Amy Lindgren
Today I’m writing about launching successfully after graduating from high school, college or tech school. But first, a joke I’ve always found annoying:
Q: What do recent graduates say when they can’t find a job?
A: ‘Want fries with that?’
Oh, ha ha. One reason that bugs me is that I know multiple paths lead to post-graduation success — however you define it, and whatever you just graduated from. I also know the quickest path isn’t always the straightest.
I re-learned this lesson from a woman who took the indirect path about 15 years ago. She finished an arts degree, then worked as a fast food manager and lived at home while paying off her $30,000 student debt.
The loans were gone in two years, and she moved in with a roommate. From there she pursued work in the arts, which was more possible without the debt.
I wouldn’t say that establishing herself came easily, but that’s the arts for you. Low pay didn’t stop her from buying a home or starting an IRA, although she needed multiple jobs to do it.
Parents and economists can dispute whether it counts as success when college graduates need multiple jobs to stay in their field while also reaching life milestones.
Me? I call this an absolute success story. This person had specific goals — to work in the arts, to be self-supporting, to own a home, to start funding retirement — and she met them all. How is that not success?
Contrarians could also argue that burnout usually results from working multiple jobs. Yes, a definite possibility, similar to the possibility of burning out from a single job, even when it’s in your field.
My point isn’t that new graduates can’t win, no matter what they do. Just the opposite: they can’t control final outcomes, so they should take the smaller wins early. In other words, it’s alright to just get started on your life, regardless of how your career is going.
That’s what another graduate did. This young man had low expectations for the post-COVID job market but high expectations for himself when he finished college. He wanted to live independently while sorting out his career path and traveling frequently. He started working in retail and moved into cheap housing with friends. Not long after, he upgraded to a semi-professional job in an elementary school, leaving summers available for travel.
Is he launched? I would say yes. Will he need a relaunch at some point? I don’t know, but why delay his current life while trying to figure out the next one?
Of course I also know new graduates who quickly landed jobs in their field, so my point isn’t that relevant work can’t be found. Some live with parents, some with partners, some on their own. With this in mind, I wouldn’t count living independently as the key factor in being launched, either.
My bar for whether someone is launched is both higher and lower than those factors. I just want to know: Is this new graduate achieving / on the way to achieving goals that they’ve set? If yes, then things are fine.
If you are a new graduate yourself, or know one you’d like to advise, the following steps fit this particular worldview:
• 1. Rank your goals. For example, embedded in the examples above are working in one’s field, eliminating debt, living independently, owning a home, traveling, saving for retirement. Of course, most people want all of these, but that’s where things get tangled. Rather than trying to reach all goals at once, it’s better to reach for a couple, then reevaluate before pushing forward.
• 2. Create a plan for the top goal. Want to live apart from your parents? Then any job and a pile of roommates might do. Most interested in starting your career? Then perhaps you live at home while interning in your field. Remembering that you can’t solve everything at once will protect you from analysis paralysis.
• 3. Start on the next goal. You can (should) overlap goals, as long as you don’t pursue them all simultaneously. For example, living at home and interning still lets you work part-time and save for a down payment.
• 4. Set deadlines. Working backwards from a date lets you set a pace, which lets you measure progress or ask for help. Goals without plans, and plans without deadlines? That’s the real formula for burnout.
This is doable. And yes, I do want fries with that, if it means supporting someone on their path. Thanks for asking.
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Amy Lindgren owns a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com.
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