Post Grad Unemployment? How to handle it.

April through June are graduation season. Commencements are wonderful because they honor all the achievement and celebrate an "end of an era." If the graduates did not have a job offer after graduation, there would be a bitter part of the celebration. 

Dear Graduates Who are Unemployed/ Underemployed: 

You can choose to sad or happy about the situation. I started this blog when I was unemployed after college graduation back in 2011. I am going to share my experiences and advice I received over the years. I hope this post will be helpful.  

 
(Graduation from High School: 2007, College: 2011, and Graduate School: 2016)

First, do not feel frustrated or miserable if you are did not end up with a "good job" after graduation. Understand that you worked hard on getting the degree/certificate and BE PROUD of yourself for finishing it. Be patient about job hunting because finding the "right fit" takes time. I know that you might have loans and other commitment, but don't rush into whatever job that is available there. You rather start work later with the job you actually love than work soon with the job you would end up hating. 

While you are unemployed/ underemployed, there are plenty of stuff you can do other than being stressed out. I am sure there are things you have been putting off due to school and other commitments. Here are the activities I did while I was unemployed. 

• Spend time with family and friends
• Develop your passion
• Study something that is not taught in the university
• Travel the world
• Start business/ learn to be a freelancer

I also have some job hunting tips, and hopefully, this would speed up with landing the right fit job.  

• Reconnect with your friends, old classmates, professors, and coworkers and extended family: maybe they can do referral job. You need to "know someone" to actually get a job these days. 
• Polish resume: I asked many writing tutors to edit my resume to look perfect. Having a good resume would stand out among other applicants.
• Consult with counselors: do not forget to reach out career advisors, and they would love to give you more advice.  
• Find out your true self: I listed what I like and good at while searching for my career path. This helped me market myself better in networking and interviews. 

Remember, in the end, it does not matter whether you have a job offer or not at the time of the graduation. Post Graduation is only one moment in life. You never know where you at and what kind job you will in 5, 10, and 20 years and even 30 years. People change jobs and careers all the time.