s in your power to change it. Our lives are too short to waste rotting away at a desk job you hate. Find a way to change things. I used those two years out of university to build enough experience which eventually led me to a dream job, and I certainly didn’t expect to end up where I am now.
2. Finding employment – build a strong portfolio
It’s super important to have a portfolio of work when you’re applying for jobs. It sets you apart from others vying for the position but it shows that you’re invested, and employers love to see that.
When I applied to my current job, I had just uploaded a few articles onto The Glow Upgrade, and I had a published article on the AFLUA website. Sure enough, when it came time for my interview, my hiring manager asked me about them. I don’t want to say that sealed the deal, but it helped my case.
Another reason I advocate for building up a portfolio is that it gives you a sense of purpose.
When I graduated, I felt lost for a time. I was in a job that didn’t fulfil me because I wasn’t passionate about what I was working towards. So if you have something you’re passionate about and you feel that you could turn it into something that will help others, why not try and put your talents out there?
3. Finding employment – Create a good resume and cover letter
The prospect of finding work after graduation can be intimidating. You’re just starting out in your chosen industry with little to no practical experience, so what do you do?
First, you need to accept that this might take a while. It’s easy to get bogged down when you’re applying to places and not hearing back; you might start to feel like it’s too hard or you don’t have the right skills to be chosen by an employer. I’m here to remind you that that’s not the case at all.
As I said in my earlier point, building a portfolio is essential to show that you have initiative and determination in your field. The next step is to build your resume and learn how to write a good cover letter.
Your resume is a small glimpse into who you are and what you do and it’s often the first thing an employer will see. I’ve customised my own resume through Adobe, but you can find plenty of resources online to help you, such as this resume builder.
While it takes a bit more effort, your cover letter is just as important as your resume. It explains in further detail how your skills align with the position and why they should hire you. Here’s where you get to be creative, and where it also helps to have good writing skills. I believe I got my previous jobs and the one I have now, because of my ability to communicate through the written word. Honestly, I certainly wasn’t as qualified as someone more senior who would be sure to have more experience – I was just more persuasive with my writing.
4. Create employment – work for yourself
Going down the entrepreneurial route is another path you can go down after graduation, or even before. Becoming self-employed means that you can create any job you want that’s specifically tailored to your skillset. For example, you might have a degree in marketing, so a great option would be to start your own freelance digital marketing business. You might want to take some short courses to further upskill which will set you apart from the rest. It’s a great thing to build something of your own in which you can control what sort of work you do, and where you do it.
There are pros and cons to being self-employed, but a great way to get into it is to start with a side hustle. It’s much safer to work on your business in tandem with a steady job, which is still providing you with security. So many people start off that way and eventually, they’ve grown their businesses into their full-time job. Doesn’t that sound amazing? Start working hard now so that you can create the life of your dreams. It won’t be easy, but if you’re willing to do the things now that people aren’t you’ll reap the rewards in the future.
5. Start investing in finance
It’s important to look out for our future selves financially after graduation, and a great way to do that is to start investing.
You might be thinking, “I want to invest, but I have no idea where to start.” Well, many of us are in the same boat when it comes to investing in finance. It’s big and scary when you’re looking at it from a beginner’s perspective, but if you start educating yourself now, your future self will be thanking you.
I only started my investment journey this year after I started listening to the She’s on the Money podcast. I’ve discussed this podcast in one of my earlier posts, but the reason I love it is that the host, Victoria Devine, breaks down investing in super easy-to-understand terms. She also gives great advice for people with student loans, and how you can still invest while bearing this debt (and get out of debt quicker!).
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There you have it, my top 5 tips for navigating life after graduation. I could go into much further depth about each of the topics I’ve shared with you, and I certainly will in the future if you find this helpful.
