Wondering what to do when you don't have a job after graduation? For a student who has been working hard all the way through college, graduation should be a time of extreme celebration and a communal exhaling of relief from all of the exam and dissertation stress that has no doubt been plaguing your life for the past few months. However, graduation also feels like a double-edged sword, because at the same time as being told to relax, there is also a pressure to have a job lined up for yourself as soon as you have thrown that cap in the air! For some, a career seems to fall in to place very quickly, but for others, the path is not so clear. Here is what to do when you don't have a job after graduation.
If you don’t think you are ready to throw yourself into the full-time world, then ease yourself in with a part-time job. This will allow you to have a transition period between enjoying post-graduation life and also making a little money to save and to spend. Don’t think of it as a cop out, think of it as a first step into the world of adulthood and proper employment. A part-time job is one of the best answers for what to do when you don't have a job after graduation.
If you aren’t heading straight for the 9-5 life, then you might as well make your time in between worth it by taking up a new hobby or learning a new skill. Do something that is going to bring both joy and productivity into your life, because this weird period after graduation has the potential to turn you into a homebody who just wants to sleep all day long!
There are plenty of training and work programs out there for recent college graduates that haven’t already got something lined up. These kinds of programs are available in most industries and last between six to nine months. At the end of it you will have some sort of qualification that you can then use going forward, as well as boosted confidence and a familiarity with working environments.
Maybe you loved the student life, or you don’t think that your time spent learning is quite over yet? If so, then grad school is a great option. It’s a chance to continue in the realm of academia, and you will most likely come out of it with a master’s degree, which in turn will stand you in much better stead when you do start applying for jobs!
Take that first summer after graduation to do all of the traveling and visiting that you never got the chance to do when you were studying. Meet up with family and friends from different places and make your downtime worthwhile before the inevitable responsibly of a job starts knocking at your door. Reconnecting like this, at this specific time, will help you to get out of that student way of life, and will prepare you for the big adult world!