Today marks a milestone in my life. I’ve been handling the life of an adult for exactly a year now.
So far, here are the things that I accomplished:
✓ Three breakdowns
✓ 2 stupid decisions
✓ A whole lot of wrong people in my life
All of if feels like it happened ages ago but looking back, it’s just a year and I could still vividly remember that one rainy afternoon when I moved my tassel to the left and received a piece of paper certifying that I am on my own now. (lol)
Graduations bring us a whole lot of emotions, there’s joy, fear, excitement, pressure and believe me when I say, it’s felt all at once.
So if you ask me how I survived those emotions after graduation? You simply DON’T.
I still feel those emotions even after a hundred times of client calls, meetings, and proposals but those emotions are important, to feel fear, to carry burdens because the joy of hard work that pays off won’t amount to the fear you felt.
But before I start listing down what I call my ‘survival guide’ let me start by saying there is no true blueprint that’s gonna map your way straight to success.
So to speak, ‘ is this article a scam? No, this is a path that I made in hopes that at some point, we’ll cross experiences and see a piece of yourself in these words.
Let’s get started!
Prioritize a healthy working environment
What’s worse than a stressful job? A toxic environment.
Your productivity lies in your environment. If the people or the work ethics projects a negative attitude, your motivation and happiness goes down with it too.
Millennials already are the largest segment in the workplace. More than 50% of the workforce are millennials, and by 2030, it is expected to rise up to 75% (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2018)
With this, studies show that 43% of millennials tend to leave their job within 24 months and the leading reason focused on the business’s unethical practices, lack of diversity, inflexibility, and limited on-the-job education opportunities.
(and I am a part of that 43%)
With the job-hopping in place, millenials have been branded as a lethargic group but does this mean that millennials are discontented?
Rather than discontented, I like to put it as the generation of dream pursuers.
We are remodeling the concept of employment by sending a message that this generation is a proactive group that
Be afraid but still try
Whats the thrill of job hunting without a little fear and pressure?
Questions like: can I do this? Will i fit to what they’re looking for?
It’s natural to be afraid I still remember how my anxieties skyrocketed when I first started to look for a job. Its hella stressful if you ask (mentally and emotionally) but don’t let this stop you from trying.
You are a fresh grad with no experience so your employers expectation is minimal or close to nothing.
So don’t expect to get a high paying job just because you earned a degree. That serve as your passport but your boarding ticket to a better paying job is your skills and since you don’t have any experience, they are basically paying you to improve yourself. An investment to the skills that you can develop. So taking the salary factor aside, evaluate what you can learn from doing this job.
Will this help you achieve your dream?
Will I see myself growing in this field?
Can I see myself doing this every day?
If you answered NO to any of these questions then need to rethink of pursuing this job.
Rejection
What’s the thrill of job application without a sprinkle of rejection?
I can still remember my first rejection, I sent my resume to a single company because I told myself that this is the job that I want. Moving forward, I was accepted for the initial interview and took a few exams.
After a week, I got a message that I didn’t make the cut.
That really took a toll on my confidence, considering the peer pressure that my classmates are already working and here I am considering the one thing I think I’m good at, didn’t make it.
The idea that I’ll be competing with a whole lot of graduates in the workforce scared the hell out of me. I am not special, I didn’t graduate with distinctions, I am not very active in organizations so how will I get a spot in the corporate world?
Soft skills.
Soft Skill is everything
Skills that doesn’t know how to communicate is below an average person who knows how to be a part of them team.
Our CEO discussed to us that soft skills are the most difficult competencies to learn.
You can learn a skill overnight but you can NEVER change a person’s lifelong belief overnight.
It’s easy to build a resume full of technical skills but what we are looking for is outside the corners of the paper. Your attitude towards others, your goals or to simply put, your character.
You may be one drop of water, but together, you are a storm.
Skills is what you develop but character is rooted deep within. Nourish something that cannot be seen but can be felt by others.
And here are a few more points I like to impart:
-Don’t focus on a pre-determined path, you might lose sight of opportunities because of that.
-Evaluate yourself based on your skills and weaknesses. This will help you decide your next move.
-Keep moving forward. Even if it means you have to crawl to move forward, even if you have to go back three steps to be able to move an inch. Big or small, progress is progress.
-Give yourself a tap on the back. Whatever circumstances you’ve been through, I am so proud of you for making it.
-Lastly, the corporate world is scary but have a little faith in yourself.
We are captain of different boats so your journey would be different than mine but you will be remembered not by what you achieved to be the captain but who you are as a leader of your boat.
“At the end of the day, it’s a matter of how much you invest not in this company but in yourself, because the one who knows more gets paid more”
-CEO of my current job
So stir well but never forget to enjoy the ride. ❤
-K
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Buckets of Joy 