Majors: Next Steps
After figuring out your major, you might be wondering, “What should I do next?” In my last article, I wrote about finding a major, you can read more about it here:
Now, I would like to discuss what comes next. You might feel relieved from choosing a major. However, now is not the time to stop in your journey. Now is not the time to feel too comfortable. The next steps are even more important and will help you make the most out of your college career.
Once you decide on a major, you should use your new interest and get involved on campus. Try applying to various things, like internships, club leadership positions, or honors programs. Aside from the items that could be included as a line in your resume, choose the clubs or programs that you genuinely enjoy and will allow you to grow. For example, a club where you can enjoy your hobbies with others.
Maybe you are thinking to yourself right now:
“I don’t want to be rejected.”
“I don’t have enough experience.”
“Interviewing scares me.”
“Now is not the right time.”
You are not alone. I felt that exact same way before feeling confident enough to apply to various programs. It might be cheesy to mention, but there is never the right time to go for something that scares you. A professional from Airbnb once passionately told me and my classmates,
“Don’t reject yourself from a job. Go for it, apply, and let them reject you. Even if someone rejected me, they must be seeing something I’m not. They know that I would not be suited for their working environment or their team.”
This really sums up my point. Instead of weighing rejection heavily, consider your effort and attempts. Although rejection is difficult to face, by embracing rejection you could pinpoint your weaknesses and areas to improve allowing you to become a stronger person.
There have been plenty of times where I did not qualify for something. At that time, I felt extremely embarrassed by the thought of my blunders during interviews, but I acquired new interviewing knowledge from the experience.
Once I applied for a board position in my management information systems (MIS) club. At that point in time, I wanted to try something new besides going to class and working a part-time job. I went for one of the higher positions and to my surprise received an interview. When I went in, the interviewers hit me with this request:
“Could you give us a 5-minute pitch of why you deserve this position?”
😨
That was out of left field and I barely scraped by with my trembling voice and subpar persuasion (Really not my strong suit). The five minutes felt like more and the question really shook the foundation for the rest of the interview. Afterwards I felt anxious and discussed what happened in the interview with my roommate. She reminded me,
“You did well by applying because most people don’t even do that.”
Her words really comforted me because I felt proud of trying to aim for something I did not feel qualified for. When the results came in for the position, I was surprised to find that the board members chose me as a committee member beneath the original position I applied for. That’s when I learned,
Trying for something you are curious about is better than not doing anything with your interest and regretting it afterwards. The results can be surprising.
Of course not all of my interviews ended up with such positive results. There was a time when I interviewed for a civil engagement position to teach underserved middle school students coding. The interviewer, who was also the founder of the organization, felt very distant. The silence within interview was also painfully awkward and it made me squirm in my seat. You might have heard the advice where you are supposed to research the organization and interviewer before going in.
Yes, for the most part this is very good advice when interviewing with larger organizations!
However, for this self-made and small program, it came off as very creepy and might have costed me the position. Still, based on the way it felt interviewing with the program founder, I do not think I would fit well within their culture. Like the Airbnb professional stated, the recruiter definitely saw that I was not suitable to work within their team.
I am grateful for this rejection because it was apparent to those around me that I was interested in teaching others. Eventually, my professor, who was also my reference for the advocacy program, recommended me to another professor on campus to tutor my peers in Python in my last year of college.
In short, try out for different programs and in the process it will reveal your interests to your biggest advocates because they will help you find more fitting jobs. These can be friends, family, or mentors who will be on the lookout for various positions.
You will not really know where you will end up by putting yourself out there, but leaving it to chance might not be as effective. So, what are you waiting for? Try to apply to different programs and let yourself be known, even if only by a few who really value your work ethic and personality.
Most importantly, remember to BE YOURSELF and take it at your own pace.
