Thoughts for Seniors: Pre-Graduation Prep

As a senior who is graduating in May, I’ve started becoming more anxious about post-grad life as winter break ended. The horrors of adulting have begun to loom over me as I navigate my last semester of undergrad while trying to begin looking for a full-time job that can hold me over until I decide that I’m ready for graduate school. Although a decent procrastinator, this is something that I would rather not put off until the last minute, especially because it’s my future that hangs in the balance. Many other seniors may very well be feeling some variation of this sentiment. To put all of our minds at ease, I contacted the Career Center on campus and requested some tips that graduating seniors can begin thinking about now at the beginning of the semester. This is what they said:

• Meet with a career coach to develop a job search strategy
• Update and finalize job application materials (resumes, cover letters)
• Practice your interviewing skills by booking an interview preparation coaching session and a mock interview with a career coach
• Ask professional contacts for reference letters or get their consent to use them as references on job applications
• Apply to jobs or graduate school
• Attend career fairs and other career events on and off campus
• Apply for graduation
• Talk to a career coach about life after graduation
• The Andrews University Career Center provides individual coaching sessions to help students succeed. Schedule an appointment through Handshake or contact them via phone at 269-471-6288, by email at career@andrews.edu, or stop by their office located in Room 306 of the James White Library.

I would like to add a point:

• Talk to your professors in your department! More often than not, they’re only too willing to offer advice and encouragement. Mine have told me time and again that they’d be references for a job and that they’d write stellar reference letters for graduate school.

Last but certainly not least, remember that there are many people who have come before us and that the majority have gone on to find stable careers and live a fulfilled life. Don’t be afraid to reach out to the CTC to talk to someone (this topic has definitely come up in my therapy sessions); these are real and valid fears. We’ve learned so much from being here at Andrews about ourselves and the world around us, meaning that we can go forth into the world being self-assured in that knowledge.