Choosing a career after college
Many students and graduates get overwhelmed and stressed when it comes to choosing a career. Especially with the kind of environment we live in where so many graduates struggle in the market for a period of time before lending on a job or where you see people working but are depressed in their jobs. At this stage, many types of fear would crip in like the fear of not getting a job soon, or the fear of lending on a job that I dislike or getting hired with a minimum paycheck.
The classical set-up in schools and colleges reinforces these fears. You see students try to fit in the school environment because of the peer pressure. If the college environment only focused on studying and scoring marks, the students would suffer when choosing a career. Because if it was all about following the studies curriculam and doing what you are being told literally, how would you stand on your feet when you realize the current market being so different from what the schools and colleges taught you.
The market is changing so rapidly. Nowadays you see people work from home with the help of the internet. People talk about artificial intelligence. You see some of the young generation being paid only by talking, being funny and charismatic on social media and never got hired. Also many realize that starting businesses is an option while keeping a steady job with a regular salary.
Considering how the market is changing and shifting, following the rules and doing what you are being told doesn’t work anymore. Thinking outside the normal box is key here.
An important step a graduate needs to consider is first doing some internal work with him or herself. What is your passion? What you dream of? What are your hobbies? Are you an outdoor person who favours connecting and outreaching to people? Or are you someone who likes reading books, work alone and create things? These questions can give you a clue to what kind of jobs you need to apply to.
Second step is research the market well before you jump directly on a job. Ask questions, connect with the people who are already on the field, find out information about the type of job you are looking for, its scope, its value, the kind of salary offered and the type of work environment involved. It is not just working on a job but its also the environment and its growth potential.
Third step is look for jobs where you would be learning and growing your knowledge and skills regularly. There are jobs out there where the learning and growth is very limited and it can be very crushing for someone’s soul and spirit.
Fourth step is don’t wait for a job to start working. There are many free training and voluntary opportunities in the market. Someone might say: How can I work for free? I need a salary. Waiting to be hired but doing nothing at the moment can be really demoralizing and frustrating. Someone can really feel useless like a victim in this situation. Utilize your free time either learning, attending classes, going on seminars or conferences, volunteering and helping and starting a small business of your choice to fill up your time. So that during your job interview, the company officials and HR representatives would realize they are interacting with an initiative and independent person who is active in other parts of life and not just waiting and depending on a regular job and salary.
Finally, we need to realize this. Working on a regular job is not everything in life. Life has got many interesting areas that need to be explored. It is really tempting especially in our culture. After graduation, the family and friends would say: so next is to get a job and get married. Are we following a written script here? Its not a rule to follow the same script everyone says. Create your own script. Follow your passions and dreams. Do the things that fill up your spirit and soul. And go on build your life.