To Soon-To-Be College Graduates

It is mid-March and the first official day of spring is right around the corner.  What does this mean?  Well, for those of us who have braved this year’s Chicago winter, it means that we all deserve a gold medal for layering up every day since early November.  It also means that college graduation is near – very near.

Whether you graduate in May or June, or even August if you need a few last credits, THE REAL WORLD is coming your way, and fast.

I am here to tell you that you will be okay.  You will soon prepare for what could be your last final exams ever. You will soon begin to pack up your campus apartment or dorm room to move back home or to a new place.  You will soon race over to the college career center to try to get one more meeting about what to do when you graduate.  I know this seems stressful but, trust that this is all normal; again, you will be okay.

I am also here to tell you that there are resources for you after graduation. We, those who have gone down this route before, want you to be successful, want you to transition successfully to the real world and most importantly, want you to work and become a contributing member of society.

From Campus2Career’s scores of clients who have worked with us over the past 5 years, we have seen great success coming from those young adults who took the time to be coached, who took the time to explore career options, who took the time to learn the skills of networking and who took the time to focus on the right transition to the real world rather than the quick or easy way.

Hear Rob’s story.  Rob graduated from The University of Illinois with a major in Political Science in 2013.

“I had a job out of school that turned out to be not what I was looking for. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I went in (to C2C) and we kind of talked about my future ambitions. They gave me a lot of good advice and gave me the tools I would need for the future so I can continue to build my network. Building connections is incredibly important, not just in terms of finding jobs, but advancing in your career. That was something I was looking for advice on and they definitely helped me do it. There are really good people over there who you can tell actually care about their candidates and the people they work with.”

Rob is now in Transport Logistics for JB Hunt Transport and, within two months, has already received a promotion. 

Hear Jordan’s story.  Jordan graduated from the University of Missouri with a major in Journalism in 2012.

“They say looking for a job is like a full time job and it definitely is, but C2C made the whole process easier. I had the initial meeting with Frank and was really impressed by some of the past people who had used the service and where they had gotten to in their career in such a short period of time. I really enjoyed the personality test. That was the first step. It helped me answer a lot of interview questions more successfully than I otherwise would have been able to. The test delves into your personality type and different fields you might best succeed in and why. You get an individual coach, schedule a weekly time to talk, get your résumé together, and build interview skills. I loved my coach. She was great at keeping me on track.”

Jordan is a Client Service Representative at Viacom Media Network.

As you reflect on the past four years of college and anticipate the next four, fourteen, twenty-four, forty-four years of life, think about taking control of your career at this point versus waiting and hoping for opportunities to come to you.

Be the Rob.  Be the Jordan.