You have just graduated. While it may seem like a huge relief that your exams are out of the way and you have done well( if you have), the next question that looms before you is – What are you going to do next? Will you find a job? Will you study further?
This in many ways may not be in your hands. Sometimes, where you get selected depends on factors like luck, marks, prevailing conditions in your country, economic conditions – both yours and that of the economy, etc.
It is not uncommon for people to do their post-graduation as a means of upskilling while looking for a job. In my case, after my BA in Economics, I took up a Master’s Degree at Madras University. Simultaneously, I freelanced back in 1999. I was able to manage both, and it gave me much-needed confidence and job-related skills that have held me in good stead.
I’d initially planned to take up economic journalism and even attended a couple of interviews. However, my real interest lay in feature writing and I was not confident of writing for economic papers even though I had done my BA in Economics and scored well. ( First class and a scholarship).
I did not perform well in the interviews out of sheer terror since I had faced a lot of challenges up until that point and various setbacks, too. Today, I’m 47 and when I look back at myself in my 20s, I see someone who self-sabotaged herself in various interviews.
My lesson from this is – please rehearse for your job interviews. You may get some wonderful opportunities, but if you do not make the most of them at that point, they will be lost opportunities. Read up on your subject after passing out, too. Lifelong learning is what helps. Keeping abreast of trends in the latest in your field is paramount.
All the best, then, to all the job seekers!
