A letter to recent college graduates
Congratulations on making it, not only through the last 4–5 years of school but also the last year of global lockdown. This pandemic has challenged even the most sane and secure of us all. And as we start to wake up and open our eyes to the next possibilities in life, many of us are wondering, what’s next?
Like many of my fellow Gen-Xers, enough was enough with the corporate dull drum fillings up my days. So exactly one year ago this 4th of July weekend, I up and left my lucrative tech job and started a company, Green Chameleon Collective, to help those of you about to transition into the work world. And every day I am so thankful that I did! I’m happier and more fulfilled than I ever was in 20 years of working for others.
But as all entrepreneurs know, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows starting your own business. The articles saying that a few side hustles will make you millions overnight are not the reality. I work almost as much as I did before, but my time is mine. Every day I make the decision of where to focus my energy.
How are you investing your energy following graduation?
As I mentor recent college grads, I’m hearing a similar story of how they are spending their energy each day. “Spending” not investing their time. While reading other great Medium writers like Violet Davis, Jessica Wildfire, and Sam Dixon Brown, I hear more people talking about the things school missed, while craving a different path forward.
Does this sound familiar?
· A transition into a world that school simply didn’t prepare you for?
· Clicking refresh on LinkedIn on an hourly basis?
· Applying to endless jobs with very little response?
· Getting upset or jealous, versus happy and supportive, when a friend or schoolmate lands a job?
· Feeling like something is missing in the black hole of a hiring process most businesses have?
· You miss connecting with real people?
· You wish you had a network of people to help and guide you through these challenges?
· Would you like to find your purpose and not just a paycheck?
The thing I forgot
I remember this time after graduation vividly. I thought I had done all the right things.
Go to class.
Get good grades.
Play sports.
Summer abroad in Paris.
Work, sometimes two jobs!
But it wasn’t enough. I worked not only for the experience but also to put myself through undergrad and my MBA. And it wasn’t enough. I forgot one important ingredient… people.
I had spent so much time with my nose to the grindstone, I forgot how to connect with people.
Long gone were my friends from high school, off to pursue their studies at various universities across the United States. I stayed home because I couldn’t afford to leave and went to a “commuter” university near home so I could work and save money. Most everyone at the school was in the same boat.
No dorms or wild weekend parties.
No ability to meet people at on-campus socials or time to network with professors.
I worked. Hard. Constantly.
Studying. Competing in volleyball. Working those two jobs. Hustling.
Day in. Day out.
And it wasn’t enough.
And it still isn’t.
Your story may not be like mine. Maybe you went to a different type of university, and you were expecting that “college experience.” But COVID had other plans. You didn’t expect to be staring at the video screen for hours, trying to stay awake, and never meeting a professor or another student. And suddenly similarities to our experiences begin to appear. Whatever the reason was for us to be locked away from others, the real question for all of us is…
How do we begin connecting again?
How do we build a new network that helps us find a job we love?
How do we pursue a career that becomes our passion and not just that paycheck?
And how do we change our mindset from the trappings of academia that will keep us from being successful in the working world?
I hope to find out. And I hope you will join me.
At the end of July, I’m hosting a virtual graduation party… for you! It is more than a party, it’s a celebration of new beginnings. And it’s connecting you with people who want to help you start this new life journey.
To find out more, you can check out our new website. BeyondCollege.Life
An event designed by the hopes of my clients and imagined by yours truly. I hope to build an alumni network that transcends any one university or geography. And that brings us together to help each other grow, transition, and invest our energy more wisely.
I can’t wait to meet you, learn your story, and hear about your dreams. Let’s connect and take that first step towards investing in your future.
Always the Hostess,
Nikki Green
