About three years ago I wrote a blog about finishing up college in a responsible way. I wrote that blog from the perspective of someone who had been in the workforce for a couple of years and who could afford to bestow some wisdom on some young college students who are going to be aimlessly drifting after graduation. Well, I need to come clean: I was actually beginning my senior year at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.
I don’t say that to invalidate all of the advice I wrote down; it’s all still very relevant advice! In fact, click this link to read my original blog about preparing yourself for life after college. Now that I have a few years of full-time professional experience under my belt, I’d like to embellish each of those points with some personal anecdotes. If you are walking across the stage this month, I hope you find these tips helpful.
GET AN INTERNSHIP!
When I was in college, internships were at the top of everyone’s minds in business school. Years ago, I made the claim that internships were as important, if not more important, as a perfect GPA. I stand by that statement. I stand by it, not because I think grades aren’t important, but because employers can translate your intern experience more easily to the tasks they want to hire you for rather than how much you studied.
CREATE A BUDGET.
If you’re graduating, you have a little bit of experience with paying certain bills like rent, utilities, credit cards, and maybe even a nice new car. But it’s time to pay the piper and the piper’s name is Uncle Sam. If you took out any student loans for your degree, take whatever grace period is a part of your terms (be sure about this; you don’t want to miss the first payment) and start adjusting your living situation for this new expense and determine how aggressively you want to attack these loans.
APPROVE YOUR OWN WORK.
Looking back on this point, I feel like this could be re-worded in a way that could be more helpful. When it comes to outputting quality work, one thing that I’ve done that has kept me accountable to being the best I can be is that I surround myself with people I respect. If you graduate and think you know everything there is to know, your career is not going to be long or fruitful. So don’t just approve of your own work, have others approve of your work too.
BE ORGANIZED.
This point cannot be overstated enough! Being organized not only keeps your workload manageable, but shows that you’re a hard worker and ready for new tasks.
GET OUT AND HAVE FUN!
Your social situation will change once you’re out of school. You will no longer be surrounded by a bunch of people who are close to you in age and interests. Try your best to stay close to your friends from school if they all stay in the area. However, there may come a time where you need to venture out on your own to make new friends again.
It’s still important to have that work/life balance. Impress your new employer by working hard and connecting with them. But, also remember that there is more to life than work.
Please comment below with your experiences others may relate to. And, remember to still make time for fun!
Joseph Bastian is a Recruiter for the Aureus Medical Social Media Recruitment team and works closely with the Aureus Medical Student Outreach team to assist therapy and nursing students with finding travel or direct hire positions.