I was recently introduced to a project The Ladders is running on sharing career advice for recent college grads. It’s been a few years since I graduated from UMASS Amherst with an English degree, and I feel pretty darn lucky about the career path I have been able to take, the opportunities that have been opened up to me, and the people I have been able to work with and that I have been supported by along the way.

My class was the first to graduate after the September 11 tragedy, and the world we entered was scary and uncertain and there were lots of qualified people and not many jobs. The first job I actually interviewed for was a babysitting job, where the parents had 45 or so applicants. It got down to me and one other person. I didn’t get it because I couldn’t drive the family’s stick shift car. I find automatic to be much more comfortable anyway, and so I had my first  “It’s not a good fit.” experience.

Job hunting and forging your own career path can be scary, cutthroat, frustrating, but also so rewarding, fun, and eye-opening. For more information on my path, please check out my Professional Background page.

After lots of consideration, here are a few pieces of advice for recent college graduates. What advice would you offer?

Say thank you often, and mean it.

You are above nothing. Sure you have a newly minted diploma, which you should be proud of, but always be ready to roll up your sleeves and do anything that’s needed to get a job done. Don’t lose that spirit ever; it will come in handy and it will be a trait you will come to appreciate in others.

Every job doesn’t have to be your dream job. Learn as much as you can from the job you have, even if it isn’t the job you want right then. My first job out of college was as an admin at a hospital. It wasn’t what I dreamed of when mapping out my career, but I learned how to manage in an extremely busy office setting, how to thrive in a professional environment, how to place others’ needs and concerns above my own, basic office skills, and a lot more. Oh, and by making the absolute best of it, I walked away with some excellent references that I could call on in the future.

Be open to being mentored. Heck, seek out people you admire for mentoring. I was lucky to have a supervisor at my second job who steered me more toward communications and helped me on the path to where I am now, which is working for a number of great clients on various communications projects.

Follow up. Not everyone will do this. You will have appointments and job interviews that seem great, you will put your time and energy into these things, and then you may never hear from these people again. Frankly, I find that pretty rude, and it casts a shadow on how I feel about an organization going forward. People are busy, but basic manners trump all. It doesn’t take long to write a sentence and hit send. Just do it.

It’s a very small world. Social networking makes it even smaller. This can work well to your advantage if you’re professional and polite and don’t burn bridges. Even if you are unhappy with a person or situation, walk away on the best of terms. To quote an old New York Telephone slogan that you all are probably too young to know, “We’re all connected.”  This rings true so much more now than it did in the 80’s.

Work isn’t your life. Yes, you will need to put in plenty of hours on nights and weekends, and if you’re lucky, you might even love it most of the time. There is no 9 to 5, and that’s ok. But you also need to know when your brain needs a break, when the work you are doing might be better if you walk away from it for the night. Take your vacation time. Americans are doing ourselves no favors by ignoring healthy meals, exercise, and time with family so we can crank out more work.

Learn to communicate professionally. You might feel most comfortable texting in code, but in most places, your boss won’t be LOLing if you lack the ability to write a well-written email or to pick up the phone to make an actual call.

Have fun and dream big! You are young and have so much ahead of you! There is no telling where your path might take you, so be open to change to growth, to jobs that might differ from what you imagined.

For more of my work related posts:

A Day in the Life (2011 version)

My First Interview

Job Hunting Nightmares 

The Freelance Rollercoaster