Shraddha Cynthia

05/07/2021

Picture this. You’re in college, settled in and finally accustomed to the way it functions. You’re doing your own thing, attending classes for the sake of attendance (don’t be shy, we’ve all done that), stalling on studying all the time and pulling all-nighters a week before the exams started, or if you loved living life on the edge like I did, the night before the exam. With all of that combined with endless coffees, teas (maybe beers that you cautiously sipped, no judgment), prayers (what seemed more like bargains), regular check-ins with your friends (you know, to assess if you’re the only one going down or if you’re going down together), you finally manage to graduate.

Although tiring, sounds fun, doesn’t it?

Now, rewind a bit to those classes that you attended. What do you see?

I’ll tell you what I see. I see a teacher going on and on about some equations (I still have no idea what those were) until it was time for the next teacher to take her place. And this was a constant cycle.

There was this one time, a week in fact, where all the teachers only spoke about career options. You know what I mean, this must have happened to you too, probably sometime in your final year. They only spoke about career options for you (collectively as a class, duh) and painted a very beautiful picture about what you can choose to be in 10 years or 15 years.

BUT…

Has any one of them told you about what you need to do immediately after graduating (apart from “study more”), to achieve the thing that may or may not happen 10 or 15 years down the line? If yes, who are these teachers and where can I find them? If not, worry not my friend, your struggle is valid and very much relatable to a LOT of people.

Now, I’m not someone who has achieved a lot or who knows how the world works to give you advice, nope – I’m still trying to figure it out. However, if you are a fresher reading this blog, I could share a few things that I learned as a fresher in the industry that might help you get an answer to the “Yay, I’ve finally graduated! Now what?” question you may be stuck with.

Number 1: Find your purpose – I don’t mean “the purpose of your existence”, and get you thinking about life, no. As much as you’d love that, you compulsive over-thinkers, the “purpose” I mean is simple.

Before you fall into the pit of confusion about what you should do with your career, pause for a minute (or ten) and ask yourself why. “Why do I want to work?”, assuming that you do want to work, since you wouldn’t be on this website in the first place otherwise. From the long list you come up with, filter the genuine reasons.

You don’t have to be embarrassed about your reason, as long as you’re genuine about it. You want to work for money? Go ahead! Do you want to work because you’re getting bored of doing nothing? Great! That’s very productive! Do you want to work just to see what the fuss is all about? More power to you! Find your purpose and own it. Know that this would be your purpose for now. It will change with time and experience.

Now that you’ve figured that out and decided that you want to start working…

Number 2: Remember that YOU. ARE. A. FRESHER.– Write it down, make it your IG story, put that as your phone wallpaper, record it and listen to it on repeat, meditate with the words “I am a fresher”, do whatever it takes to remember that you are a fresher.

We, freshers, often tend to forget that we are ACTUALLY kids who know nothing about the job we are trying to land. Trust me, the personality you’re trying to showcase of a grown up adult who knows exactly what he/she/they wants and in what timeline, is not nearly as cool as it may seem in your head. Don’t make yourself look dumb.

Remember that you are a fresher. The word “fresher” holds so much more potential than you think it does. A “fresher” is automatically expected to know nothing. It’s a bonus if you do actually know something, but there is no pressure about what is expected of you as a fresher. Now, this doesn’t mean that you go to your interview and say “I’m a fresher” when they ask you where you want to be in 5 years, no.

However, be yourself. Be the “just-outta-college” kid that you already are. Be excited to learn new things, because the job will teach you many more interesting things that your teachers in college may not even have heard of. This will give you the opportunity to explore, to pick and choose what you want to do, to figure out what interests you and what doesn’t.

If the interviewer asks you a very obviously theoretical question that you don’t know, just say it. Admitting to the fact that you don’t know something is way cooler than acting like a “know-it-all” and making a “bleh” first impression. So, in this case, choose “I don’t know about that, but I’m excited to see that there’s so much for me to learn on this job” over “oh, umm, yeah, well I know how that works!” anytime (the unconscious usage of filler words give it away).

Number 3: Allow yourself to reset – The transition from college to an actual workplace is very real and very different. You may not be able to relate to the new environment at all in the beginning because of all of the knowledge and culture you were used to back in college. College, although it may not have seemed like it, was a safe haven. It was like a huge bird’s nest, with you being one of the many tiny eggs, and your teachers being the birds. You were guarded, protected and nurtured in a very gentle manner. Things were steady; you had the time to actually make decisions that were extensively thought of.

In a workplace, however, you may not be able to expect constant mentoring. You will not have the time to think thoroughly, which means, you’ve got to get used to making right decisions quickly. To be able to do that, you will have to break out of that shell that has been protecting you and accept the fact that you are on your own.

You will have to allow yourself to reset from all that you’ve learnt in college – the knowledge, the mechanism, the routine, everything. Only when you reset is how you will allow yourself to explore possibilities, figure out what you’re actually good at and what you’re not good at. This will open up so many perspectives for you to explore, which in turn only adds to your growth – both professionally and personally.

For example, if you have a question, just ask. If you’re worried about people judging you, (which would be weird for a GenZ like you), let them judge you all they want for asking something that they might find “simple” or “silly”. If asking that question adds to your knowledge, why shy away?

With all this said, make sure to be kind and empathetic. Always keep an open mind, learn as much as possible, find the things that interest you the most and have fun with it.

Phew! It may seem like it’s too much to take in, but it is pretty simple if you try this out.

If you’re reading this with the confusion of applying for a job in this company, I suggest you give it a shot. The people are great, you get to learn so much, and you may actually find mentors to help you out when you’re stuck! I can say that because I found a couple of them so far!

- From a fellow “just-outta-college” kid