Yesterday I had an interchange with a mom whose daughter is wondering what her next steps will be after college. I am very sensitive to this subject since my graduation from college found me thoroughly confused and worried about next steps. I didn't know what to do or where to go. I wasn't prepared for this step and had a rocky year of finding my way. Since then, I've always wanted to help people in a similar situation.
Dream
It is important to dream about what you really want. Spend some time writing about your "dream self/direction" and read a few books with exercises that help you find your way. The book that helped me a lot and has recently helped my son is What Color is your Parachute?
Don't stay stuck
Too often when people don't know what to do, they stay stuck. Rather than stay stuck, get out and do something--anything is better than nothing. For example, if you're not sure what your dream direction or job is now, take something that interests you. One of my sons worked at a local Kohl's store when he was in a transition state. While retail was clearly not his dream direction or job, he learned a lot about people as well as important skills while working at Kohl's. It was much better than sitting at home waiting for his dream job.
Job hunting
There are many positive avenues for finding a good job. Employ all or some of these paths:
- Resume/Cover Letters: Make sure that you have a good online/offline resume and cover letter template to use as you search for a job. There are countless articles online about how to create that resume and college career centers can help you with that too.
- Networking: Find and meet with people who work in fields that interest you. Most people love to talk about their professional choices and paths. If you think you'd like to work in a particular field, find someone who works in that field, meet with them, and learn about what they recommend with regard to getting into that field. Often those networking meetings lead you to a job. Many are too shy to do this, but it is very valuable. So it's important to move beyond your reservations and get out there and meet with people.
- Linked-In: Many people get their jobs via Linked-In. Learn how to make a good Linked-In account. Make that account and check it daily with regard to job prospects and networking.
- Social Media Accounts: Assess your social media accounts. Are you portraying the kind of person people would want to hire or do you need to clean up and update your accounts so you look more professional and hireable.
- Job Search Sites: My favorite site right now is Indeed Jobs, but there are many other good job search sites. Check Indeed and other sites regularly. Search in a variety of ways--search by salary, location including virtual, job titles, days listed and more. Play around with the search features to see what's available.
- College Career Centers: If you attended college or trade schools, access their career center supports. Most higher education centers fund career centers. You paid your school fees and are now entitled to utilizing the expertise those centers provide. Call them up. Review their websites. Ask them what they can do for you.
- Paid Internships: Often the best jobs after college are paid internships--these paid internships teach you a lot about specific professional paths and pay you too. You can find paid internship listings on college career center websites and job search sites. You can access college career center sites from colleges other than the college you attended. Often it's best to access college career sites that are close to where you live or where you want to live to find jobs in the location you want.
- Volunteer Work: If you're looking for work, you may want to get involved in volunteer work. Often volunteer work introduces you to good people and organizations that beef up your resume and may lead to a good job too.
- Entry-level position at a notable company: Any job at a notable, successful company can be a good job. Even if you start out in the mail room, successful companies have many paths to moving up, additional training and a good future.
- Employment Agencies: Way back, I actually got my first good job via an employment agency. I didn't know what to do or what exactly I wanted. I brought my art portfolio and resume into the agency and I got a job that day.
- Temp work: A temp job via an agency can be a good first job if you don't know what you want.