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Preparing for Life After College

Although it’s not possible to predict how many times a person may change jobs in his or her life, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found in a longitudinal survey conducted with baby boomers between 1979 and 2009 that the average worker held 11 jobs from age 18 to age 44 (Bureau of Labor Statistics Press Release USDL-10-1243, September 10, 2010, retrieved 26 August 2011 from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/nlsoy.pdf).

Rather than consider the 11 jobs you may have in your life-time, let’s concentrate on preparing you for life after college. The first question you have to ask yourself is: What Do I Want to Do After College?

It will be a new and exciting time in your life and it’s true that many opportunities await you “out there” but they won’t just come to you. You must be prepared to spend the time necessary figuring who you are, what you really want out of life and then working hard to achieve those goals. Let’s look at just a few myths and realities of job hunting.

MYTH: Job hunting is as easy as putting your resume on one of the career websites and waiting for the job offers to pour in.

REALITY: Yes, there are a lot of jobs available on career websites but you have a lot of work to do beyond posting your resume. You should actively pursue these leads; contact the companies with a letter of introduction and your resume, or anything else that will make you stand out from the crowd.

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Helpful Links

The links below are designed to help you get started thinking about your future direction after college. If you’re not sure where to start, come by the career center in the library and talk with the career counselor or a library staff member trained to assist you with career information.

General Information

Service & Travel Opportunities

Graduate School

Looking for Jobs

Looking for Internships