You finished college. You fought your way up to the top of the mountain, obtained the Sword of Awesomeness, and slayed the 3-headed dragon with it. You now have been rewarded with your degree…so now what?
Many college students fall into the trap of pushing themselves through college with little preparation for afterwards, only to be faced with reality in the end. Employers don’t need you and you’ll likely be considered overqualified for many jobs that fall outside your career field; but not all hope is lost. When you finish college, the next thing you should be doing is building your career. Just like if you were to buy a plot of land, you can’t just expect a house to magically appear there. You have to build the house before for you can move in and start adding to it. Here’s a list of things you can do to get started into your new life:
- Start Paying Off Your Loans. This is assuming you have loans to pay off (I’m hoping you don’t). First, you’ll have to work hard to find a couple jobs. Then, you can start paying off your loans. Showing employers that you can hold a job and that you’re dept-free shows them that you’re diligent and responsible.
- Budget Yourself. If you’re not familiar with a transaction manager, it’s that fancy booklet with all the lines that your bank gives you with your checks. It’s tedious, but if you keep up with it, you can get an idea as to what you’re spending all your money on. If you’re having to frequently record transactions for McDonald’s and Starbucks, you may want to cut those out of your spending altogether. Don’t have money for a new washer or dryer, try Craigslist. You can find home appliances on there for dirt cheap. Ok, so this doesn’t necessarily help you get established into your career, but it does help make living a little more comfortable and will allow you to get started on saving for retirement.
- Begin Networking. Get started on LinkedIn and learn how to use it. You could also try looking for a couple internships while you’re at it. The point here is to meet new people, hopefully even people who are well experienced in the career field you wish to pursue.
For Money Watch’s full list of 25 free things new college grads can do now, just click on the link that I’ve provided.
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