Three Important Things I Wish I Knew BEFORE Graduating School.
When I left school, I eager to start my new life from the school system I knew and eventually loved (I’m one of those people that didn’t like school when I was a kid, but rather when I was in my last two years at university) only to be faced with numerous amounts of rejection emails from jobs I applied for, wound up in situationships (I really shouldn’t have been) and had zerooooooo self-confidence.
Life was rough after graduation man.
When I went on the stage to accept my diploma to be greeted by the cheers of my loud African family and friends, I felt empowered to start a new chapter.
A chapter with no limitations, endless opportunities and success to match.
Three months after I graduated, I worked with an employment agency making more than minimum wage, but doing repetitive work that made my 8 hours shifts feel like they were 16 hours long.
Five months later, I found myself securing a ‘good job’ where I was making ‘good money’ but I found myself feeling overworked and underpaid and on top of that, doing something that brought me no passion, no joy, nothing.
But the challenges I faced in the few months after I left school helped shape the three most important things I wish I knew after graduation that I talked about on Snapchat not too long ago
1. Lose your entitlement issues - It’s common that new or recent grads feel as though they know it all – but when you study a specialized program for more than two years, what could you expect? However, some employers find it hard to work with (and even complain about) millennials/gen-y because some of us feel above others because of our education. And to be honest, I used to be one of them (how sad). But in order to make moves in your career, you need to let your ‘I-went-to-the-top-school-for-four-years-studying-this,why-am-I-getting-paid-x-amount-even though-I-have-no-work-experience’ die. Accept responsibilities that are a part of your roles, and take the initiative if you found a way to simplify any systems that are being used, or provide assistance to a team member or supervisor when needed!
2. Get UNCOMFORTABLE with being comfortable – Yes, you read that right! I wrote a whooooollleee blog post about this because I can simply write a book about this specific topic! When I graduated from school, I felt uncomfortable asking for what I needed, for what I deserved and for what I longed for because I felt like I couldn’t muster the courage to just ask – until I realized that I was letting opportunities go, so I decided and declared that I would be comfortable with being uncomfortable.
3. Nothing is linear – Ever since we were children, we were conditioned to believe that once we become ‘big people’ aka. adults, that after school, we’d get a great job, get married and have kids (you know, the ‘first comes love, then comes marriage rhyme’ on the order of operations for life). But let’s be honest – some young adults are getting married, but choosing not to have children, while others are getting married but don’t know what type of careers they want. UNDERSTAND that life will throw curveballs right in your face. You need to learn that perfection in your life is something that won’t happen. You will make mistakes, feel defeated and rejected – but you can’t stop. You’re greater than that.
So let’s chat! What are some things you wish you knew before you graduated from school?