Class of 2020: New Beginnings

Congratulations to the Class of 2020! College seniors are seeing themselves enter a completely different world than the one they signed up for when they enrolled back in September.

You should all be proud of this accomplishment. But first, let's address the elephant in the room. It's not the prettiest finish line with the sight of decorated caps, gowns and the sweet sound of your name and major announced on the loudspeaker.

Nonetheless, this is a year of firsts.

• First time all major sports seasons were cancelled.
• First time for many companies to go completely remote.
• First time for restaurants and shops to offer contactless pickup & delivery.

And the first time, of many times, hearing the infamous, "Nick, you're on mute again!"

As a graduate of the Class of 2019, I can offer little advice on how to secure a job during a pandemic.

However, as a First-Generation College Student, my entrance into the working world wasn't the smoothest. A huge learning curve, multiple responsibilities, and not to mention, a crash course on emotional intelligence - I'd like to share a couple lessons with the Class of 2020 - regardless if your continuing your education, working full-time, or now stuck home with no plan because of COVID-19; it is possible to overcome.

1) Pursue Massive Self-Awareness

Self-Awareness comes in two flavors - knowing what you are good at & knowing what you absolutely love.

How to find out what you are good at?

Practice > Failing > Adjust > Practice again > Fail Again > Adjust again

You have probably spent an exorbitant amount of time watching some form of video entertainment. Whether that be Netflix shows, cooking tutorials, or TikTok dances - one thing is for sure, you learn best by doing.

Motion may feel like progress. However, to find out what you love doing, you must take action.

Take that opportunity.

• Internships, freelancing, shadowing someone in an industry you're interested in
• Ask yourself what drives you? What feels "effortless"?
• Ask your friends/family what skills they believe you have?

The key here is to not wait for the "Ah-hah" moment to fall into your lap or appear on your phone as a software update. It's not going to happen.

You must commit to mini-tasks. Assess the experience and continue to move forward.

Similar to weight training, muscles grow through repetition of reps. The more reps, the more the muscle tears. With more muscle tears, the stronger the muscle.

Likewise, your your comfort zone only expands if you take the time to be intentional with your experiences.

2) Put time into proper context

"Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” - Bill Gates

There is no question that the coronavirus has in some way, shape, or form affected everyone on the planet.

We can definitely see the negative side given national and global metrics that track positive cases and deaths from COVID-19.

However, I challenge you for one minute, to think about some of the possible positive by-products the pandemic has brought.

For starters, people are implementing healthier hygiene habits. People are discovering new hobbies. And yes, I will include myself, a lot of people have resorted to running as their new form of excerise.

The pandemic has also clicked the fast forward button on many societal norms by almost a decade. Think about it, in a matter of weeks, people have radically changed the way they:

• Work (virtual and remote work > office & in-person meetings)
• Eat (focus on cooking at home > eating out)
• Entertainment (Sports aside - podcasts, video games, and the movie streaming industry has blown up)

To those "hoping when things will go back to normal", I will agree with you on some fronts. I cannot wait until the day I can sit in a coffee shop again, or go to the ballpark and watch the Yankees play.

However, in a very real way, things will never be the same. Especially in the corporate world.

Consider this time of quarantine a blessing in disguise. Many college graduates opt for jobs they end up not liking, yet will stay in because of comfort.

For the Class of 2020: Take this time to

• Explore new opportunities outside your "major"
• Network and meet new people
• Educate yourself on upcoming trends and changes in the job market

I wish you all the absolute best in your job searching & please stay safe!

#2020 #CollegeStudents