Seniors – we all know how dramatically we cringe at the thought of the g-word: graduation. With May right around the corner, the senior class is looking forward to what’s next; not picking classes for next semester like the rest of the campus population, but applying for further schooling, choosing where to travel, or even picking the right job.
So, before we walk across PNC with pomp and circumstance playing in the background, here are a few tips for life after graduation, so we can transition from a college senior to a functioning adult with ease.
Michelle Gonzales, a Monmouth alumna with a B.A in communication, advised, “My tip for graduating seniors is to keep an open mind. When searching for a job, read deeply into what the day-to-day tasks are. What you enjoy doing may be out there, but not necessarily where you’d expect to find it.”
“You go to school for 16 years, and after you graduate, you are expected to fill a role in which you may think is out of reach. The reality is, is that you won’t know everything you’re supposed to when you start – but you’re also not supposed to,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales encourages graduating students to go into the workforce confidently. No matter you’re your sub-conscious may be telling you, you have the skills to accomplish anything.
Casey Hanna, a senior education student, said, “I don’t necessarily know what route I want to go in after I graduate, but I know I am not solely limiting my path to my degree in education.”
Hanna continues, “My love for field hockey has led me to look for assistant coaching jobs, at various levels. The idea of giving back to the game that has meant so much to me makes me so excited.”
For students in the communication department, it is a requirement to take a Career Prep class, and to complete a resume. Since I had taken that class sophomore year, I haven’t really focused on updating it regularly.
Recently, I visited Ellen Riley in Career Services for her help with my resume and for applying to internships for the summer. To say Career Services is helpful is definitely an understatement.
Riley helps students with resumes, cover letters, applying for internships and jobs, and helping to prepare students for job interviews.
As a communication student, it is a requirement to take a career preparation class within the program, and to complete a resume. Ellen Riley, the Job Placement Director in Career Services, said, “It is important for anyone to be utilizing all the resources here at Monmouth, including Career Services.”
“All experiences should lead to gaining confidence and creating a strategy to continue to grow as an individual, and ultimately contribute to an organization and society,” she continued.
Riley encourages students to, “use these few weeks as time to prepare for ‘what’s next’. May it be grad school, an internship, or a full time job. There are so many resources at Monmouth to use, and take advantage of before our time is done.”
Riley leaves us with this last piece of advice: “Talk to career services, graduate services for different majors, assistantships, etc. Really dig deep for this one, I think it’ll be great!”
