From Student to Professional: Overcoming the biggest hurdle

Transitioning from a student to a working professional is probably one of the biggest hurdles of my generation especially when we are battling some of the highest ever unemployment rates among 18-24 year olds. It was over two years ago since I graduated and it feels like it was only yesterday. Despite having previously done job searches, endless interviews and job applications throughout my university years, nothing quite prepares you for entering the job market as a graduate. When I saw this month’s #hurdles series, I had the longest list of hurdles I’ve had to overcome in education, life, work, the list is long. Then I realised, the one #hurdle that no matter what background, what education, what path we’ve all taken, we all have to overcome- the transition from student to professional. Here are a few pointers on how I got past this hurdle.

Making sure all your ducks are in a row

Hopefully by the time you graduate, creating your CV, Cover Letter and social media brand (LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook) are all things that you have already done throughout your university years (if you haven’t, I advise you do this asap). Getting into the practice of doing this earlier on means you only have to update them and tailor them to your specific job application. With your spare time you will be able to focus on other tasks such as keeping up to date with your chosen industry, practicing assessment center tests, preparing your interview answers (those common ones that always come up) or doing your homework on the companies you’ll be interviewing for. From doing internships that help you focus on what you want to do upon graduating to speaking with experienced professionals, the more prepared you are to face the job market the smoother the ride will be. 

Keep Calm and Carry on

Whatever you do, don’t give up. Yes there will be knock backs, yes there will be endless emails of “I am sorry you have not been successful” and yes every time it just feels harder, but look at it this way… that ‘no’ is one step closer to that ‘yes’. If you get a no, it is important that you ask for feedback (if you can get it). It is such an important piece of information to find out why you didn’t make the cut, that way you can make sure not to repeat the same error in your next interview or application. Whatever you do, don’t sulk and retreat, learn from your mistakes and move forward. Persistence is literally the key when it comes to job hunting and whilst you are sitting disheartened about your failures, there are hundreds of other applicants going after that next job. There will be stressful, frustrating, infuriating times but just take a step back, keep calm and carry on!    

Don’t stop believing

Now I have to admit, I’ve really struggled with this one and to some extent I still do (my mentors will not cease to remind me) but it is extremely important that you believe in your capabilities, your values and your worth. The next step is presenting yourself correctly and showing the interviewee why you are essential to their business. They’ve read your CV beforehand, they’ve already made a first impression upon shaking your hand and now it’s time to really stand out from the crowd. You’ve most likely spent years honing in that key skill set that sets you apart from the rest but correctly advertising yourself and your USPs is fundamental to a successful interview, especially when competing with very high caliber graduates. How strongly you believe in the product you are selling, which is you, is how strongly that will come across to the buyer, which is the employee.  

Utilise your free resources

The first resource will be your fellow alumni; don’t forget that you are one of many fresh graduates going through exactly the same processes and obstacles. You can learn a lot from each other’s experiences and support each other through difficult times. Your second resource will be previous employees. They could have opportunities available now or later, they can equally refer you to someone that they know or it could simply be gaining knowledge on how they started their career. Your third resource is the most obvious one, family. Whether it is a contact they can pass on, simply just proofreading your CV/Cover Letter or supporting you throughout your transition to professional, it all makes part of the process easier. Lastly your fourth resource will be online resources such as efinancialcareers, milkround and graduatetalentpool.direct.gov.uk where you can find job opportunities specifically for graduates or pointers on starting your career.

The hurdles don’t stop here…

When I look back at all the other hurdles I’ve had to overcome, as much as some were extremely difficult, I am conscious that those are exactly the hurdles that got me to where I am today. After the difficulties, I shook myself down, dusted myself off and got up stronger, all whilst moving forward towards my goals. One thing I don’t do is look back, I don’t ignore what’s happened but where I’m going is much more important than dwelling on what has been. It would be foolish to think that once you get past what you think is the hardest hurdle, there are few and far between but the hurdles don’t just stop at the first job. In fact they continue popping up but the question is how you overcome them. The more hurdles, the more failures, the more setbacks you have only makes the next one easier to get over, it’s literally a matter of repetition.

This post was written as part of the #Hurdles series, which is tied to LinkedIn’s student editorial calendar. Follow the stories here or write your own.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be continuing to write on different topics every month so feel free to click follow, comment and share and have a read of my previous posts.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts - Winston Churchill