Dear young University Graduate: Know this Before Next Step

Graduating from university is a big advancement in your educational and professional career. It can also be confusing especially when proper career planning was not done before choice of university. However, graduation means you’re moving onto the next phase of your life, which is why it’s both so scary and thrilling. Determining what to do once you graduate can help you develop a plan to keep you motivated and focused during this transitional stage. In this article, we offer some pieces of career and educational advice if you’re looking to get into the job market or continue with post graduate studies.

Don’t expect your degree to be enough

Although your degree is important and it took you a lot of hard work to get it, your degree alone will not be enough to guarantee your success. A lot of research shows that people with university degrees, in many cases, still aren’t earning enough to justify what they spent to get those degrees. Your degree probably won’t be enough. But it is a foundation. Use it as a springboard into your life, but never stop learning. Keep improving yourself, keep going, learn new skills, educate yourself.

Learn personal finance

Educate yourself on personal finance. There has never been a better time to learn. There is advice everywhere: financial blogs, wealth management apps, YouTube videos, and books. Most often we go through school without learning about how to earn and manage money, hence we go on living hand-to-mouth in survival mode. But here’s the reality, you will live a longer happier life if you have financial stability. This doesn’t mean you need to be extremely rich, it means you have to figure out how to sustain your finances.

Figure out what you’re good at and how to monetize it

In general, a university degree will give you a little bit of exposure to a lot of things. This can be really great for building a general knowledge of the world and making you a better citizen. But the greatest success comes from mastery. As you go through your career, you will have lots of opportunities to learn and grow. Make sure to pay close attention to the what you are good at. Choose something you really love and understand and try to become the best in the world at it.

Read more books

This is a very important skill to have especially in this part of the world where students study just to pass exams. There are so many great things that you can learn from reading more. Make it a habit to read at least one book every month. This way you learn more about life and the world. Books come in different categories and genres but personal finance and development books are best for young graduates.

Do volunteer work

Volunteer work can offer you valuable job experience that you can list on your CV. There are several organizations with voluntary, internship and fellowship programs. Seek out such institutions and get the required work experience you will need to find a good job.

Create, Don’t Just Discover

Today’s world belongs to those who create and innovate. If you look around at some of the most successful people professionally you will notice they are all innovators in different domains. From Science and Tech to Arts and Entertainment, being creative and innovative will single you out of the masses.

Believe in yourself and stay positive
Not to sound cliché but self doubt is the beginning of all failure. It can be intimidating stepping into the professional world with little or no work experience. Being positive can completely change your life. Being positive means that you may want to laugh more, smile more, be happy with yourself, stop with jealousy, complain less, and so on. It is a good idea because it can help you to:
• Seek out another option or route when things get tough,
• Feel more motivated so that you can keep on pushing through difficult time,
• Reach for your goals and succeed,
• Be happier in your life,
• Move on from your past mistakes and learn from them on from your past mistakes and learn from them.