Preparation, Searching and Satisfaction are the lanes on the road to maturity. The ideal path would be: our parents prepare us for life, and then release us to search for who we are and what we want in the world. We stumble around for a while, eventually landing in a place of fulfillment or satisfaction.
The same principle applies on our career path. We prepare ourselves through college or other training, start searching to apply that training in the workplace-with hopes of eventually finding job satisfaction. Some of us progress easily through all three phases with minimum drama, but more often it’s a bumpy road that’s complicated by speed limits, breakdowns, flat tires and detours to Stuckville.
We’ve all been there. Stuckville is that place where we spin our wheels because we aren’t ready to travel to the next phase; it is typically populated by people who are:
Stuck in preparation and not ready to grow up: “Dude, you’re 35 and been in college for 17 years, GRADUATE already!”
Stuck being too comfortable in their comfort zone: “Wearing Prada while living at home is not a good look.”
Stuck being uncomfortable in their comfort zone: “Are you saying, every boss you had, hated you and that’s why you got fired, again?”
Stuck defining their life through superficial accomplishments without emotional maturity:”How do you manage to include your job title, house and car in every conversation? I just asked you to pass the salt?”
Short visits in Stuckville are common and even, well, normal. But when you are living there or visiting frequently with a caravan full of sticky baggage…you become stuck on blaming others, stuck on boredom, stuck on irresponsibility and just stuck on being STUCK. During these times you need exit ramps leading you to the right people, at the right time, to help you move on.
Exit ramp advice is like anything else, it has its Good-“finding yourself is a process of peaks and valleys that will eventually get you where you need to be. So, hang in there!” its Bad – “everyone hates their job, just be grateful you got one and get over it!” And the Ugly truth-“only you can define yourself so stop asking and waiting for others to do it for you. Plus, you’re over 30 and living in your parents’ basement, call U-HAUL and get moving!”
In the words of John Foster Dulles–The measure of success is not whether you have a tough problem to deal with, but whether it’s the same problem you had last year.
We asked…. Did you feel like your college supported you beyond graduation? Why?
15%- YES ? 66% – NO ? 19%- YES & NO
?83 percent of the surveyed alums who answered Yes (15%) were aged 21-34 years old; the remaining 17 percent were over 44.
Reputation yes. ’06 Alum
Yes, the college has been very supportive. I go back to campus often. I still use their library to do work or study, I’m in contact with the career services office and I’m still occasionally speak with my advisor. ’03 Alum
Yes, still have career services access and connections to employers from on-campus jobs and professors for references. ’06 Alum
Several teachers that I had in college I have used as a reference or just a sounding board. ’04 Alum
Yes. They have kept me apprised of alumni events, campus developments, and the life turns of alumni. ’97 Alum
Yes, I stay in contact with my professors/director/advisors. They have been references for jobs/graduate school/national appointments. They have recommended me for awards/recognition. ’89 Alum
Yes. Offering networking activities, web sites for collaboration, access to e-libary holdings, job search, continuing education opportunities, helping other students. ’86 Alum
?63 percent of respondents who said No (66%) were 21-34 years old, 15 percent were 35-44 years old, and 22 percent were over 44.
No. I felt I had no help beyond graduation. No one reached out to me beyond hitting me up for donations. ’04 Alum
No. You could almost say that my choice of school was very poor…but what teen ever knows what’s best for their life? ’04 Alum
No, not in a job sense, but I do feel like they keep me up to date with what is going on. ’97 Alum
No, Haven’t received any communication from them other than requests for donations.’98 Alum
No. The only time I hear from my college is when they are fund raising. There are no activities that provide career opportunities or growth. ’85 Alum
Nope! I didn’t need them for help. I had made many of my own connections and worked those. I really didn’t know that the college provided help beyond graduation. ’80 Alum
No. They did not help with job placement or anything post graduation. They do keep asking for donations. Don’t think they knew then what we know now.’78 Alum
? 62.5 percent of those who answered Yes & No (19%) were 21-34 years old; the remaining 37.5 percent were over 44.
Yes and no. While we still have access to our Career Services Center, they really don’t have any outreach or seminars directed to graduates or helping grads find jobs after they’ve been out of college for some time. But yes, because I am still in contact with most of my professors (from my major and minor studies), and they are always helpful and willing to write recommendations, give feedback or advice, or to just chat and catch up. ’04 Alum
My college prepared me for my job as best as it could. There were classes on how to write a resume and people to look over it. If I wanted to stay in the local area they had job fairs with local businesses. Beyond that, not so much. ’02 Alum
Yes and no – I receive an Alumni Magazine, but there is little support or contact beyond that.’99 Alum
UP NEXT: “Have you ever donated money to your college?”
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