Life After Graduation

By Tabitha

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Congratulations! We did it! Right? It should feel like a great weight off our shoulders - graduation - yet sometimes it can make us feel emptier and more lost than how we were when we first started the course. No one tells you how life as a real adult is after graduation. The shift in your priorities, the endless job applications with disappointing results, the sudden realisation of the debt you carry. The day of graduation may be one of joy, however, if you're anything like me, you'll quickly find yourself spiralling into an anxious pit regarding your next step.

Most university courses last 3-4 years and then you are left to fend for yourself in the real world. The understanding is, that you have all the tools to best prepare you for the career path you intend to follow. However, this is not always the case. A study says nearly 45% of students have changed their career paths after graduating since the start of the pandemic. More and more jobs require more years of experience before you can even start an entry-level role, and graduate roles are just as hard or competitive to get. It is not enough to only have a first class in your degree.

Not only this, but there can be external pressures from your family or peers to quickly get a job, or at least continue studying as that is what they did. This, coupled with the pressure you put on yourself for not having experience or getting a role within the time you expected, can leave you feeling hopeless.

As someone who just recently graduated, I found myself immediately in the anxious pit, wondering whether I'd ever get out of it. Honestly, there are days I still fall back. I graduated with a degree in Interior Architecture and Design, had a good foundation of work experience and took part in multiple extracurricular activities to make myself even more hirable. However, this still wasn't enough for the 150 applications I made to even give me a response. This left me defeated and distraught. There was nothing more I could do to update my CV or portfolio despite the various reviews I had from multiple different people. Nothing was lacking in the cover letters I wrote, nor much I could do to improve my CV, so I thought the only thing holding me back was my portfolio, but even then it was still a struggle to get a response. The truth is, that the average person has to go through 162 job applications before even receiving a job. The issue is, university never prepared you for that, and so you're left trying to understand what you're doing wrong. 

Luckily I didn't lose all hope. I ventured into the world of freelancing and picked up my side hustles as I tried to figure out where I wanted my career path to go. Another tip that I've learnt after graduating: you don't have to have it all figured out. The expectation to know exactly what you are going to do with the rest of your life is too much and that shouldn't weigh you down. Finding that one thing that will interest you for the rest of your working life could take a while, and it could even change halfway through so there's no pressure to stick to one thing. My freelancing took me down various avenues such as film and TV, editorials for magazines, interior design and even events. I was determined to explore and keep pushing myself to step out of my comfort zone so I could keep learning. If you're somewhat like me and you feel slightly lost about your next steps after graduating, here are some tips to help you start to figure yourself out:

1. Go down the employment route. There are many ways to tackle this route but it's by far the most common and can be a lot easier for people to manage. Employment could mean a lot of things to a recent graduate: internships, graduate roles, or even entry-level roles. Each one of these has its taste of beginner level depending on where you see yourself and what you'd like to get out of it. I would recommend finding a role that would be broad enough for you to try things that you're not sure of before you specialise. Look for companies that do internships or try to create one yourself by sending speculative emails to companies that interest you. In addition, most universities have a careers team that is willing to help after graduation whom you can speak to for assistance.
2. Go freelance. This can be scary for some as it requires a lot of independence, but it also brings a lot of freedom. If you’re someone like me and you’re not a big fan of working under someone and like to self-manage a lot, I would suggest going down the freelance route. Yes, you’re being thrown into the deep end, but I also find that you’re learning things a lot quicker than you would have to, under someone else’s guidance. I’ve had to force myself to seek out the answers I needed, learning a lot about my industry on the way and other transferable skills such as how to sell, business tactics and being more personable. In addition, you can choose your hours and work to a schedule that you have decided is best for your productivity.
3. Study more. Further education is always a fantastic way of prolonging the real world and something that I'm planning to do as well. Not only that but you'll find yourself developing specialist skills in a safe environment where your actions won't have a critical impact on your surroundings. Most master's degrees last one year but some can be 2 years and you can even do part-time.

Life after graduation can seem like a scary thing, however, look at it as the beginning of a new chapter in your life. It can also be exciting as you’re about to embark on experiences you’ve never had before. There will be challenges on the way but if there weren’t, I don’t think it would be as fun. Remember that there is more than one option out there and there is no pressure to have it all figured out immediately. Each journey is personal and it is up to you to decide the path that you’re most aligned with.​

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References:
https://www.prospects.ac.uk/prospects-press-office/nearly-half-of-university-students-unprepared-for-employment
https://standout-cv.com/how-many-applications-to-get-a-job#:~:text=Based%20on%20these%20findings%2C%20we,of%20job%20applications%20being%20made.