3 Ways To Land A Post-Grad Job You’ll Love Through Instagram And Soul-Searching

Spring break season is upon us, and while this is a time to enjoy life to the fullest and take a breather, this doesn’t change the reality of the end of senior year being just around the corner. College is a confusing time. Not only do you have to make big life choices, but you’ve also got to keep up a decent GPA and somehow maintain a social life that’s not just pizza and Netflix.

While senior year is a time of roller-coaster emotions, the one that dominates is uncertainty, often accompanied by its best buddy – fear. Too many people make the mistake of either accepting the first job they’re offered out of college or fall into the existential abyss and do nothing for a year while living in their parents’ basement.

Needless to say, neither one of these options is #goals. So what do you do in order to land a job you actually love and transition to healthy adult life after graduation?

Make sure your resume is the bomb

First things first – you won’t land your dream job, or any job for that matter, if your resume isn’t up to par. Think of that single page as the most important piece of writing you’ll have to do in all four years of your college career. Perfecting your profile will take time because there are tons of requirements such as formatting, font size, chronology, and references. These are just the basics, considering that you’re not applying to an industry that has specific style requirements.

Take the time to do your research on how to make a resume. Make sure you list your strongest skills and tailor it to the industry you would truly enjoy being in. By doing this, you’ll basically double your chances of landing offers and guess what – having the freedom to choose is a major key to success.

Be honest to yourself about your values

Some people care about making tons of money. Others want to have as much work-life balance as possible. Then, there are those who’d rather beg for money on the street instead of work in an office. Which one are you? What do you care about? Let your priorities be your own and don’t worry what your BFFs are after. Everyone’s different and therefore, has different goals – that’s a no-brainer.

You have to be extremely honest about what it is you want in order to get it. Have you ever walked into Trader Joe’s wanting “a little snack” and coming out with a tub of Ben & Jerry’s, a frozen pizza, and a box of crackers because you couldn’t make up your mind? Not acknowledging what you want professionally feels just like that, but ten times worse.

Instead of lurking on people’s Instagram, ask them for advice

Here’s the thing about social media – it lets us see how others live, but it rarely shows the actual truth. Admiring that girl who travels the world and poses in bikinis next to flamingos every other week is normal, as is wanting to be like that dude who went from living in a trailer to flying on a private jet. The trick here though is to use Instagram for a good purpose instead of letting it become a toxic tool for comparison.

Next time you go on someone’s feed and think: “damn, I want my life to look exactly like this,” instead of feeling that acidic jealousy in your stomach bubble up while hitting the like button, shoot them a DM saying: “hey, how did you get there, what’s your story?”

If the people you admire are legit, they’ll always be happy to talk about how to they got where they are today and give you tips. Turn those influencers you admire into mentors.

There you have it – apply these simple tips to your last months in college and graduate feeling excited about the future and confident in your decisions.