So you graduate from college and if you are lucky you’ve got
a job waiting for you (well, lucky you) but if you are like the rest of us you
are thrown into this unknown and often cruel world no one actually really tells
you about. Since it recently happened to me, I am here to tell you things I
wish I knew and also to officially go on record and say adulthood sucks!
1)
Have a plan
I wouldn’t say I didn’t have a
plan, I knew I wanted a break but I did not articulate how long of a break I
wanted. So if you know you want to get a job, start applying from your junior
year or your senior year. Do not wait till you get out of school and be like me
thinking things will take care of themselves, believe me they do not! If you want to travel and take a
break before entering the job force, make sure you have a clear cut plan of how
long you want your break to be. I repeat, HAVE A PLAN!
2)
Have a back up plan/job
I cannot stress this enough. A
professor I had once said your first job won’t be your dream job and I remember
thinking in that class that advice was not for me, it turns out I played
myself. So apply and go for that job interview you don’t necessarily want. In fact,
have multiple back ups if you can. Getting a masters might also be a great back
up, you could always become a professional student!
3)
Job search is a big pain in the a**
Now this they don’t tell you or
they do but we don’t listen, I am not too sure which one it is. Do you know how
many jobs I applied to and how many I felt were the perfect fit for me? Be
prepared it is such a draining process psychologically. The strain from applying,
then waiting for a response and if you are lucky you get a phone interview.
Then you do not hear back from the interviewer and you are wondering if you are
so bad that they could not even take the time to send you a rejection mail. Till
date, I have sent so many enquires and mails to my interviewers asking if I
made it to the second interview phase and all till now, no response!
4)
Patience is really a virtue in the hiring
process
So you apply for a job and you may not hear
from them for 3 weeks and then they take their time to interview you and get
back to you. Its like they are deliberating trying to torture you. The most
annoying one to me is when they really don’t want you and they bring up the
experience excuse, like I went through 2 interviews and you have been with my
resume for 3 weeks and you just realized I do not have the experience you require!
Like you really just wasted both our times.
5)
Keep applying
I
can not stress this enough, keep applying make linkedIn your facebook.
Seriously, I use LinkedIn more than I use both facebook and twitter combined.
6)
Do something you love and try not to get depressed:
This is easier said than done, but find time for something you love, or you
would go crazy! Find a new lobby or use your downtime to get into whatever you
never had time to do before.
7)
Pray! Pray!
8)
Save! Save!
Make sure you are saving while you are in school because you won’t know how important it is until you’re broke, like $0.25 in your account broke and believe me it is not a pleasant feeling.
Make sure you are saving while you are in school because you won’t know how important it is until you’re broke, like $0.25 in your account broke and believe me it is not a pleasant feeling.
Finally, things always get better and you are never alone.
Yours,
Seunla
.
No comments:
Post a Comment