Working After College

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If you have determined, after thoughtful reflection, that rather than taking a year off or applying to graduate school, you actually want to become a productive member of society (imagine that!) after graduation - hie thee to your college's career planning and placement office as soon as you get back to campus for your senior fall. Browse around and become familiar with the resources available to you, and schedule an appointment with the career services director or one of his or her staff members as soon as you can get one.

Before Your Appointment

In order to get a jump on your employment search and maximize the efficiency of your meeting with the career services director or staff person, there are a few things you should do prior to your meeting.

Update Your Resume

Make sure that your resume is up-to-date and in proper form to send out to the business world. Your resume is your calling card, and the career services people are going to hammer you over and over again to get your resumeinto perfect - and we mean perfect - shape.

You might as well get a jump on the process.

Make a List of Your Strengths and Weaknesses

We know this sounds corny, but it is another thing that the career services people are likely to ask you to do. If you are an ace at math and economics but fear the written word, you are going to be in the market for a different job than the person who loves to write but can't calculate proper change. As you construct this list, though, go beyond the simple things.

Do you like to work with people, or are you more comfortable alone with your thoughts as you read, write, or engage in research? What were the subjects you liked best in college? Which ones did you hate? Are you better working alone or as part of a team? Are you a better leader or a better follower? Do you take constructive criticism well, or do you tend to be defensive?

So make up a list of your strengths and weaknesses. Just do it. The career services people will use this information to help suggest possible jobs that you might not even have thought of.

Describe Your Ideal Workday in a Paragraph

Remember, we said workday - so lying on a beach reading a novel doesn't count. But if reading a novel would be part of your ideal workday, perhaps working as an editorial assistant at a publishing house or as an agent's assistant at a literary agency would be in the cards for you. And if your being outside in the sun is the important part of the equation, knowing that will help the career services people steer you in the direction of jobs that will have you working outside in the great outdoors where you can enjoy the sun, rather than the glow of fluorescent lights.

See how it works?

Make a List of Jobs That Interest You - and Why

Don't worry about whether or not you could actually get the job - just make a list of jobs that interest you, and include a line or two about why they interest you. Again, you're looking to trigger ideas in the minds of the career services people. It may be possible to get one of the jobs on your list. If it isn't, maybe you can get something like it, or at least get into the same industry, where you can network with people and put yourself into position to get the job you want a year or two down the road after you've proven yourself and paid some dues.

During Your Appointment

Remember that your career services office serves hundreds, if not thousands, of students every year - and the staff's goal is to get you employed. Your job is to make sure they get you employed where you want to get employed. The way to do this is to take ownership of your job search (which is why we suggested the premeeting legwork we just described) and to take control of your appointment.