Over a million Americans graduate college every year. When you finish school, it’s both exciting and scary. Graduation means it’s time to find a job and start your career, but you might feel like you’re unprepared to enter the workforce.
Here are five things you should know before graduating, which will help you feel confident and ready for whatever is to come.
1. How to Write Professionally.
Throughout college, you’ve been asked to write papers and reports, but are you ready to write professional emails, notes, and letters? Before you graduate, make sure you have a good mastery of the English language. You should know the difference between affect vs effect (it’s easier than you think once you know the difference), how to address and sign an email, and how to complete any paperwork required for your job. If you’re going to be a teacher, you need to know how to write lesson plans appropriately. If you’re going to be a lawyer, you should know how to write a letter defending your client. Before you graduate, make sure you’ve mastered the details of professional writing and feel confident that you can impress anyone in your field.
2. How to Take Care of Yourself.
College was the first time in your life that you had to take care of yourself. Ideally, you’ve learned a lot about how to keep your body and mind happy and healthy. Before you graduate, make sure you’ve mastered your diet and your healthy habits.
For example, start to take care of your skin by using a daily sunscreen mist. LUMASOL is easy to apply and the packaging lets you know when reapplication is necessary. Sun protection is crucial for avoiding skin cancer, and a college graduate should know that the extra minute it takes to apply sunscreen is totally worth it.
Get in the habit of taking care of yourself, especially since you’ll be busier than ever after graduation.
3. How to Manage Your Money.
In college, you may have learned a little about managing money, but it’s more likely you didn’t think about it much. Your loans paid for your tuition and housing, and if you worked, that money went toward food and fun. After college, every penny you earn has to go toward paying off that schooling as well as all your current needs. You’ll also need to carefully consider your student loan repayment options in order to become debt-free earlier.
Start by creating a budget for yourself and sticking to it. Know what you’re spending your money on and how much you’re spending each month. The best way to manage your money is just to be conscious of what you’re doing with it.
Check your bank account every day and you should have no trouble managing your income and expenses.
4. How to Deal with Relationships.
Relationships in college are very heightened. You interact with the same people every day and the combination of alcohol and close proximity can lead to some interesting decisions. When you leave college, you’ll have to know how to have healthy relationships and the ones you had in college might not have been your best teachers.
If you hope to develop a healthy romantic relationship, you’ll need to be honest, supportive, and respectful. Your relationships after college might feel strange at first, but let yourself learn new things and grow.
5. How to Relieve Stress.
College is an extremely stressful time, so you might already have developed a few great tools for coping with stress. While you’re probably relieved to leave higher education behind, you’ll find that working full-time also isn’t stress-free. A 40-hour workweek might drive you crazy, so make sure you have tools for relieving your stress.
Try new things in college and learn what works best for you, whether it’s an impromptu dance party or a yoga class. This will come in handy after a long week at work.
