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A Guide For The Recent Grad

You’ve taken your last set of finals, received your diploma, and are excited about starting a new chapter in your life…now what? Finding your first job post-graduation might be the toughest and most frustrating time in your life thus far. Never fear, the Wilson Group is here! We have outlined three tips to help you through this stressful time.

Find a Mentor:
The best way to know where to start your career is to learn from the past life of someone you look up to. Find a mentor that is in the same field you are hoping to go into and talk to them about how they got started. Not only will they give you advice on how to kick off your career, but they also might be a useful contact for networking purposes. It is always easier to follow a recipe than make up your own, so follow their recipe for success and try to follow it. However, like any good recipe, you can always stray a bit from the path and make it your own. This person has been exactly where you stand today, so they know how to help you through the ups and downs of starting your professional life.

Don’t Be Too Picky:
After four years of countless all nighters and what seems like an eternity of research papers and complicated classes, it is hard not to feel as though you deserve more than an entry level position. However, your first few years in the workforce may not be, and will not be your end all be all. Your first job does not define you, so look it as more of a stepping stone to reaching your dream career. After all, we all have to start somewhere and gain experience. When applying for jobs you should apply for your dream positions, but you should also think about not being as picky and take an entry level position. You never know where that job can take you, for all you know, you could be running that company one day!

Don’t Lose Hope:
Your mailbox is full of rejection emails and you are on the breaking point of giving up, but don’t lose hope! There are thousands of other recent grads out there feeling exactly the way you are. It seems as though every day you see someone else posting on social media about getting their dream job at company X, or getting into a prestigious graduate school abroad, but stop comparing yourself to those people, and focus on your own life. Social comparison is the thief of joy, especially during this time in your life, and Facebook only heightens the feelings of inadequacy. Don’t let other’s success get in the way of your own. Instead look at them as a resource, talk to them about how they got their job, and who knows, they may even be able to help you get a job. Success is not a race, you have the rest of your life to be in the workforce, so don’t stress so much if something doesn’t fall into your lap immediately, you will come out more resilient in the long run.

For more tips on starting your career off on the right foot, visit our website.

Developing Your Career Path

Whether you’re a new graduate looking for your first job, a seasoned pro settled in with your current employer, or an entrepreneur launching your own business, you should have a solid strategy for where your career will go in the next year, five years, and decade. In today’s economy, it’s easy to focus on nothing more than supporting yourself now, and to worry less about your overall career path. That’s completely understandable, but if you can spend a couple of hours a week developing your career strategy, setting goals and attaining them, you will find yourself light years ahead of a lot of the job seeker competition!

Here are some things that you can spend a bit of time on that will net major results in the long run:

Set Goals
Setting goals is absolutely vital to developing a strategy for you career— or pretty much anything, for that matter. Goals should be specific and attainable, but keep in mind your goals will certainly change as your life changes. Having an idea of what kind of job you want or what kind of company you want to work for will give you a starting point for what kinds of skills and contacts you need to cultivate.

If you’re not sure where to begin, try either or both of these: think about your current situation and what you want to change (flexible hours, a higher salary), or think about your ideal situation (working at your favorite company or in your favorite city).

Learn Skills
Whether you’re a high school, community college, or university graduate, you should expect to continue learning all throughout your life. The more you learn, the more your career can move forward! If you have the time and funds, look into the next level of school, whatever that may be for you. For those with smaller budgets, you don’t have to go out and get an MBA (though they’re great if youc an); there is a great deal of educational material available online— check out this article on “Where to Get the Best Free Education” from Lifehacker!

You can also find classes at your local community or recreation center or library that may be within your budget. Books can be a great way to learn as well, and definitely check and see if any of your friends would like to give you a crash course in a skill (in exchange for you teaching or helping them, naturally)!

Network, Network, Network!
It’s not necessarily “all about who you know,” but knowing people certainly helps. A few tips: first, just look for friends, and be more interested in helping them than in how they can help you. You’ll be surprised to find relatively few deadbeats, and establishing a mutually beneficial relationship will keep your contacts stronger and keep them around longer!

You can find a lot of networking events in your area, sometimes even in specific industries and fields. Check out Event Brite and Meetup to find some in your neighborhood. If you’re a Corpus Christi local, the Caller-Times usually has local business event information!

If you’re still stumped on developing your career strategy, call us at (361)883.3535 or contact us here. We’ll be able to get you on the fast track!