After college, the path ahead seems so daunting. But not to worry, NYLON Manila VOICES has everything you need for you to learn how to navigate the job hunt.
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What happens after college? The question lingers in many young students’ minds, but the answer is as diverse and complex as life itself. For many, the first job after you get that degree is intimidating as a whole—finding it, securing it, and staying in it are all different challenges you must face in order to reach your goals in life, whatever that may be. The uncertainties are everywhere, and all sorts of problems plague the fresh grad’s mind. We know this to be true because we once were exactly in that position. So not to worry, we’re here to put your mind at ease, at least a little bit. All you need to do is press play on the latest episode of our podcast NYLON Manila VOICES.
With students who are still, admittedly, unsure of the path ahead, fresh graduate Kyla Amadora and third-year student Shaun Peregrina, we dive in to the problems, issues, and challenges of the job hunt and the weird time and space between college and whatever we want to come after. To help us through it, we recruited business school graduate and resident corpo girlie Sophia Padre and life and career coach Aurora Suarez to give us some wisdom about going into your first job—and this is what we learned.
SORT THROUGH YOUR PRIORITIES
When looking for your first job, make sure you know what you want and what you’re prioritizing, whether that’s earning a lot, pursuing your longtime dream, or a work-life balance. You can have it all (don’t feel hopeless about how you have too many dreams, or too many aspirations and desires in a world that’s proven to be hard and unfair), but a rewarding life will take time and a lot of hard work. Make sure you discern what you truly want, as well as where you want to go so you know what steps to take to get there.
FIRST JOB ESSENTIALS
When you do get through the nerve-wracking process of getting your first job, the next challenge is to actually make things work. Coach Aurora pulls out a few keywords from the bag of essentials you must have when you start working: self-awareness, self-confidence, curiosity, and open-mindedness. Know who you are, what you want, what your skills are, and what you have to offer. Be curious about the work.
Your working girl era isn’t just about grinding and hustling, but also about learning and growing. Strike a balance between delivering to the best of your ability—and not just in terms of meeting your KPIs—and acknowledging just how far you still have to go in being the best version of yourself and living a fulfilled, successful, and purposeful life.
HAVE THE COURAGE TO CHANGE YOUR MINDSET
Another prominent issue young professionals and fresh graduates face is the dreaded imposter syndrome. In a world where it seems like only “the best” are rewarded, being someone that not only does well, but stands out, seems impossible. There are just too many people that are better than me, we might think. I’m not worthy of being where I dream to be. But Sophia and Coach Aurora strike that notion down real quick, even though they acknowledge that almost everyone experiences imposter syndrome now and then.
“How you feel is different from what you do,” Sophia claims. Though we may feel like we’re unworthy, incompetent, or doubtful of our ability, those feelings don’t necessarily translate to what we actually do or create. Changing our mindset sounds easy, but a first step is to be open to it—to being wrong about how you perceive yourself. “Imposter syndrome only holds you back,” Coach Aurora notes. “Acknowledge it, but then move forward.” If you’re simply not yet where you want to be, just work on how you can be better.
DON’T BE SO HARD ON YOURSELF
When dealing with all the doubts that a first job inevitably makes you feel, Coach Aurora advises you to “Give yourself the chance.” The first job (and frankly, the second, third, fourth, and nth ones) will always be hard. It comes with all its wins and losses and all its ups and downs. It will feel overwhelming. You will make mistakes, you will get reprimanded, you will not meet expectations (whether it be your own or someone else’s). Everyone will, trust us! But you can’t let it get to you in a way that harms your self-esteem or causes you to give up. Just keep moving forward, and, as Coach says, “Be kinder and gentler to yourself.”
LEARNING NEVER STOPS
In the same vein, take the first job as an opportunity of a lifetime. It’s a chance to learn, to grow, and to discover new things about yourself and your dreams, about other people, about the work you do, and even about the world. Your first job won’t be perfect, but you’ll for sure learn a thing or two from it no matter what you’ve experienced. Take it all with you when you move onto the next chapter of your life.
Itching to learn more about how to navigate your first job without losing your mind? Head on over to YouTube or Spotify to watch or listen to the fourth episode of NYLON Manila VOICES, out now!
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