How do I get a job after school?

Job Skills?

There is a lot of concern about how well college prepares students for the job market. While we can certainly educate students better (more effectively, more efficiently, more cheaply), I think there’s a lot of confusion about what it means for college to prepare students for a job.

One reason is folks confuse college with programs that train you in job-specific skills. There are certification programs, degree programs in community colleges, technical schools, apprenticeships, and other resources that do that (not to mention professional schools like law and medical school). College usually doesn’t do that.

College provides durable or generalizable skills that should be broadly relevant across a range of jobs. This type of preparation is actually really good today: we’re in an era where you are likely to change jobs and even careers or industries multiple times, unlike the 1950s when most folks stayed in the same job their whole career.

There are some specialized, high-demand skills you can learn in college: foreign languages, computer programming, and statistical analysis. Local entry-level data analysis jobs often require a college degree and a course in statisics (a job ad for criminal justice data analysis included a preference for a criminology course).

But most classes are aimed at developing fundamental or basic skills: critical thinking, reading, writing, listening, ability to process and memorize information, to follow directions, being organized, being disciplined. These are harder to show with a badge, credential, or test. In theory, finishing college is intended to show that you have a better-than-average skillset in these areas.

College isn’t the only way to demonstrate these skills: military service or an existing record of employment shows discipline, commitment, to follow and execute orders, and your ability to get along with folks, as well as potentially other skills, depending on what your role was in those areas.

College is one of the established ways to demonstrate your ability in the basic skills of critical thinking, reading, and writing, especially. Of course, there is skepticism: with grade inflation and concerns about “this generation.”

Graduating college doesn’t guarantee that you can write or write well. But it does strongly indicate that you are likely better than average in these areas. It’s still up to you to find ways to demonstrate that your skills in these areas are good. A portfolio or demonstration of your skills or accomplishments can help with that. Being able to point to your achievements and how they illustrate your skills or helped you develop those skills (for example, taking an online class usually includes a fair amount of self-direction and organization, taking on and completing a research project sharpens your research skills and your follow through). A lot of jobs look for very basic skills like self-direction and organization so find ways to show employers that they don’t need to hold your hand on the job.

I’ve written about these ideas stated a bit differently here, here, and here.

Financial Literacy

As you transition from college to the workforce, this is also a good time to learn about the things we don’t typically teach you in college or high school: financial literacy. Practice following a budget if you don’t already. Start thinking about your retirement even if it seems like it’s a long ways off (this is where you have to learn about the importance of compounding). Learn the magic of small tweaks (something that isn’t just true in finances, but also in such diverse areas as diet and exercise to writing and productivity). A lot of this stuff is scary because most of us don’t know much about it–things are often scary when they are new and unfamiliar and if we’re not already stoked to learn about them. To quickly get up to speed, read The Index Card. It’s a very short book. (Just in case: this is not an endorsement and this does not constitute financial advice. Talk with a certified professional for that–one with a fiduciary obligation to you.)

If you want a bit more and a totally different way of thinking about the world than you’d get in a lot of our classes, read some other books on making money. Don’t blindly listen to what they say (you should never do that for anything you read, even this post), but consider the perspective and see if there’s anything in it you find useful. I don’t like everything in Rich Dad, Poor Dad or The Millionaire Next Door, but there are some interesting patterns across books like these and The Index Card. A lot of them emphasize the importance of paying attention to your budget and living within your means so that you can squirrel away money–but not in a savings account, but in some sort of investment. Beyond that, there are some interesting pieces of advice from Rich Dad that I’ve found in other areas of life: Think creatively about what you have to offer. Have a side hustle while you have your day job. Start small and grow over time. Be agile and re-evaluate your choices to see that you’re on the right track. Look for opportunities. Shitty things can happen to you, but how you respond is going to make the difference. (Just in case: this does not constitute financial advice.)

With so much changing–AI, job prospects contracting, etc.–it can be a scary time. But it can also be a time of opportunity. I recommend having backup plans and diversifying a bit to ensure you’re covered (ex. day job + side gig), but also actively looking for opportunities where you can shine. Think about what are the things you are particularly good at, even if they seem weird or niche, and work to develop those. Think about whether there are weaknesses you want to shore up and develop. Keep that growth mindset and keep hustling.