Be patient with post-grad job hunt

Question: As graduation gets closer, I still have no idea what I want to do, and I am starting to get anxious looking for jobs. Even some of my friends with jobs seem unsure of what they are doing. How do I keep looking without knowing what I want?

Your dilemma is one that everyone around you is dealing with. At the ripe age of around 20, all the answers aren’t going to be there, no matter how hard you try. Your job is to enjoy the young years, a test trial period, and find what suits you. You have spent the majority of your life in the classroom educating yourself and getting a feel for several different fields.

The few months after graduation is the time to apply those skills in the field and see where you thrive the most.

A great professor once told me to have a flexible two-year plan: never less and never more. With two years, you at least have some structured idea of what you would like to try but do not commit to a time frame that may hinder you from new opportunities.

Put together an idea of what you want to accomplish or learn about yourself in the next two years, and pursue it via the trial method. Until you try, experience, expose and throw yourself into new environments and fields, you won’t know what piques your passions for a career. Here are some tips for what to do in the coming months.

1. Talk it out. You are surrounded by professors, advisers, faculty and grad students who are all familiar with what you are currently experiencing. Talk to professors, ask them what they did after college, how they explored their interests and what they did to end up where they are today. Never be afraid to ask the hard questions or even to search for a mentor who can help you in the future.

These mentors are here for you, looking to advise students and help them succeed. Once you invest interest in them and their accomplishments, they will invest time and care into helping you achieve yours. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. That is their job, and the more support you can get, the better.

2. Try it out. You won’t know until you try, so now is the time to start trying. Get an internship that seems interesting and see where it takes you.

While involved, make contacts, talk to employees to get a feel for their daily life, do informational interviews with partner organizations and figure out what kind of career would suit you. Do you like working in an office at a desk? Are you better working with a team? Maybe what you thought you liked does not appeal to you at all on a professional level. You can’t pick a life path from the classroom without going out and practicing it first.

3. Never say it’s final. The world we live in is no longer full of professionals who specialize in one career for their entire lives. Most people get different jobs, work in several fields, combine their interests and expertise in several ways and end up being involved in a mix of madness.

A professor of mine majored in English, earned a master’s in social work before being enticed to study law, worked as an international lawyer and then instructed at a university.

Don’t feel like you must settle in one place for the rest of your life. Be hardworking, flexible and aware of your interests. Always attempt to improve yourself and do what makes you feel worthy and happy.

This question was posed by the IDS staff. You can submit your own advice question to Eshley by emailing arts@idsnews.com
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— espitzer@indiana.edu