Martes, Nobyembre 6, 2012

Career Jump-start Tips

Know that the next few months would be the most difficult ones of your early adult life. Though human resource books always offer pleasant perspectives but it’s still a fact. Graduating from college, with or without sparkling academic honors, is just an amazing thing. After years of studying and working hard, you are finally free from all the books, exams, reports, term papers and anything that spells academic stress.

Career Jump start Tips

Feels great, right? Because it really is; and it will remain to be that way for the next few weeks or even months until it actually hits you’re an unemployed member of the working force. That is of course after realizing that you are in limbo – you’re too old to be in school but still quite inexperienced in the actual workforce. Remember that summer jobs and internships do not count as a real life work experience though they’ve earned you a couple of bucks and thought you a couple of things about the industry you wish to dominate (someday, hopefully).

This is the point where you ask: If it sounds that hopeless, what should I do? Well, just sit there and continue reading this piece. I’m going to share with you 3 helpful tips putting the post-college graduation downtime to good use.

Enjoy the moment. Nothing can be better than enjoying the fruits of your hard labor. And this is the perfect time to do that. Look back on your college days and try to get a feel of how much you’ve grown (physically, emotionally, academically, and in every other way).

Take note of the important things you’ve learned and the great people you met along the way.

Rest up. This is probably the only time in your life when being a couch potato is acceptable. Well, for the next couple of weeks or months probably. After months of rigorous academic work, followed by moving either back home or to a new city, you deserve a break. Read a book or two, watch a massive amount TV series and movies or just lay down in the park. Travelling locally or internationally would be great as well if you have the financial resources to do so.

Treat it as a summer vacation – remember, when you start working you’ll only get a few days off in a year. So make the most out of your down time by being (appropriately) wild and free as any young individual would do.

Be productive. This might seem pretty contradictory to the previous tip but it’s actually not. They even complement one another if you look at it closely. In the workforce, having long gaps between employments somewhat raises red flags. But freelancing and doing volunteer work are effective ways to combat this notion. Also, this is a great way to build a portfolio if you intend to go into graphic design, copyright and any other occupation that may need a proof of your skill level.

Simply put, just drop the plan. Getting a clear idea of what you want to do or achieve is enough to get your career rolling. Knowing where you actually want to go may be great at this point but it’s not as important – you have a couple of years to figure that out once you get a real feel of the actual working environment in your industry.

Everything changes over time; learn to embrace it to achieve success.

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