Alum Aid - Voices from '09 grads

As I may have stated a few times before, I am a second semester senior, and this makes me a bit nervous. For those of us without job offers or plans to venture off to grad/law/med school, the waters are a bit murky. And for those of us who are in denial and just plain refusing to think about the future yet...well, different strokes for different folks.

What I thought might help quell some of this anxiety is getting in touch with some Tufts alums who graduated just this past year. They had just as many nerves as we currently do, plus they were the first batch of grads to head out into the less-than-stellar economic climate. Sunny prospects? Not so much.

But guess what? They all seem to be doing fine. Everyone took a different path and did their own thing, and it seems to be working out quite well for them.

I've interviewed three different alums, Emily Scott, Jyll Saskin and Robyn Goldberg (all AS '09), and asked them to share their thoughts about what being a senior was like, how they figured out what they wanted to do with their lives, how they went about reaching their goals, and how life is going for them now. These interviews will be broken up into multiple posts, so stay tuned in order to find out just how these three Jumbos took on the real world and emerged happy, healthy and with some actual disposable income in hand.

Think back to when you were a senior (probably seems like eons ago, hmm?) Do you remember what your thoughts were? What were you most looking forward to? What were you most nervous about? What did your senior year mean to you?

Robyn:

I was dreading graduating and having to leave Tufts. I was looking forward to working in Australia, and that was the only thing that kept me from being sad about graduating. Senior year was amazing - I had such good friends, a good house, good classes, etc. - it was just a really great way to end my college experience.

Jyll:

Senior year was less about school and more about transition. First semester, I had just found out I'd been accepted to grad school, so I just had a blast with friends. My last semester, I spent half my time in class and half my time interning at two internships. The one thing that was hard for me was that all of my friends in finance, engineering, marketing, etc. w ere going on interviews in the fall and had job offers by Jan/Feb. In my industry (journalism), that doesn't happen - you can't even apply until you're ready to start working because positions open up abruptly and are filled immediately. So it was pretty stressful at graduation to be without a job.




Susannah from Career Services says...

Jyll brings up a good point that there are variations between hiring cycles for different industries. While finance/engineering/consulting fields usually know about how many positions they need to fill early on, a lot of other fields have to delay their hiring since they may not know what spots need to be filled right away. Try not to get frustrated if you find yourself in Jyll's situation. If you are looking to head into a different field than your friends, it's helpful to avoid comparisons (I realize this is easier said than done!) Instead, think about talking to someone in Career Services about what you can be doing to prepare your applications and understand the hiring cycle for the positions that interest you.

Emily:

I was most worried about ending up with a job that I might not like, and therefore becoming disappointed with my post-grad life. Some of my friends who graduated before me just didn't click perfectly with their first jobs jobs and seemed frustrated because of it. Senior year was important to me because I had a leadership position in my main extracurricular (the Jackson Jills) and I got to practice lots of skills other than being a good student. The year was less about academics and more about relationships and interpersonal skills.

Susannah says...

Like any endeavor, your first job will have its share of ups and downs. Are you counting on "clicking perfectly" with your first job? If so, you may want to reevaluate your expectations and see if they are fair/realistic. Even the best jobs have their share of "down" moments, so it may be necessary to adjust some of your expectations. You may decide that your first job has long-term potential; you may decide to move on after a period of time. Even a situation you don't enjoy can serve as a learning experience and a productive use of your time. First jobs give you a better idea of what to look for (and what to avoid) when applying for your next job.

Just from talking to Robyn, Jyll and Emily, it is evident that senior year means different things to different people. Students feel a variety of emotions when thinking about graduation and what awaits them after they get their diplomas. Some have concrete plans, while others are unsure about they're looking for. It's perfectly normal to find yourself anywhere along that spectrum. It's not necessary to have the next few decades of your life set in stone.

That being said, try to figure out what your talents are and what you would be happy doing. People are willing to help you out, but it will be much easier if you can tell them what you're interested in. Furthermore, it goes without saying that very rarely does an amazing opportunity fall into your lap without some preparation. Finding a job does take some grunt work, so be prepared to scour job listings and send in applications and go on multiple interviews. You didn't get into Tufts because you're a slacker, so working hard for something won't be a foreign concept to you. If the first few applications don't work out, try not to get discouraged, because there's always another opportunity out there.

Look out for the next installment when Robyn, Jyll and Emily discuss how they ultimately figured out what they were going to do after college, and how they went about pursuing those goals...