What Do I Do Now?: Post- Graduate Life

From the ages of approximately four to twenty one, all we've known is early mornings, deadlines, and the structure of education. All the hard work we put in leads up to one final moment; walking across a stage with a scroll in hand and off into... well, what feels like an infinite ocean. Suddenly, we're drowning in possibilities and anxieties. Even if you have a job or career in mind, just landing an interview feels like you have to cut of a limb. Look at the world we live in. The prices for everything have sky rocketed and we're chained to a minimum wage job as a means of treading water. Surviving paycheck to paycheck, struggling with bills and tax and rent and food. Is this really the adulthood we glamourised as children? It seemed to be so much easier for our parents to survive this pivotal yet unfamiliar age as they bought homes and started careers. Unfortunately, this is the harsh reality we get from living in the 2020's whilst being in our twenties.

A graduate stands in front of a lit up graduation sign, holding a graduation hat above her head.

Rose Tinted Plans

We go to university to earn qualifications and gain the skills we need for working life. I'm sure many of us envisioned stepping off that stage into a row of interviews and job offers calling out our names. Yes it would be hard work, but we're comfortable with that by now.

Nothing prepared me for the silence. I get a notification of a job opening from LinkedIn, I apply with a CV and cover letter that I've attended workshops to complete to a professional standard, I wait, and then I hear nothing. Understandably they want experience, unfortunately they don't have time to give that. It's a circle of despair. The search is still ongoing and although my confidence has taken a hit, I will not give up trying to get out of working in hospitality (which is a whole other subject I will cover in another post).

Creative Navigation

For as long as I can remember, I've turned to writing as a therapy-like way of processing my emotions. Recently I have written a lot about these feelings of disappointment, desperation and anxiety that comes from living in a post-graduate world. I'd love to share a short one with you now...

Community

I'd like to close this post by handing over to whoever is reading this. If you would like to share your experiences, advice or thoughts, you are very welcome to. We're not alone, so let's help each other out!

Buy me a coffee! :)