I’ve always found the last few weeks of the semester to be the toughest, especially this year for me personally, since it’s my last semester at Maryland. Talk about having a terrible case of senioritis. This is the second to last entry that I will be writing for Her Campus, and I thought that this time I would like to share my insight and advice on the subject of job hunting—for those also graduating or close to graduating—and about maintaining a good balance—for those who are still going to be in school for a while longer.
Two important lessons I’ve learned from my experiences at college are that knowing how to balance work and play is a very important skill to have, as well as being proactive and getting involved in as many things as you can (so long as you can handle them). My freshman year, it was so easy to get carried away with partying and focusing too much of my energies on keeping up with the social scene. I learned the hard way that with freedom comes responsibility, and so sophomore year I had to make sure that I put forth just as much effort into my studies as I did hanging out with my friends.
At times it would seem like I had to make a few difficult sacrifices along the way, but in the end I think it all paid off. Another thing that I did, which I wish I had done earlier, was seek out job opportunities my junior year. My advice to those who are still in their freshman and sophomore years; the earlier you seek out job opportunities, the better off you’ll be during job interviews, since you’ll more than likely have a stronger resume than your peers. However, if you find it difficult to manage a job in addition to school, then be sure to just focus on your academics. So long as you’re a student, grades should still take priority above all else.
For anyone graduating this semester or graduating in the spring, if you haven’t already, I strongly suggest that you start sending out your resumes and talking to potential employers for job opportunities. I started my search for a full-time position at the start of the semester, and I think that was probably one of the best decisions I ever made; the fact that I will have a full-time job right out of school is definitely a load off my shoulders.
It took about three months to find a position, and I’m sure those three months would have seemed ages longer had I not had the cover of school to cast the illusion that I still had time to search, rather than having been freshly graduated and frustrated that I was out of work for months.
My underlying message here is know how to manage your time. If you pace yourself properly, then you’ll always be ready to take any opportunity that comes your way.