Thoughts: The post college job hunt

For everyone like me who's recently walked across the stage and received their ticket to life, you know what I mean when I say this:

It's here.

For the past 4 to 5 years of your life, you've been making your way through the halls, classrooms, books, and basement parties that college life consists of. You studied diligently, procrastinated, and slaved over 25 page papers, 600 page books, and piles, upon piles of flashcards. your memory still tingles about with that one semi-interesting fact you learned in your philosophy class, and despite taking several years of a foreign language, most of you still speak it pretty loosely. But there was always that one big goal; that one big dream that underneath the late nights, early mornings, and the hangovers that we were always working toward, and now, it's your time to show the world what the past 4 years have taught you. Sounds like a pretty easy transition, until you take a look at the numbers for recent grads coming out of college, such as you and me.

For starters, a lot of us don't exactly go into the field working in an area that we spent the last 4 years and over 100 grand studying and educating ourselves on. In fact, according to an article on The Huffington Post regarding post graduation, half of all recent grads go into the work field working a job that doesn't even require a degree. That doesn't mean that students aren't getting jobs eventually though.

Though current unemployment rates aren't terrible, it's not like students are landing positions right away. Most graduates that began their job hunt months before graduation are still on the market searching, and according to most that I've spoken with personally, it can take anywhere from 8 months to a year and a half before that expensive degree gets put to any relevant use for most. Which brings me to my next and main point: the job hunt.

If you've listened to your advisor, good for you. For most, you began your job hunt early on, and now, you're starting to figure out why that might have been the single most important piece of advice you could have ever received. If you're like me, you followed those orders to start sifting through every employment site you could find, and you've been applying for every single position you could find. At first, the challenge doesn't seem that daunting. You'd sent out a few applications a week, and hearing back from only 1 or 2 companies out of the 10 applications you'd sent out wasn't so much of a burden, but then, something came over the horizon that has since started to trouble you more and more: time.

Months have passed, and though you're interviewing and continually filling out apps, the job hunt doesn't show any signs of coming to an end. The stress levels have elevated, and you've become weary of the relentless search you'd confidently set out on months prior. This is an especially stressful time, but I'm here to say something that will add some perspective and widen the tunnel vision you've been experiencing recently: It's not all that bad.

If you think about it, post graduation job hunting isn't as bad as it seems when you consider every other fact of life you're facing as a recent graduate. For one, you don't have to spend your nights at the library, waste deep in notes and online activities as you prepare for that exam that for some reason is rumored to be incredibly daunting, despite it being an elective. You can actually get some sleep for once, and above all else, you don't have to worry about "homework" any more. You've got more free time on your hands, and in all honesty, this transition period has been sort of a relief from the past 4 years of your life. See? Not terrible. Sure, there are other drawbacks, such as the worry of student loans, for example; not to mention, if you're passionate like I am, rather than taking a breath and relaxing, you're more so filled with a sense of boredom and unproductiveness. I know that makes me seem a bit tight, but if there's one thing I have a passion for, it's writing, and being able to do something like change the world through my creativity is something that I've dreamed of while playing with legos and filling countless sketchbooks with my thoughts growing up.

My point is, you should be congratulating yourself for making it through college. Though the job hunt is still on for many of us, it's important to remember that it's just that: a job. You still have family that loves you, and you still have friends that are going to play clever pranks on you after you've had one to many at the bar. Life is still going, and once you learn how to channel the stress of job searching into positive and motivational energy, it becomes a little easier to deal with. Life may have opened a new chapter for you, but you're still the one with the pen in hand who is charged with writing it. So do yourself a favor, sit back, and reflect on all the positives of where you're at right now, and think about what the college experience has taught you about yourself and the world you live in. At this point, stress is your enemy, and, in all honesty, in order to truly defeat it, you have to continue to live your life to the fullest. And that is my driving point behind the struggles and attributes of the post-college job hunt.

--Cheers, and happy reading!