10 Tips For Dealing With Post Graduation Pressure

We’ve all been there. You feel like you’re on top of the world when you’re walking onto the stage proudly wearing your graduation gown and your cap. You’re thinking this is it, now onto your career dreams…uhm, wrong. In most cases, it really isn’t that straightforward, at least not anymore. Many, if not the majority of university graduates nowadays are simply not cut out to work until they’ve gained a few long months or even years of work experience. That’s just for regular work alone, forget graduate work. This often leads to a lot of frustration as graduates begin to find themselves in job roles that they really did not study those long and hard nights for! And to top that off, the world around you can now class you as a university graduate – and with that, comes the question; “so, what are you doing now?” – and the expectations; TOUGH ONES. So to help you out, here are 10 tips for dealing with post graduation pressure!

1) Keep busy.

This can be a tough one if you’re going through long periods of unemployment. But you don’t have to be employed to stay active on the work force! Try to utilise your time doing other useful activities such as getting involved in charity volunteering or just any types of volunteer roles you may show an interest in. Or take up a fun hobby that wouldn’t require you to turn out your pockets (especially if you’re broke, which is usually the case). There is so much you can do with your time! It will make you feel happier knowing you’re achieving something, meeting new people and gaining useful work experience – and it will get you out of the house…and out of your head a little. Plus, it’s a good way to shut up anyone trying to pressure or discourage you!

2) Focus on the doable goals.

You’ve graduated with a major in film-making, got the grades and now you’d like to take your film directing career by storm. You want to buy a good camera to start building up your portfolio so you’re more employable – wise thinking. But there is only one problem…you have no money and a new camera is entirely out of the question. Which means that your film directing career is also (hopefully temporarily) out of the question. What do you do? You certainly don’t stay at home sulking your hard-earned degree away. You get a job! It may not be the ideal job, but it is a job, it will show that you’ve been working and it will save you some money so you can start to make your film-directing dreams a reality. It will take time, you can be sure of that, but it is getting you closer to your goals.

3) Look after yourself.

You spend a good 3 to 4 years working your socks off to complete your major. You had stressful, sleepless nights, you skipped meals, and you hardly had any time left for yourself. Now that is finally over and your efforts haven’t gone to waste, take advantage of your free time and use it to catch up on some sleep! Maintain a balanced diet with enough vitamins, protein, calcium and iron to regain your strength and have some fun doing activities you love and that make you smile! Even if that means spending your evenings watching Netflix. Seriously. You will not be able to have that again once you start work! Recharge your mind and your body so that once someone decides to employ you, you’re healthy and you’re ready to start.

4) Don’t be afraid to say no.

This is an important point and the pressure that comes from it is probably the hardest to cope with. Everybody around you seems to expect you to just take the first job that comes your way. Naturally, this depends on your individual circumstances but if you have a certain goal in mind you’re looking to achieve, and a full-time job in a field that will allow you no time for building your goal-specific skills and experiences, then do not let that post graduation pressure get to you. Don’t waste precious time that you could be using to focus on your long-term plans – plans that you, after all, worked so hard for all those years at university.

5) DO NOT compare yourself to other people.

One of the worst things that you could ever do to yourself is to compare you to other people. It’s an extremely negative habit that you should really try to avoid ever doing. It changes nothing and it makes you miserable; depressed, even. Every individual has a different journey and a unique road that they will walk down in life. Your goals might be greater and less mediocre than those of your peers, which is why things are taking you a little longer than average to figure out – they’re simply not average goals! Take your time, do good for others and for yourself and just. Keep. Going. You will get there eventually, I promise.

6) Stalk successful people on the Internet.

I’m not kidding. You can bet your left-over student grants money that the people who have made it to the top have been in the exact same shoes you’re in now (or maybe their shoes were actually ripped) – and it wasn’t easy getting to where they are. Giving yourself the time to learn and to be inspired by those who have succeeded through their own hard work and commitment, will not only give you the clarity and ideas on the steps you need to take, but will also mentally help push you to staying focused and consistent in everything that you do.

7) Expand your horizons.

If you have some savings to go travelling, even if it’s just to one place, then awesome! If not, there are endless activities that you can partake in (from your own bedroom if you want to) that will help you to broaden your think tank and accumulate knowledge. It doesn’t even have to be career-focused or relate to work. Watch interesting historical documentaries that will put you back in time, see how people used to live, the foods they ate, the clothes they wore and the battles they fought. Watch documentaries about the wildlife, about the solar system. Read books! All kinds of books from fictitious novels to psychology how-to guides. Any form or type of knowledge is gold and you should never lose out on whatever chance you get to learn.

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8) Look good every single day.

This is as real as it gets. How we feel about ourselves and what we see when we look in the mirror is probably the fundamental basis to everything else that we do or plan on doing in life. Feeling ‘clean’ and well-put together is the key to feeling motivated, ambitious and actually getting up and getting work done. It puts you in a somewhat professional mood and it makes you feel confident and ready to conquer that post-graduation to-do list you had pinned on your board for so long. Lounging around at home looking like a slob all day and feeling sorry for yourself will make any small, simple task seem like the biggest mountain-climbing challenge. It’s all in the head and how you choose to feel about yourself.

9) If you’re awesome and you know it, clap your hands.

Believe in yourself. That’s such a cliché saying but it couldn’t be farther than the truth of all truths. You’re going to get people telling you that you’re not good enough, that your dreams are too big and that “it’s very hard to get into”. Don’t listen to any of it. Take it with a pinch of salt, and move on. Tell yourself you’re great and consciously remind yourself of your talents. Remind yourself of your weaknesses and your flaws, too, but take action to improve them. Think “I have strengths in so many different fields, but I’m not yet very good at this one particular thing – what can I do to change that?”

10) Get a pet.

I’m serious! Pets, particularly dogs and cats have actually been proven to decrease feelings of loneliness and even anxiety and depression – and I vouch for that! Get yourself a cute little kitten or puppy and you’ll see the stark difference your affectionate, new ball of fluff will make.

Those were my top 10 tips for dealing with post graduation pressure. Try to put at least some of them into practice, and with my hand on my heart I promise you will begin to feel better in no time! Plus, you won’t have any time left to listen to or even hear all the negative blah blahs.

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