It has been almost a year since I've graduated college and I want to do a little reflection of the things I wish I knew before graduating college.
So here's the TEN Things I Wish I Knew Before Graduating College:
1. Friends will come & Friends will go: Under different circumstances, you can really judge who's there for you by who's there during your success (graduation ceremony) AND your downfalls. Don't hold on to friendships just because you've been friends since diapers. People change. Change is GREAT. & if they don't change then....that's a problem.
2. Get an internship/co-op during the semester: This will help TREMENDOUSLY when you are job searching. By having that experience employers will WANT to hire you before some one that only has a college education & no work experience.
3. Save more, Spend Less: I am definitely guilty of having refund checks & spending them on ANY&EVERY thing. In reality, you'll have to pay all of that back. So instead of saving for an expensive Spring Break trip with your friends. I would suggest saving more than you spend.
4. Your GPA DOES matter: This really depends on your major but if you have no work experience, employers will look else where (your GPA) & if it's really low... what else can you offer?
5. Having a mentor will help in decision making: During college I had a few advisors that I would go to for decision making in my major but as far as my career path I didn't really have a mentor. Now that I am in my career, I see how important it is to have a mentor specifically someone that has been down the same path that I am going on.
6. You may or may NOT get a job that is in the field of your major: As I reflect back on college, I learned a lot in 4 years but I also realize that my career path and my life aspirations may NOT follow my degree plan. I'm okay with that. I have things that I am passionate about & it makes life more interesting than just following a "plan" set by society.
7. Getting Certified: Whether it's CPR certified, CPA certified, or Microsoft certified, get some type of certification will help you stand out in the job search.
8. College will NOT teach me everything about the adult world: Life is all about lessons learned and college cannot teach you that in just 4 years.
To be more specific: College doesNOT teach us about filing taxes, getting a mortgage, or credit scoring.
9. RESEARCH: Google is the main source of researching for me. I've used Google to guide me through just about everything in life. At some point in life you have to stop depending on everyone else to give you the answers & begin searching for answers on your own.
"How to get into grad school?" "How to find my passion?" "How do I get certified?"
10. Don't depend on the validation of others: I'm guilty of this as well. I would ask my friends or my sisters for validation. Like "does this look right?" "is this okay?" "should I do it this way?"
Whatever makes you happy. Just go out & do it! If you fail, OH WELL. If you succeed, GREAT! Now keep pursing your dreams, but don't ask someone to validate YOUR dreams.
Need a little help with your resume? Check out my Tips on Resume Writing post.
What's one thing you wish you knew before graduating college?
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