Once you’re done with your examinations, the first thought that comes to your mind is “okay, now what?” You may decide to go on that trip that you have always been planning to or you could use the time right after graduation to start preparing for the future ahead. You also would need to figure out whether you want to start looking for a job, intern somewhere, or pursue higher education.
It can be a stressful time, so it’s important to make plans much before you graduate to plan out your future. As you decide your future path, here’s how you can make the most of recharging yourself and scripting your future story.
1. Optimize your LinkedIn profile
For most employers, your LinkedIn profile is what creates the first impression. Your educational qualifications, work experience, soft skills and articles play a huge role in describing you as a potential candidate. Therefore, make it a point to keep your profile professional and clean. These are some of the things that you can do to improve your LinkedIn profile –
- Change the username on your profile to match it with your original name
- Fill in the details and network with people all around the globe
- Choose a good-quality, professional-looking photograph as your display picture
- Follow pages that are related to your field of interest
- Update your educational qualifications and work experience
- Fill in all the sections such as volunteer, skills and certifications
- Post engaging and valuable content
- Interact with your network
Upgrade your profile to one of LinkedIn Premium for a month, so that you can measure yourself against the other candidates. Message the top recruiters in your field, watch online courses and highlight your skills among your competitors.
2. Networking is important
Taking it from the earlier point, sign yourself up for various seminars and events that are even remotely related to your field of study. When you’re a college student, the people who have mentored you during your internships can be a great source of networking. You might just meet someone who inspires you to follow a much-coveted career path of your choice. You need not always be a member of a particular college club to attend the event, nor do you need to be accompanied by your friends. Instead, you can very well connect to a professional and ask their advice regarding your chosen career choice. In the end, you’ll find that your communication skills have greatly improved and that you have become an efficient communicator over time.
3. Get down to job-hunting
If you are job hunting, you might spend days sending out job applications to companies all over the city (or country). It can get really frustrating, but you need to fine-tune your covering letter, CV and work experience according to each job position. Keep your chin up, and you’ll find something that’s made just for you.
4. Engage with friends
Coming down to the recharging part now, your friends can be your biggest support system when you’re out of college. When you’re not in front of the laptop, spend some quality time with your friends – like having a sleepover, a girls’ night out or a friends’ date. Once you get down to work, you might find it difficult to talk to them all the time. So, set up calling schedules with your friends and stay in touch.
5. Make your (to-be) long-distance relationship a priority
Romance can suffer after you’ve graduated from college, as both of you could move away from each other. Spend as much time with your partner as you can, and talk about what to expect when you’re in a long-distance relationship. Things are going to change, but you can challenge yourselves to remain in love despite being away from each other. Keep open lines of communication with each other, schedule Skype/Facetime sessions, phone calls and surprise visits.
6. Celebrate your newfound independence
Though moving away from your loved ones can be a heart-breaking experience, graduation can pave the way to your own freedom. Now that you can be anything that you want, break out of your comfort zone and explore your potential. Learn a new language, take up a new hobby (create that YouTube channel that you’ve always dreamt of) or join the local book club or social club to make some new friends.
7. Take care of yourself
If you’ve been someone who has had a pizza every other week and has never set foot in the gym, you have a chance to change things. Check out the nearby gyms, which often have exciting membership discounts depending on the time of the year. Alternatively, make it a point to meet up with friends and go on one-hour walks together. Apart from keeping you physically active, aerobic exercises help you combat anxiety and depression as well. Eat healthily, and look up ways on how to prepare yourself up to simple meals while on a budget.
8. Be responsible for your finances and health
Now that you’re a self-dependent adult, you’re expected to maintain your own finances. Therefore, learn all you can about taxes, referrals, insurances and other things. Also, start looking for a medical professional if you have any serious physical or mental health conditions. Your doctor will equip you with extra medication while you’re on the search.
Graduating from college means that you have to be in charge of a whole lot of new situations that you hadn’t expected or dealt with before. Well, now it’s your time to experience the new stage of adulting and winning the game of life. The most important thing is not to compare yourself with your peers – everything works at its own pace. So, get out there and start your brand-new life in the best way possible!
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Author: Emily Connor
I am Emily Connor, a 26-year-old psychology student, and a content contributor at http://www.
