Needless to say, recent grads have a lot on their mind. Seven out of 10 graduates from the class of 2015 borrowed money in order to pay for college; the average borrower had over $30,000 in student loan debt. Plus, the economy and the job market are shifting, thanks to advances in technology and the impact of automation.
It’s a challenging world out there, and people love to give advice to recent college graduates about how to deal with it. But, not all advice is good advice.
For instance, you can feel free to ignore the following tips:
1. “Follow your heart.”
Intuition is great and all, but career decisions are best made using logic and reason. It’s perfectly all right to notice what your gut is telling you, but sometimes these signals can lead us astray. So, use caution. For example, young folks might notice a touch of impostor syndrome creeping in if they land a new position that feels out of their league. But, it would be ill-advised to listen to an impulse telling them to run the other way.
2. “You should celebrate knowing everything you need to know to work in your field.”
It can be tempting to put school in the rear-view mirror after you’ve earned your degree. But, it’s probably better to think of training as a continuous process. These days, it takes this kind of commitment to keep up with changes in almost any industry. It’s likely you’ll want to refresh your skills fairly regularly in order to stay current.
3. “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.“
It definitely helps to love your job. Happy workers are more productive. But, even when you’re following your passion, you can still have hard days. The idea that loving your job makes work feel like play sets up unrealistic expectations and can lead to disappointment. Even if you love your job, it’s still going to feel like work sometimes.
4. “Give your job everything you’ve got.”
Recent college graduates would be wise to prepare themselves for a lot of hard work ahead. That’s true. However, telling people that they need to give their job 110 percent 24/7 is terrible advice. Work-life balance really is important. Young grads would be wise to pay attention to this factor right from the start.
5. “You’ll have no trouble finding a job with your degree.”
Having a college degree definitely makes it easier for you to find a job. The unemployment rate for high school grads is 5.2 percent and 2.7 percent for people with a bachelor’s degree. Average earnings increase alongside educational attainment as well. However, that doesn’t mean you’ll have an easy time finding a job. It can take a long time to find work, even for the most qualified and experienced candidates. So, don’t be discouraged if it takes a little while to land on the right opportunity.
Tell Us What You Think
What’s the worst piece of career advice you received after graduation? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter.
Leave a Reply