It's the week of Graduation. You aced all your finals (surprisingly), your family and friends are in town for this special day. The day you receive the most expensive piece of paper in your life. This is the day you have been working hard for. The day that your mother will take pictures for her photo album while she cries but yet boasts about you at the employee lounge at work. The day your father will brag about while playing bingo, poker or whatever papa likes to do. The day your siblings will be envious of you but secretly really proud of you. You realize that this is the final page of this chapter. But you wake up and realize, what happens after tomorrow?
I don't have class anymore or sports or have to attend any club meetings. What do I do? Do I just go home and live in my parent's garage? What if my parents don't have a garage? Then you start to panic and these words start flashing across your forehead: "I need a job". This is the day that a lot of young adults come across. The day they start realizing they need to find a job. As students, we are programmed to be students. Our teachers and professors teach us how to answer that calculus problem on the test or how to write an essay or how to use MLA format. But the majority of us, are never trained to find a job. Where do you start?
It all starts with you. Take a moment to yourself. Take a walk, read your favorite book, watch The Hangover or whatever movie that makes you laugh, paint a picture and drink wine (it looks better after a glass of wine, trust me), or repeatedly squeeze that cute stress ball you got at that Spring Career Fair with free food and tchotchkes, that you only attended for. Take a moment to analyze who you are at this point in your life, what you want to do, your passions, your purpose, your goals, and your dreams. Take a minute to brainstorm. Brainstorm on your professional and personal goals and make sure they match up. Don't think about titles, companies, money or your student loans, or what mama or papa says.
One advice, I always give out to young adults is: Use your resources. Get in contact with your guidance counselor, your professors, network on LinkedIn, attend networking functions, be active with your alma mater community and get yourself out there. If you are a point in your life, where you still don't know what you want to do with your degree or if you are a multi-passionate person, start somewhere. Get a paid internship that has room for growth to potentially secure a full-time position and networking opportunities. You never know if a simple hello at a networking function can lead to an opportunity of a lifetime. A lot of young adults make the mistake, not knowing that they have so many resources just by being at a college or university. The resources are endless, it's all about taking the initiative.
A wonderful new resource that you can use is the Affordable College Prep team! Contact www.affordablecollegeprep.com for more information on all things college and beyond!
It's suddenly 9:00 am after Graduation Day. Coffee, Tea or Snooze?
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