4 Truths About Moving Home After College For The Unemployed

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Okay deal with it you’ve moved home with your parents, and yes surprise you’re unemployed. Shocker! It isn’t what you expected? Me either. But did you expect to be making six figures after undergrad? I sort of did… jk. Accept it; take the plate of hot food your mom is literally placing right in front of you. And please don’t ask for your mom to grab you a beer in the fridge; get it yourself. And no, you can’t waltz into your parent’s house with a thirty rack on “Sunday Funday” and expect everything to be peaches. I know; I know I was a little dumbfounded myself. You’re liver worked hard all throughout college, a little break is needed. So here a little truth I’ve come to terms with and you may want to take into consideration in between updating your resumé and editing that cover letter.

1. ALL THE FREE TIME.

Depending on your personality you will either thoroughly enjoy this or it will slowly eat away your soul with a butter knife. There is no doubt that after awhile it will get old; BuzzFeed articles are not refreshed nearly enough, and Netflix has yet to add The O.C. to its selection.

Give yourself a realistic timeline for finding employment, moving out, etc. Your free time can be used beneficially don’t forget that. So you’re 22, 23? Hit the gym! This is the best we are going to look, ever. Remember that thirty rack? If you want to keep up with your friends that are still in college, hit the gym.

Start running, clear your mind, free yourself when your parents ask “what kind of jobs are you looking for” or my personal favorite “what was your major again?”. Hitting the pavement will free your mind. Again set a timeline, make goals. Improving yourself is a great way to use up all your free time. Take advantage before you are stuck working a 9-5 job and your to-do list entails dropping off a bucket of orange wedges off at your kid’s soccer practice.

2. SO… about that job-hunt.

Not even gonna lie it’s hard out there for a college graduate. It is okay to ask for help and guidance. Use your parents as a resource as hard as it may be, you just graduated college and you STILL do not even know half as much as they do about this thing called real-life. (REAL TALK) And network! It can really work. Reach out to people on LinkedIn in careers you wish to pursue. Get their opinion and outlook on the profession. There will be good days and bad days during the job search, but remember how there were good and bad days during college? And you miss those times right? See a pattern? Breathe. Things come and go in waves.

Be bold, have some fire, this your is life, be unstoppable, make moves, be the player in your own game of LIFE. This is as young as we will ever be. Terrified yet? Good. Keep reading.

3. Your friends from high school will either…

A) be non-existent
B)be too occupied with work or
C) changed completely.

You probably knew this was coming if you had a pulse during all the holiday breaks you were home. But yes the initial shock is still there; but have no fear there’s 7 billion people in the world, and you have all the time in the world to meet them because well, you’re unemployed. Strike up a conversation at Starbucks; remember to smile at strangers. You never know who will chat it up with you and knows someone who walks someone’s cousins dog and can get you a job! Seriously though, you may have to be your own best friend for a while. Good thing you’re awesome. And maybe you left college feeling jaded and not knowing who you were; this is the time to take advantage of all your free time and really perfect who you really are. Yes, you should still take everything you learned about yourself in college (some based-god knows you paid enough for it). Don’t recreate yourself completely; but make yourself a little better every damn day. You can do this by those you surround yourself with, new or old friends.

4. So about that social media…

It is now terribly boring and you’re probably checking it way more than you should. Stop it. Go off the grid for a little bit; it’ll still be there when you come back, I promise. Facebook, Instagram (Insta), Twitter, and Snapchat are not going to do you any good right now; it is highly unlikely these will get you a job; in fact go make sure all of these are private… I’m serious open up a new tab and make all your social media private. But really, seeing how everyone is either a) employed and foolishly complaining about their bosses on social media or b) boosting about a promotion on social media; it is not healthy. If absolutely necessary just keep it to a minimum, you procrastinated enough in college. You no longer in need of these vices to kill time, you have a lot of free time remember? Don’t waste it picking between Lo-Fi or #nofilterbro.

All jokes aside, make the best and the most of this free time. You have the rest of your life ahead of you to work. (Cliché, sorry I’m not sorry). Figure out what you really want to do. Let yourself be pointed in the direction that makes you happy. This time is unique and special; you can be selfish and only think about your own happiness for probably the last time in your life. Don’t waste it. Embrace it. Blaze some trails, be a trailblazer. You got this.