Why So Many Young People Feel Lost After Graduation
Introduction
Graduation is a major milestone. After all the classes, all the assignments and all the exams you finally get the opportunity to move on into your career. Life after graduation is not always that simple. Some people simply can not find work others are uncertain about whether to go on to further education whether to sit competitive exams or whether to go into business. The pressure mounts when you see your friends all going along so well and your family are asking you all the time what you are going to do.
Feeling lost doesn't necessarily equate to a lack of ambition. A lot of graduates simply need some work experience, some better guidance and a bit of time to get their head around what they are doing.
Why Do Young People Feel So Lost After Graduation?
Pressure to Have Everything Figured Out
After they have graduated the expectation is that they will have a career in mind. The parents want them to be independent, the relatives want to know they are employed and the friends want to know what they have achieved. Rather than planning their entire future out in advance, graduates can set some realistic goals for the next 3 months and just concentrate on the next step.
Comparing Their Lives With Others
Social media makes it virtually impossible to avoid comparison. One ex-classmate will be announcing a new job, another will be posting pictures from uni in another country. It's very easy to get the impression that everyone else is getting on so much faster. Social media constantly shows the highlights rather than the whole picture. You don't see the failed interviews, the financial distress or the personal problems.
A Degree Does Not Guarantee Employment
Having a degree does not mean you will get a job. Many people finish school and still have trouble finding work. Employers often look for experience and skills along with education. The job market can be tough and a diploma and a degree is just one part of what companies want. Lots of students think that once they have done their degree it will be all sorted in terms of getting a job. In reality employers will often be looking for practical skills as much as any academic qualifications.
For example a marketing graduate might well have a sound grasp of the advertising principles, but may have no practical experience of the analytics tools, the campaign planning or the performance reports. That gap between what you have learned at university and what you actually have to do in the job can leave graduates wondering just how capable they are. Rather than go straight for another degree they should be looking at what skills are actually required for the jobs they want to do. Internships, projects, courses etc can all be very useful in that regard.
Too Many Career Options Create Confusion
Young people have a real variety of careers to choose from like digital marketing, sales, consulting, design, tech and entrepreneurship. Having lots of options is obviously a good thing but can also be a bit of a problem in terms of making a decision. A better approach is to shortlist two or three viable options and then go on to compare their requirements, costs, employment opportunities and growth potential. The clarity you can gain from testing one of the options via a small project is far greater than the clarity you can achieve from endless research.
Financial Pressure After College
Financial independence is another big issue. Some graduates are going to be contributing to the household, others are going to be paying their own way.
One job might pay you a next to nothing but give you some very valuable experience. Another might pay you more in the short term. The right job for you is going to be the one that is right for your circumstances. Graduates should be thinking about their own financial requirements, their own monthly outgoings, their career aspirations and the opportunities that are available to them. They should be looking into the cost of courses very carefully rather than just assuming that any qualification will lead to work.
Common Challenges Faced by Fresh Graduates
Fear of Making the Wrong Decision
Lots of graduates put off taking any action at all for the simple reason that they are afraid of making the wrong career choice. They are afraid that if they take one job they will be locked into it and will never get the opportunity to look at anything else. Careers generally develop through a number of experiences rather than one single perfect decision. An entry level job can be a route to acquiring skills, getting a feel for what the workplace is like and what the various responsibilities are, and in the process discovering what you actually enjoy doing.
Unrealistic Expectations About the First Job
Some graduates are going in to their first job expecting a high salary, flexible hours, interesting work and a fast track to growth. The reality is that their first job may well be a fairly repetitive job with a modest salary and very little independence. The first job is typically an opportunity to gain experience rather than a vehicle for achieving every single professional objective straight away. Graduates need to assess whether the job in question will provide them with useful experience, good treatment and a reasonable prospect of progression.
Family Expectations and Career Choices
Parents often have a preference for the stable career with the secure income, and that can be in conflict with what the young person actually wants to do. One parent may be very keen on government work and that sort of thing while their child is quite keen on marketing, design or content creation.
Spending Too Much Time Planning
Some people spend so much time making plans that they never actually start. They get stuck thinking about every detail and worry about what could go wrong. While it is good to prepare, planning too much can keep you from moving forward. Instead set a time limit for planning then take action. You can adjust your plan as you go.
Researching careers and watching the various educational videos can be of use. They can become counter productive though if they end up replacing actual work.
Some grads will spend months looking around various fields without actually applying for any jobs or gaining any practical experience. To counter that set yourself some small targets. Update your CV, apply for a job you are suitable for, do a practical lesson etc on a regular basis.
How Can Young People Find Direction After Graduation?
Identify Your Strengths and Interests
Think about the subjects you are genuinely interested in, the activities you would be happy to do and the responsibilities you would be willing to take on. Think about your existing skills, your education and your working preferences.
Research the Job Market
Look at the job descriptions for fresh graduates and pick out the requirements (qualifications, software, practical skills etc) that are asked for over and over again.
Develop Practical Skills
Learning is more valuable when it can be put into practice. A person interested in digital marketing could produce a sample SEO report, do a website analysis or put together a simple campaign. Someone into graphic design could put together a portfolio.
Set Short-Term Goals
Break your main goal into smaller, manageable steps. Set deadlines for each step. This helps you stay focused and measure your progress. Short-term goals make big tasks feel less overwhelming and keep you motivated. Review your goals often and adjust them if needed. Thinking about the next 5 years can be a bit stressed when you don't even know what the next month is going to bring. Create a realistic plan for the next 90 days. Your aim might be to get an entry level job, to complete a course, to build up a portfolio or to prepare for an exam. Break it down into weekly tasks and keep a regular eye on your progress.
Build a Consistent Routine
When uni is over the structure that classes and assignments provide is gone. You are left with nothing but a day in the life and it's quite possible that you will spend the whole day just scrolling through Facebook or Twitter or just brooding about what the next phase of your life is going to be. Set times for learning, job applications, exercise, eating and resting.
Mistakes Graduates Should Avoid
Choosing a Career Only for Money
Salary is of course important, particularly for those with families and other financial obligations. The danger, though is in selecting a career purely on the basis of the salary it offers. You have to take into account the day-to-day realities of the job, the working conditions, the skills required and the prospects for progression as well.
Enrolling in Courses Without Any Research
Not every certificate will get you a job. Before you pay out for a course, check the syllabus, the practical elements, the cost, the reputation and the relevance to the actual job.
Waiting Until You Feel Completely Ready
Confidence comes through experience. Waiting until you have got everything absolutely perfect can in fact delay the application of skills. You need to be applying for the jobs, the opportunities, while you are still developing your skills.
Treating Every Setback as a Failure
Rejected applications and unsuccessful interviews can be very demoralizing but of course that doesn't necessarily mean that you have got the wrong career. Take a look at the situation, work out what your weaknesses are and adjust your approach accordingly.
When Should Graduates Seek Guidance?
Occasionally career confusion can be quite difficult to deal with on your own. A career counsellor, a seasoned professional, a former teacher or a trusted family member may be able to help you to identify the right kind of opportunities. Asking for help can be of value and can make the process of making a difficult decision a lot easier.
A simple weekly review can also be of use. Just write down what you have done, what has not worked and what you will do differently next week. If applications are going absolutely nowhere, then have a look at your CV. If a course is just not relevant to any of the actual jobs out there then you may well need to look at it again. Small tweaks are far more useful than just going round and round on yourself or changing your plans without any real reason.
Conclusion
Feeling lost after graduation is very much the usual, it doesn't have to be a permanent state. The young person is up against it in terms of employment, has to deal with money, has to meet the expectations of family and has to keep up with the rest of the generation. It's all very difficult when you are trying to work out what you are going to do. However you are going to find that waiting around for complete clarity is rarely the answer. The graduate should identify their immediate needs, look at the range of opportunities that are realistically available to them, develop the requisite skills and set achievable goals.
The first job doesn't have to be the start of your entire career and one decision doesn't in any way pre-determine all the possibilities that lie ahead. What is important is that you make considered decisions, you learn from your experience and you are prepared to alter your plans if circumstances warrant it.
