Transitioning Into Life After College

If you’re a recent graduate like me, you may be feeling the keen sting of the transition into the real world from your lovely college bubble. Things may not be moving as quickly as you would have hoped, and you suddenly realize how ridiculously difficult it is to actually drag yourself out of bed like a normal adult. Maybe you’ve moved back in with your parents (which is nothing to be ashamed of), or you haven’t quite landed that full-time gig you were expecting by now. You want to know something?

That’s okay.

These things take time, and rest assured you’ll get where you want to be eventually. In the meantime, you probably have some time on your hands, and if you’re looking to change your situation using it effectively is important. I understand that you’ve probably sent out your resume online, and talked to your network, but there’s more that you can do.

Expanding your network and online networks is one of the best ways to seek out opportunities. Attend networking events; build up your social media presence, increasing your visibility and personal brand is a great way to spend your time. Make sure to be appropriate both on- and offline, meaning: take those crazy college party pictures off your Facebook… just do it.

Another great way to use your time, gain visibility and promote yourself is creating a video resume. Video resumes let you express more about yourself as a potential employee than a paper resume can. The platform is more engaging and you have the opportunity to delineate your soft skills, which are (in many cases) seen as more important than technical skills during the hiring process.

Making the transition into “real life” is difficult, but you can make it easier on yourself by taking action to expand your networks and stand out from the crowd.