Juggling the Transition from College to Everything After

As a graduating senior, I'm fully aware of the looming responsibilities a senior endures in his or her final semester as an undergraduate. I keep thinking back to senior year in high school, when arrangements were in the works to choose a college and the relief I felt when I finally had my plans lined up for post-graduation. I also remember the struggle it was to balance school work, extracurriculars, and time to plan for the future. That was high school! Now, the options seem endless, and so does the school work. I'm ready for it all to be over, but at the same time, thinking about everything I need to do before it's over is beyond overwhelming. Finding time to devote to planning for the imminent future, which will be here, ready or not, in 40-some days, is now more of a challenge than ever.

My advice is to figure out how much time you have to devote to various responsibilities, otherwise known as Time Management 101. But, as a soon-to-be college graduate, you're a pro at time management by now, right? I tend to think about the "here" and "now," focusing on what I need to do in the moment, taking everything day by day. That will leave me without a plan, which I will have to scramble to put together immediately after I graduate. Take about an hour or so, depending on how much homework, how many extracurriculars, hours at work, etc. you have, to devote to a job, internship, or graduate school search. Organizing the information you encounter is also helpful, so be sure to file or save your information in case you need to come back to it. Be sure to set goals for yourself in terms of following up with your application. Employers aren't necessarily going to do it for you! Remember, the ball is in your court from here on out.

It's not all about planning for a career or graduate school. Graduation is also about leaving some room for emotional and social fluxes. Everything is exciting one minute, and then for the same reasons it was exciting, it's all stressful the next minute. Take time to slow down and reflect on yourself so that you can be prepared to know yourself and what you expect from yourself when you graduate. Don't have an identity crisis, but rather embrace these challenges as a motivation. And don't forget to savor the last several weeks by really spending time with YOU because those 40-some days will be over before you know it.

Government Career Day on March 24th

Are you interested in careers in government? If you answered YES, plan to attend Government Career Day on Thursday, March 24th at the Dolan Center for Science and Technology at John Carroll University from 9 am to 2 pm.
Government Career Day is a unique opportunity to connect and network with government agencies that have immediate or future hiring needs. Additionally, a series of workshops will be offered during the day covering such topics as navigating the usajobs.gov web site; writing KSA's; applying for jobs with the State of Ohio; and federal employment for veterans.

The event is sponsored by the Federal Executive Board of Cleveland and Cleveland State University in cooperation with John Carroll University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Case Western Reserve University and Ursuline College.

To prepare for Government Career Day, take advantage of Career Services scheduled resume writing clinics or express lanes to create and polish your resume. If you are not able to attend any of the scheduled workshops, just call 440.826-2101 or drop by Career Services, Room 104 Bonds to schedule an appointment with a career advisor.

If you’re interested in internships and/or government careers, you won’t want to miss this event. Mark your calendar for Thursday, March 24th!