With about 60 days left until graduation I’ve been suffering through what most people refer to as “The Graduation Freakout.” It might happen when you’re thinking about what you’re going to do post graduation or it might happen randomly one day when you’re watching television. No matter when it happens there are ways to get through it without going into a full panic attack. Here are my 5 ways to get through your graduation freakout.
1. BREATHE
I put it in all caps because it’s important! You need to take a deep breath when you’re freaking out. If you’re almost in the panic mode, take a few deep breaths to get your heart rate back to a normal level. When you take a deep breath it will help you relax, that’s why breathing is used a lot in meditation. Once you relax you can think of all your awesome qualities that will help you get a job post graduation instead of focusing on how little time you have left.
2. Stay Positive
It’s important to focus on positive things during your graduation freakouts. Focusing on negative aspects of your future will ultimately bring you down so it’s not worth it to think that way. If you’re having trouble you can write down all the good things that are in your future, you can even make a vision board for yourself so you can visualize the person you want to be. Think positive and positive things will come to you!
3. Go to Career Services
Career Services at USF has a lot of great resources. You can do walk-in hours for your resume or if you want something more specific, like help with interview skills, they have people you can make appointments with too. I also recently learned there is a service they have called Suit-A-Bull, where you give a few days notice and you can get a loaner suit for an interview. These are just a few of the great resources that Career Services have to offer. Click here to check out their website and see what can work to help calm down your graduation nerves.
4. Make a Portfolio
This kind of goes with my last piece of advice but once you have gone to Career Services they will probably give you a lot of great tips on how to apply for jobs. One of the things I recently learned from them is having a portfolio on hand for when you get a job interview. This includes a nice copy of your resume, job references, copies of your valued work, certifications you have earned, and so on. A portfolio is a good thing to have on hand while you’re at an interview so that if they ask you for something, like references or a copy of your resume, you have it right there to give to the interviewer. A lot of times you can buy a professional portfolio at an office supply store, but if you don’t have a lot of money to spend a nice folder can work too.
5. Consider Your Options
Instead of focusing on what you specifically got a degree in to get a job think of your options outside of what your degree is. Many times people will get a job in a field they didn’t get their degree in. It’s okay to look at other options for your future career, some of what you learned during school could be an asset to a different job. You don’t even have to think of getting a serious job that will end up being your career. If you find a job that you want but you don’t have a degree in it, look at possibly applying to grad schools. If you don’t want to go to grad school you can always intern at a place that is similar to the new field that you’re looking at. I even thought of looking at fun jobs to be an in between phase until you find a job that you really want, like working at Disney or at a restaurant. And who says those fun in between jobs can’t give you valuable skills for your future job? It doesn’t hurt to consider your options and figuring those out can help calm you down from your freakout.
Having a graduation freakout is completely normal so don’t feel bad if it happens to you. The five tips above can help you through it and hopefully at the end of it you’ll have a clearer idea of what you want to do with your future. So take it easy, do well in your classes, and most importantly relax and have a little fun in between. The goal is to get to graduation, and once you get there you can celebrate the great accomplishment of being a college graduate. If you have tips that weren’t mentioned above let us know your personal tips are in the comment section or on the HerCampusUSF Facebook or @hercampususf on Twitter and Instagram!
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