I’m graduating! Sounds nice right? Except adult life is now right in front of me bashing through my front door. What kind of career do I want? How do I apply to jobs? Will I get a job at all? Life’s stressful enough without that nagging you, so here are some tips to make it a little easier on yourself. And if you are graduating, congratulations!

Treat yourself and celebrate. You’ve earned it.

Yes, you’ll need to find a job. Yes, you’ll need to assume responsibilities unknown to mere students. But you know what? That can wait a week. Celebrate, enjoy the fact that you have literally no deadlines, no exams, and no group work. Take a day to just chill in the sun and read a book, go on a day trip somewhere, and treat yourself at that one place where you’ve always wanted to eat. You’ve earned it.

Tis better to have tried and failed than to not have tried at all

Everyone who’s looking for their first “grown-up job” will know the struggle: “starter” positions that ask for anywhere between three to ten years experience that you just don’t have (and how could you, you’re a starter). But why not try applying anyway? If you don’t get the position, no harm done and who knows, you may be in luck and get the job. Make it to the interview rounds, but get rejected? That’s valuable job interview experience right there :).

Don’t be limited by your degree

Congratulations, you got a degree. Now here’s the secret: you don’t have to do what it says on your degree. This is the time to re-evaluate. What were topics especially interesting to you during your studies? What part of your part-time job did you like or dislike? Knowing what type of work gives you energy will help you select the types of job to apply to. Graduated in psychology, but actually want to go into marketing? No one’s stopping you!

It’s okay if you don’t find your dream job at once

All jobs are created equal, but some are more equal than others. Everyone has that one dream job or field they really want to work in. As a starter that just graduated, you don’t always get to choose your favourite option and that’s okay. You’re young, and you have plenty of time to make a career and get that dream job. Pro tip: find some people working in the field or on the job you would want and ask them how they got there: you’d be surprised.

Use the networking and career opportunities the Uni gives you

There’s no reason to wait with finding a job until you graduate. The University provides career services for students to help you get started. Get your Linkedin checked by professionals, attend company networking events if you can and get some tips writing the perfect cover letter. It’s there, why not use it?

Don’t try to keep up with the Joneses

We all know him: he graduated Cum Laude while working three part-time jobs. Oh and he was also on the board of two student associations and helped to organize too many events to count. Is this guy successful? Probably. Would I want to be him? Nope. In the end, being successful is what you make it, not what others say it is. The best way to become really unhappy is taking a job you don’t like because it makes you “successful”. Spoiler alert: being unhappy is not successful in my book.

Hope you'll find some use in these. Let us know how you handle graduation (and celebrate it!) Are you graduating soon? Share your graduation pics on Instagram with #thecityisourcampus or #universityofgroningen!