What's in Your Future?

Transitioning from student to professional is a new experience for most recent college graduates.  It may be stressful and you may not know how to handle balancing work and your personal life.  If this is the case, stop, take a deep breath, and read on . . . 

Dealing with Transitioning

Any life transition can be stressful.  Although exciting, graduating from college can also bring feelings of stress, uncertainty and fear.  If this is something you are experiencing there are several things you can do to help the transition feel less overwhelming.

• Visit the Counseling Center and Career Center. As an alum you can use the Career Center for up to one year after graduation
• A book: Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes by William Bridges

Bridges identified 3 stages individuals go through when in a transition:

1. Endings:  Dealing with Loss Anxiety, Blame, Fear, Shock 
2. Neutral Zone:  Transitional Period Anxiety, Confusion, Uncertainty 
3. Beginnings:  Setting New Goals Integration, Reinventing Yourself
   

• Life Work Transitions - Online information and exercises for life transitions
  
• A book:  What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles
• A book:  I Could Do Anything if I only Knew What It Was by Barbara Sher 

Managing Work/Life Balance

For many college graduates, work/life balance is a new idea you have never had to consider before.  Life in college is structured very differently than life while working.  The links below provide some insight into maintaining a healthy work/life balance as you head off into that first job after graduation.

Are you balanced?  These two pages have calculators/quizzes to help you identify how much time you spend on work and life:

• Quint Careers, Work/Life Balance Quiz
• CNN’s Work/Life Balance Calculator

Read advice regarding how to get and maintain a healthy work/life balance:

• Quint Careers, 10 Tips for Work/Life Balance
• Web MD
• Forbes Life-Work Balance Section

Finally, a different take on Work/Life Balance . . . is this for you?

• Brazen Careerist – Twentysomething: Why I don’t want work/life balance

Still looking for a job or graduate school?  Check out these Career Center resources:

• Job Search Strategies
• Resume and Cover Letter Writing
• Asking for References
• Graduate School Resources
  

Finally, don't forget to check out the Career Center Alumni Services.