Why Finding Your Passion and Networking Make All the Difference

This weeks podcast was really exciting for me because I got to interview my beautiful wife! I decided to interview her because I think that many college students will be able to relate to her story. I’ve always known what my passion is so figuring out what I wanted to do after graduation came natural to me. This definitely wasn’t the case for her. The reality is that a lot of people really struggle to figure out what they want to do after graduation. This is why I think it’s important for Jessica to share her story so that hopefully we can help others in this same situation. 

I always joke that she’s the smarter one and that I would have hired her over me, but it’s true! Jessica (allegedly) went to a better school, had good grades, she was involved in several student organizations, and held leadership positions. How is it that I was the one who had several job offers the semester before I graduated and she was struggling? We’ve spent a lot of time talking about this and it really comes down to two things: figuring out your passion early on and networking. Because I knew exactly what I wanted to do after graduation, I was able to create a plan and be strategic with my time. I did internships that I knew were going to give me the skills that I needed to land my dream job and I networked with the people that could help me get my foot in the door. Because Jessica didn’t know what she wanted to do after graduation, she wasn’t able to pinpoint the companies that she wanted to work for. Because she didn’t know what companies she wanted to work for, she didn’t have a clear plan for the skills that she should be building and the people that she should be talking to. Luckily, she’s found success after college but it took her a little longer to figure it all out. 

Be sure to listen to the podcast to hear all about Jessica’s college experience and learn what she would do differently now! Below I’ve included a few helpful tips from Jessica:

1. Spend time trying to figure out what your passion is early on. 4 years may seem like a long time, but it goes by so fast! Do as many internships/externships as you can because you’ll never really know if you will like or dislike something until you try it. You may be surprised!
2. Network network network! It really is all about who you know and not so much what you know. 
3. Talk to your professors! They have a lot of great real world experience and they have huge networks. You may think that they’re too busy because they have thousands of students, but most students don’t take the time to talk to them.

Mastering College Podcast- Jessica's Story