From the beginning of first-year orientation to the end of your final undergraduate exam, most UW students look forward to graduating one day. Life after graduation brings on a new chapter of excitement, relaxation, limitless possibilities, but most of all uncertainty. As the safety bubble of the UW campus fades into the past, post-grad life can prove more difficult than our original ideations. With spring convocation finished and fall convocation swiftly approaching, it’s important to think about the future and hear some advice from recent UW graduates and a career advisor from the UW Centre for Career Development (CCD). 

Alicia Flatt, a career advisor at the UW Centre for Career Development (CCD), highlighted finding a job as one of the main challenges experienced by upper-year and recent graduates. “The 2024 job market is tough right now,” said Flatt. “That’s one of the major pieces of anxiety that can form because [finding a job is] not just a status thing of what job you can find, but it’s literally survival – I need to pay rent, I need a job.”

Grace Benjaminsen, a UW spring 2024 graduate in Honours Arts Communications Studies, echoed this sentiment; “I’m paying double the rent for half the size of a room, plus food prices… it adds up.” 

Luckily, Flatt highlighted a few strategies to help with the looming job search, such as learning more about the industry you want to work in by going on an informational coffee date with someone from that field. “There’s all kinds of things you can do to help with your work search, but a big piece of it is to continue to talk to and connect with the people who know you and like you,” Flatt said. 

Flatt did this when she first started her job search. She advises people not to go into the informational interview trying to get a job, but for advice and connection purposes only – if they happen to have a job opportunity available, they will suggest it as a part of their advice. “Ask them a lot of questions about their journey, who they are, what makes them tick, why they like this role, and what challenges they see,” Flatt said. “At the end, ask them ‘What advice do you have for me and is there anybody else you would recommend I talk to?’” 

This final question opens the door to others you can talk to for informational interviews without the hassle and awkwardness of cold calling. “People love showing how well connected they are,” Flatt said. “I said, ‘Great, do you mind emailing them and CCing me and introducing me?’… I ended up doing all of these informational interviews with all of these different people, not because I knew them… I had the warm referral and that ended up being really, really helpful.”

Flatt also emphasized the importance of being flexible during your job search, and how there may be more enjoyable job avenues than you might think. “What we sometimes do in our career planning appointments at the Career Centre is sometimes we take like that dream job that people have and we try to dissect it,” Flatt said. “What part of that job compels you to drive toward it… you can pull out the different pieces and then see what other things have those pieces that you love but you were just so laser focused on that job title that you didn’t see that there’s so many other cool things to do?” 

This mindset can open up more opportunities — you just have to let them in. This can include part-time and contract work which is on the rise. “I do believe that there is value in being flexible,” Benjaminsen said. “When a great opportunity knocks, you don’t want to smother it just because you have a plan laid out for yourself. If it feels right, don’t let your pride get in your way. Nothing is set in stone.”

Will Hardie, a UW spring 2024 graduate in Social Development Studies, has also found the benefits of being flexible during this post-grad period. “I’m trying to be flexible in where I end up… I’m just trying to enjoy being out of school for a bit and having a break,” Hardie said. “It’s okay to take your time to figure out what you want to do if you aren’t sure about where your career will end up.”

“If [contract work is] not what you want, and if that’s what you’re finding right now, it’s not because there’s a deficit in you,” said Flatt. “There’s nothing wrong with you if you find part-time or contract work for the first little bit of your career, it’s very normal and very common, especially right now.. we’re often looking for indicators of if we’re doing something right or wrong, so we don’t need to make [finding a job] be an indicator of our worth.”

With these greater opportunities comes more jobs to search through, so, it becomes that much more important to set small and realistic goals for yourself with meaningful breaks – whatever that means to you. “I know it’s kind of cliché, but be as gentle with yourself as possible,” Flatt said. “It can feel like ‘I have to spend eight hours a day work searching’… that would be really hard – you’ve just punished yourself into thinking ‘you need to work search’ – it helps nobody.”

Flatt recommends setting realistic goals such as searching for jobs for 30 minutes to an hour, applying to 20 jobs per day, or deciding on a timeline that works for you. “Giving yourself permission to enjoy yourself even when you’re work searching is a huge way to make sure that your mental health doesn’t tank while you’re in this process,” said Flatt. 

Finally, take advantage of UW’s Centre for Career Development resources before and after you graduate. Current students receive appointments with a career advisor for free, and UW alumni receive three appointments for free, then additional appointments at $40 per hour. “My suggestion to you is to use the resources you have been provided by the university: Like career counselling for example. Look for connections to other alumni and ask professors for advice – they went through the same thing too,” Benjaminsen said. “Always remember that you aren’t alone in this and everyone is feeling the same way you are.”

Surrounding yourself with loved ones and your hobbies can help remind you of this during your post-grad chapter. Graduating isn’t all about finding a job – it’s also about reconnecting with your community, making time for yourself, and rebuilding your routine. Many students get comfortable in the UW community with friends, clubs, hobbies, and the school campus. All of that can change once you graduate.

“The emotional toll of graduating hit me the hardest. Emerging out of my comfort zone was difficult for me since I planted a lot of roots in Waterloo and at the university in my five years there,” Benjaminsen said. “I was leaving behind my routine and a town I had come to know very well, my friends and roommates, my house I had lived at for years, and my go-to places on campus that brought me a lot of comfort… This may sound cheesy, but it wasn’t the city that brought me so much nostalgia, it was the experiences as well as the people I became so close with that makes me miss it so much.”

Keeping these connections alive and developing new ones is just as important as finding a job, as it’s vital for your mental health. “Connections play into the work search, but also your mental health and your sense of well-being once you’ve graduated,” Flatt said. “Because the university is familiar, it can feel quite sudden to move away from it. Trying to build in connection points or opportunities to meet with people who know you and love you and find those people and hang on to those people as much as you can is a big one.”

Flatt recommends picking out the aspects of university that you enjoyed, such as friends, hobbies, clubs, and intramural sports, and intentionally integrating those into your post-grad life. “Find ways to try to continue those hobbies that you formed, or that club or community involvement in some way, so there’s a bit of a through line between your school self and your post-school self,” Flatt said. “It’s also okay to grieve. After you’ve experienced change, it’s okay to be like, ‘hey, I missed that.’”

Starting this new chapter of your life will be equally exciting as it is nerve-wracking. While the unknown can be scary, the unknown also means unlimited possibilities and opportunities to create the life that you wish to live. Many graduates have come before you, and maybe you’ll be the alumni who will be giving advice one day. “I wish I knew how exciting it would be! Stepping out of your comfort zone and into something new is thrilling,” Benjaminsen said. “Life is not a competition, so focus on your own journey, take things at your own pace, and trust that everything will fall into place in its own time.”