Please note: This post may include affiliate links. Please read my disclosure page for more information.
College is beneficial for a number of reasons, but it might not teach you everything you need to know about life and your place in the world. Just because you pass your college degree doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to land your dream job, or anywhere in the vicinity, in fact. If you want to make sure you get ahead in life and in college, you need to start taking the right steps now.
Here’s what you should be doing to get ahead!
Do Something On The Side
It’s a good idea if you make time to do something on the side, such as volunteering, interning, or even getting a part-time job in the appropriate field. Landing an entry-level job can even be tough these days, as most people need experience. It sounds strange, but unfortunately, it’s true. Look at taking up a job that will look good on your resume. If they are not quite suitable, you could always word them in a way that makes them sound more suitable. Leadership skills, communication skills, and responsibilities are great things you can learn and include from most jobs.
Do As Many Extracurricular Things As You Can
Join clubs. Look for after-school activities that resonate with you. You might join the radio station, student union, or debate team. These things enrich your life and make you a more desirable person to employers as you build up your resume and make connections. That even means heading to mixers, workshops, and lectures on finding a job. You can pick up valuable advice at these things that you won’t get anywhere else.
Practice Your Writing And Researching
Being able to write and research well with proper spelling, citations and grammar will get you far. Practice often.
Teach Yourself Skills
Spend some of your spare time learning skills that can be beneficial in certain roles. Learn another language, write code, photoshop, build websites – anything you take an interest in! These things will pay off later and can even set you apart when applying for jobs.
You can even learn some of these skills and make money on the side. Why not offer to build sites for people, translate documents, and create flyers for parties? You can then branch out and look up things like investment and spread betting, getting a feel for the financial markets. But what exactly is spread betting? That’s what you’re probably thinking, but if you can research it and find out for yourself, you’ll get ahead. Be smart. Be a creator, not a consumer. Take action, don’t just talk about it!
Work On Your Networking Skills Now
Networking is important because you never know who you might meet and what opportunities they can present to you. It’s an especially good idea to make friends with people who are planning to go in the same field of work as you, especially if they are a few years above. They may have a say in hiring you later on.
