7 Things You Should Know As You Enter The Workforce

With college seniors heading down the homestretch, I can’t help but think of  the best graduation present I received when I finished school. While some people I know got cars and others a simple bouquet of flowers—my parents were somewhere in between when it came to my gift—I received a ticket to see Avenue Q* on Broadway.

Princeton an Avenue Q resident

For those of you not familiar with the concept of the show it is a spoof on Sesame Street and it shares life lessons for young professionals. Some of these lessons include getting a job with a BA in English, how to find your purpose in life, and many more.

Now that I’ve been out of school for some time I really appreciate what a great
gift it was. While everything I learned about being a 20-something in the working world didn’t come from the show, it was a nice starting point. It taught me that
it’s okay to not know what you want to do, even if it seems like everyone else does (they don’t), finding your purpose isn’t always do-able, but you can still be fulfilled, and nothing lasts forever, so be ready to accept that—for the good and the bad.

So why am I telling you all this? I figured I should pay it forward, so for all of you recent or soon to be college grads, here we go:

7 Things You Should Know As You Enter The Workforce

1. When starting your job search, have a general idea of what you want to do (doesn’t have to be what you want to do FOREVER). Being flexible is a good quality, but searching for “Any Job” isn’t going to do you any favors. You need to narrow it down.
2. Tailor your resume and cover letter to each job you apply to in order to mirror the job posting. Using the same resume for every job won’t get you an interview.
3. You should always be networking. Invited to a graduation party and you’re talking to your friend’s dad? He might be your ticket to your first job.
4. You’re not entitled to get a job and an employer will not likely be “honored” to hire you. So when you tell them why you want to work at their company, tell them how you can HELP their organization.
5. Once you have some real working experience, you can take that job you had in high school off your resume.
6. Having a job and being independent is pretty fulfilling. Even if you don’t love your job, remember that it’s not forever.
7. Doing a job you LOVE is AWESOME! But, I know it’s not always possible. If you get the chance to do what you love, even if it doesn’t pay as much as that other job that is slowly killing you, take it!

Post Update: Oh and if you want to ask for a ticket to see Avenue Q, search to see if there’s a local production of it playing near you.

*Avenue Q deals with subject matters that may be offensive to some.

Image Credit: Tufts.edu