To the grads!

Before I graduated from university, I had this vague idea that as soon as I had my degree in hand, a job offer would just fall into my lap. I had decent grades, I had some decent work experience, I had some decent references, I had some solid volunteer experience, I could type 80 words per minute, and I’d even managed a team before. Who wouldn’t want to hire me, right?

As the first university grad in a blue-collar family, I had mostly figured it out alone as I went along. I had applied for schools by randomly targeting the universities with the best websites. The ones I’d heard of and thought sounded cool. I’d done the same thing choosing my courses for 4 years, signing up for classes that kind of piqued my interest and (most importantly) aligned with my sleep schedule. As an introvert, I never got brave enough to seek out the advice of a guidance counsellor or academic advisor (actually didn’t know I was supposed to) and immediately ruled out any courses that required public speaking or sounded like they involved math (after muddling my way through grade 12 math with a teacher I didn’t like, I had sworn never to do any math again).

 I didn’t go to my convocation ceremony, because I was working at my summer job, and the thought of walking across a stage in front of thousands of people sounded terrifying. So graduation itself anticlimactic.

And after I graduated, I kept waiting for something to change, for those job offers to roll in. I was motivated to start my career, I wanted to put my English and Philosophy degree to work, but what do you actually DO with a degree in English and Philosophy? I hadn’t really thought that part through.  

I had a half-baked idea that I would work in an office somewhere. I liked the idea of wearing office clothes and having benefits and typing at a computer and feeling like I was contributing to… something.

So I put together a resume and started applying to entry level office jobs. I took a template off the internet, called all my smartest friends and asked for their resumes, and spent hours borrowing phrases from those pals’ resumes and cobbling together my skimpy experience and volunteer work and hobbies into a document with lots of five dollar words that I’d managed to stretch out to fill a page and a half. I applied for dozens of jobs and I heard nothing back.

Every job I wanted required at least 2 years of experience in a similar role. But how was I supposed to get experience if no one would hire me into a similar role?

Fast forward five years. I still didn’t have an office job, or office experience, or any particular idea of what I wanted to do. I had worked my way up from my summer job to a permanent position managing a day program for kids with disabilities for two years (which I’d loved but didn’t feel like a career), had been a line cook at a vegetarian restaurant in Newfoundland for two years (which I’d loved but didn’t feel like a career) and had recently moved back to the West Coast from Newfoundland and was working as a landscaper (which I loved, but didn’t feel like a career).

I had yet to use my degree at all.

 So, on a whim, I went back to school. After a quick Google search and some online aptitude tests, I chose a post degree diploma in human resource management. I chose it because it was in business, and it didn’t require math, and one of my bosses had told me once that I was good at organizing things and good with people. I liked the people I’d met and had been inspired by a few wonderful humans in the HR community. It was a lucky guess, and I wish I’d had more guidance when making those big decisions.

What I wish I had known as a new graduate is this: it’s okay to ask for help. It’s okay to not have all the answers. It’s okay to not be sure what you want to do, and to not really understand how to get there. It’s okay if your education isn’t exactly relevant to what you want to do. It’s okay to not feel confident heading into an interview. It’s okay to call in the experts to help you rewrite your resume. It’s okay to need support making the huge shift from student to working professional.

Because that’s where you get to be brave and call in your reinforcements. As humans, we’ve been there, and we remember what it felt like. As HR consultants, we’ve been on the other side of the hiring equation, and we know how to help you stand out. We know how to help you put together a resume and answer interview questions with confidence and identify what kinds of jobs you might like and be qualified for.

As coaches, we believe that life is too short, you deserve to feel fulfilled (even and especially in your first job) and we want to help you to clarify your why, figure out your next steps, and make sure you stay on track, focused, and accountable as you work towards putting your talents into professional practice.

So, here’s to you, new grads! It’s totally and completely okay to have spent 4 years and 35K and not know exactly what kind of job you want, and we can’t wait to help you figure it out