{"id":891,"date":"2021-04-07T12:00:05","date_gmt":"2021-04-07T17:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/?p=891"},"modified":"2020-09-03T11:20:15","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T16:20:15","slug":"advice-for-students-start-planning-now-for-life-after-college","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.tntech.edu\/graduate\/2021\/04\/07\/advice-for-students-start-planning-now-for-life-after-college\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice for Students: Start Planning Now for Life After College"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the end of every school year, the media is stuffed with advice for soon-to-be graduates looking forward with excitement \u2014 and not a little fear \u2013 to setting out on their careers. I\u2019ve althinways felt that this was just a little bit too late \u2013 by the time June rolls around, you\u2019re competing with literally millions of recent grads, all frantic to find some kind of handhold in this thing called \u201creal life\u201d.<\/p>\n

No, the time to start thinking about life after graduation is now \u2013 no matter where you are in your education process. The earlier you stop thinking about college as a\u00a0break<\/em>\u00a0from \u201creal life\u201d and start thinking about it as a\u00a0stage<\/em> of real life, the better. That doesn\u2019t mean you have to start sending out resumes the first day of your freshman year, but rather that you should always be thinking about the arc you\u2019re following in college and where it\u2019s likely to take you \u2013 and how you can shape it to take you where you\u2019ll be happiest.<\/p>\n

Lindsey Pollak<\/a>, the author of\u00a0Getting from College to Career: 90 Things to Do Before You Join the Real World<\/a>, offers a ton of advice for job-seeking grads \u2013 and future job-seeking grades \u2013 on her blog. Some of the more important tips she offers include:<\/p>\n

1. Network.<\/h2>\n

College students, in my experience, suffer from an inferiority complex. They assume that nobody on \u201cthe real world\u201d would be interested in their thoughts, talents, or problems, one consequence of which is that they do very little to reach out to people in fields they\u2019re interested in until they\u2019re \u201cfinished\u201d, which usually means when they\u2019re actively looking for work \u2013 and by then, it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n

Start making connections as early as you can. Email people in fields you\u2019re interested in, even if only to say \u201cI read your book and it really had an impact on me\u201d or \u201cI really like what your company is doing with\u00a0X\u201d<\/em>. Join professional organizations \u2013 most offer low-priced student memberships \u2013 and attend conferences. Join or create groups on campus devoted to topics that interest you.<\/p>\n

In most cases, you\u2019ll find that people are more than willing to lend a hand to a bright student. It\u2019s flattering to be recognized for what you\u2019re accomplishing, no matter what the source, and it feels good to know you\u2019re helping someone set out on the right path. There are exceptions, of course, but few enough that you can always move on to the next person.<\/p>\n

2. Do your research.<\/h2>\n

Visit and use the career services office on your campus.Virtually nobody else does, so you\u2019ll be received with open arms. Keep an eye out for unusual job titles, and research them \u2013 maybe Corporate Happiness Officer (a real job title!) is something you\u2019d be good at? How about Vice President of Environmental Sustainability?<\/p>\n

Look up companies that interest you and see where you might fit \u2013 there are thousands of tasks that have to get done in a typical company regardless of whether they make tractor parts or iPod accessories. Pay attention to media stories about new fields opening up, or about skills that are experiencing a growing demand \u2013 these are the career paths of tomorrow.<\/p>\n

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3. Use your summers wisely.<\/h2>\n

A great internship or summer job can be a huge help, but there are other things you can do in the summer, too. Start your own business, or create a website. Temp to get experience working in a wide range of companies. Take summer courses through your school\u2019s adult extension, or at a local community college, to build up non-academic skills like bookkeeping, business networking, leadership, or computer programming. Read widely and wisely \u2013 forego your usual beach reading for recent publications in fields that interest you. If you can afford it, travel \u2013 learn to adapt readily to strange and unusual circumstances.<\/p>\n

4. Craft your online persona.<\/h2>\n

In today\u2019s world, one of the worst ways students damage their future careers is by sharing too much of the wrong kind of information online. Assume that\u00a0everything<\/em> you post online is going to be available to prospective employers, clients, or investors, all of whom increasingly turn to the Internet to research potential employees or partners. Keep the drunken stories either anonymous\/pseudonymous, or marked as \u201cprivate\u201d, and be sure to build out public-ready profiles, under your own name if at all possible.<\/p>\n

5. Look at small companies.<\/h2>\n

Although going from college to Google might seem like a real coup, a small company offers a lot of benefits early on in your career. At Google (or another mega-company) you\u2019ll be an insignificant fish in a huge sea, whereas small companies may well give you the chance to shine. According to Pollak,\u00a0small companies allow students<\/a>:<\/p>\n