Advice for New Graduates: 6 Things I Wish I Knew

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Navigate the challenging post-grad world with this helpful advice for new graduates!

If you’re about to graduate from school or recently graduated from school, this post is for you! The post-grad and early career phase can be full of lots of difficult transitions, confusion, and stress. It’s a really pivotal point in your life where there can be lots of pressure. At least, that’s how I felt when I graduated!

Looking back now, there’s lots of things I would do differently as a new grad. As always, I want to help make things easier for you. So in this post, I’ll share a list of things I wish I knew when I graduated. I hope you find this advice for new graduates helpful!

This post is all about advice for new graduates.

Best Advice for New Graduates

1. Post-grad life is a major adjustment

When you’re a student, it’s a very unique time in your life. I found the adjustment from being a student to a working professional very challenging. While everyone’s situation will be a bit different, some big changes you may experience post-grad are:

Major schedule changes (ex. going from having a flexible schedule with just a few classes per day vs. a 9-5 office job)
Lifestyle changes (ex. earning no income as a student vs. a steady income in your career)
Change of pace (ex. getting summers off as a student vs. only having a few weeks of vacation)
Different responsibilities (ex. having class projects with “low stakes” vs. real-life projects with consequences)

I underestimated the amount of change that was going to happen between being a student and being a professional. It’s normal to struggle and have bumps along the road when adjusting to new stages of life. I wish I gave myself a bit more grace when it came to adjusting between these two very different worlds.

2. It’s OK to ask for help

The post-grad life can be challenging to navigate. The pressure to have your “life together” can make it difficult to feel like you can ask for help. But I think getting support from friends, family, mentors, etc. is incredibly valuable and can help you transition more smoothly.

It’s also important to ask for help in your early career! When you start your first job, you may feel like you have something to prove as a new grad. But trust me, your coworkers and your employer will want to help you. They want to see you succeed.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions and ask for help. It will actually show that you’re invested in your job and really care about the work that you’re doing because you want to do it right. You don’t have to know everything, and definitely don’t pretend like you do know everything!

3. You don’t need to start a job right away

When I finished my Master’s degree, I was in a huge rush to get a job and start working full-time immediately. For some reason I felt like it was a huge failure to not have a job lined up for right after my graduation. I wanted to have as little time as possible between school and work.

Looking back, I wish I hadn’t put so much pressure on myself and enjoyed the post-grad stage more. It’s very possible that once you start working, you may never get a large chunk of time off again.

So, if you do end up taking some time off (whether that’s an intentional choice, or if it’s just hard to find a job), try to shift your mindset to enjoying that stage. I spent my entire time between school and work worrying about the fact that I didn’t have a job, so it wasn’t very enjoyable to say the least! Taking a break in between school and work can also help you get clarity on what you actually want to do for your career.

4. Don’t rush into your first job offer if it’s not right

Because of the pressure to start working right away post-grad, it can be easy to jump at the first job offer you get, even if it’s not really what you wanted. But, it may be worth taking a few extra weeks for the right job, rather than the first. Listen to your gut. If you think you’ll be miserable at the job, don’t accept it just to “check the box” of having a job.

On the flip side, I don’t believe that you should wait around forever for the perfect job offer. It’s a careful balance (see my next point!).

5. Your first job doesn’t have to be your last job

Although you shouldn’t rush into a job that isn’t the right fit, it’s also helpful to keep in mind that your first job doesn’t have to be perfect.

When I was looking for my first job, I put so much pressure on myself to get my “dream job”. I wanted to have everything perfect including salary, in the best location, doing some thing that excited me, etc. While it’s great to strive to have an amazing job, remember that your first job doesn’t have to be the only job you ever have.

You’ll likely switch jobs multiple times throughout your career. So, don’t put so much pressure on having the first one absolutely perfect. Every job will be a learning experience, if you don’t love everything about your first job then you will know what to look for in your second job.

I wish I had put less pressure on my first job and realize that it would be a learning opportunity and a stepping stone, not a job that I would be locked into it for the rest of my career.

6. Negotiate your offer

When it comes to job offers, a lot of new grads will accept an offer without even negotiating the terms. This is a huge missed opportunity! When I started my first job, I felt like I didn’t have any leverage in negotiation because I was a new grad. But, this simply isn’t true.

Even though I work in the public sector so negotiation for salary is pretty fixed, I was able to advocate for myself based on volunteer experience, summer jobs, and part-time gigs I had throughout school. By negotiating, I increased my starting salary to a higher level on the pay scale.

You have to know your worth and what you have to offer going into negotiations. Be prepared to defend your skill set, your experiences, and know what your value is in the market.

In some cases, your company may have a fixed amount of salary they can give you. But, don’t forget to think about other areas of negotiation or compensation like vacation time/paid time off, relocation expenses, or other non-salary benefits.

This post was all about advice for new graduates.

Advice for New Graduates: 6 Things I Wish I Knew