6 Things You Need to Do Right After Graduation

So you’ve donned your regalia, walked across your university’s stage, and have accepted your hard-won diploma. This piece of paper is the result of years of work, expense, and sacrifice that have—hopefully—earned you a new skillset and a more well-rounded outlook on life.

Now it’s time to put it to use. But where to begin?

The months directly after graduation are just as difficult and important as any set of final exams—there are looming deadlines, papers to write in the form of resumes and cover letters, and employment tests to pass. Except this time, there are real-world consequences for shirking your duties.

If you’re like many new graduates, you’re scared right now. You don’t know exactly what’s going to happen in the next few months. You don’t know if you’re going to have an income or if you’ll be able to live on your own, or even if the last few years of higher education were worth it. You may even be dreading the end of youth and the beginning of “adulthood.”

But don’t be fooled into thinking that the fun is over—it’s not. In fact, adulthood doesn’t have to look like early bedtimes and 12-hour workdays.

The world is open to you, dear graduate. But there are a few things you need to do in order to maximize your chances of success. Let’s look at the 6 most important things you need to do right after graduation so that you can start your professional life the right way.

Network

This is something you should do during your entire college experience, but if you haven’t, now is the time to start.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term, networking is simply building mutually beneficial relationships with those who can help you achieve your professional goals. It isn’t a one-way street—you need to be willing to give and take, just as you would within a friendship, providing value even as you seek aid.

So how do you actually network? Start with your university’s career center—they can often guide you through the process of connecting with successful alumni who are currently working for great organizations.

Next, look to your peers. Where are they going? Have any of them become particularly successful? Take note of who is doing what, and talk to those who are in positions to help you. A good word from an employee can sometimes be all it takes to get you into your dream job.

LinkedIn is a great place to network—it puts your professional story out there for all to see, and helps to keep you connected to peers, friends, and co-workers. Keep your skills and connections updated, and continually seek out new professional relationships through the site’s messaging system—it’s a fantastic professional tool.

Once you’re done with college, start networking and don’t give up. It’s the single most effective way to start the life you want.

Give Your Resume a Makeover

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You probably have a resume written up, but if you’re still using the same one you wrote two years ago in that professional writing course, it’s time to give it a major makeover.

The biggest change you need to make? Tailor your resume for the organizations to which you’re planning to apply.

This is one of the biggest mistakes new graduates make—they send out generic resumes, often without a cover letter.

Don’t do this.

Instead, do a little research about the position you’re applying for, and re-phrase your skills to make yourself sound like the best fit possible. Don’t lie—just emphasize those skills that are pertinent to the job.

And don’t forget that cover letter! This is how a potential employer gets to know who you are as a person. Make sure that you describe why you’re uniquely qualified for the position, and how you’re going to bring value to the organization. This is your chance to sell yourself—use it well.

Give your resume a touch-up as soon as you graduate, if not sooner. It will make all the difference in your job search.

Make a Budget

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Graduation is an exciting time, but it can also be a financially stressful time. You only have a few months before student loan payments kick in, and gainful employment is anything but guaranteed.

It’s time to make a budget and start being careful with your money.

Plan out your spending. How much do you pay in bills? How much does food and housing cost each month? Are you saving as much as you could by doing things like choosing groceries over eating out and limiting frivolous spending?

Figure out how much you can spend each month by taking note of your total income, tracking your spending, and adjusting that spending so that you can set a little money aside each month-you’re going to need it. After all, cars break down. You get sick. Travel expenses come up. For all of this, and more, you’ll need to be prepared.

Most important, set financial goals. If you need to save up for graduate school, for example, write out how much you’ll need and figure out how long it will take to save for it.

Creating a budget is hard work, but the added security you’ll have is well-worth the effort.

Clean Up Your Online Presence

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We all have a few embarrassing photos on our social media accounts, and there’s nothing wrong with that. You just need to make sure they don’t reach the eyes of potential employers.

According to Careerbuilder.com, around 60 percent of employers will look at a job candidates’ social media accounts to make judgments about them, and 59 percent will use a search engine to look up your name.

You need to do this before they do and get rid of anything that might keep you from getting the job you want. This doesn’t mean deleting your accounts—having no online presence is just as harmful to your employment prospects as a bad presence. But do engage your privacy settings so that only those you trust can see your entire life.

Keep in mind, though, that some employers may ask to “friend” you on your various accounts in order to gain access to everything. Whether you want to invite them in is up to you, but make sure that there’s nothing inappropriate, such as images or descriptions of drug abuse, drunken behavior, or discrimination. Even a short post bad-mouthing your previous employer or university could lower your chances of being hired.

Take care of online presence, and it will take care of you.

Write Out Your Goals

You have a certain set of talents, goals, and passions, and these have likely been refined and intensified during your college years.

It’s time to write them out.

Where do you want to be in six months? A year? Five years? Write the answers to these questions down.

Many new graduates operate entirely without a plan, but without something to guide you, you risk falling short of your aspirations and drifting into a life you don’t want.

So write out what you want and include the steps you need to take to get there so that you don’t lose sight of what you want out of life. If you can physically see your goals taped to the wall or sitting on your desk, you’re much more likely to be motivated to try for them each and every day.

Don’t let yourself drift aimlessly after college. Make a plan, write it down, and go for it.

Change Your Mindset

Finally, your mindset likely needs a big change after graduation. You need to develop a little skill called adaptability—one of the most important traits you’ll ever learn.

You’ve been in an environment for the last few years that encouraged you to think in a very certain way—in an academic way. The world of employment is going to be vastly different, and you need to be ready to translate your academic skills into whatever skills are necessary for your job.

Learn to consider your context. This means that you need to be willing to produce work that’s correct for your employer, and not just work that you’re accustomed to doing. Organizations have a million different ways of doing things, and while it’s perfectly okay to suggest improvements and innovations, you’re going to have to adapt to certain processes that may be out of your comfort zone.

So free your mind and realize that there are many different ways to apply the skills you’ve learned in college—the work you do in the real world can, and will, be very different.