Preparing For Transition

Discuss Emotional Acceptance – Graduating can be terrifying for the student, worrying about future failings and sadness surrounding leaving now familiar friends and places. Parents might be feeling a sense of loss with a student graduating and effectively making the last leap into adulthood. Make sure you acknowledge the bad feelings but don't let them interfere with celebrating a huge accomplishment.

Use The Resources Available To You – From alumni associations to career centers, the internet to career coaches there are tons of resources available for the newly graduated. These resources are in place to be used, so don't be afraid to check them out.

Control Expectations – Talk about the expectations regarding the career search with everyone involved. You can easily take care of problems that might arise by discussing them in advance. Making sure everyone knows everyone elses needs and desires will make the transition period a smooth ride.

Focus and Prepare – College classes don't run on a nine to five schedule. While the family may have gotten used to their college student being home to take elderly relatives to appointments or to drop younger siblings off at school, this may no longer be the case. While searching for a job, a college graduate is basically on call to run out to interviews as soon as they hear about them. Have a plan in place for if you get called to an interview and need to rapidly change plans at home.

The key point through all of this is communication. Keep the communication flowing in all aspects of your new career path including at home to make your transition easy for everyone involved.

By Jodi Sonoda

Jodi has been blogging for over 3 years, and is excited to currently be blogging with Nexxt for collegejobbank.com. She is attached to the internet at the hip and enjoys the constant connection. She spends most of her offline time playing dolls and reading picture books with her two year old. You can also occasionally find her rocking the mic at karaoke night.