A List of Resources for New Grads
Graduating from high school is important. Graduating from college is an amazing accomplishment. But what we aren’t always aware of is our privilege to our experiences.
Looking around in high school or in college, it’s important to learn the experiences of others. While you have reached a certain level in life, are you questioning whether or not this is the standard other people achieve or have access to?
It’s important when you get into the working world that you are well-versed in all types of cultures. The most important thing to remember when entering the workforce is that our world is changing quicker than we realize. We must be adaptable and learn to think on our feet — faster than ever.
If you think you can get by by doing the minimum effort, you will face harsh realities sooner than later. It’s best to know and be open to all types of circumstances and journeys when you are starting out. Your goal is to get to know who you are in this experience by experiencing on your own and learning from others experiences. Even if you do not have the resources that many of your peers have doesn’t mean you cannot achieve their success or greater.
Strong characters build long lasting empires that sustain longer than their lifetime. You want to create a legacy of good that provides solutions to everyday problems. While you may not be entrepreneurial, you can certainly be of the entrepreneurial mindset to help elevate your environment around you.
If you are sitting here thinking — “I don’t know where to start” — don’t worry, you are not alone.
The Basics — Questions to get to know yourself
What are you doing for school?
- Are you going to school? Where? When do you graduate? When did you start? Why did you go there?
What are you doing for work/pay bills/experience?
- Do you work anywhere? Where? For how long? What kind of position do you have? Why did you decide to work there? Is this part of your plan? Do you have a plan? Is this just to pay bills? To support your passion project? To help your family?
What are you doing to give back/experience?
- How are you helping the community? Do you care about giving back? Why do you give back? Is this just for credits? Are you taking this experience into your future career? How does this relate to your life experience?
How does this align with your goals?
- Why did you decide to take the path you did? What are your goals? Do you have any? If not, what are your passions/hobbies? Is there anything you can do to solve a problem within that realm?
These questions are designed to help you think of the bigger picture. It’s not about exactly what you are doing right now but what you are going after.
You can be working in a fast food restaurant, paying your college tuition, with hopes of becoming a restaurant entrepreneur — you have your passion but you are doing whatever it takes to get there.
or
You can be in a customer service call center approaching your junior year of high school and saving for a brand new piano to start performing/recording before your high school graduation.
Wherever you are, we want to help you know the essentials in place to be taken seriously in the workforce.
Every high schooler and college student should have these:
- LinkedIn Account
- Private/Cleaned-up Facebook account
- Twitter account / mix of professional + personality
- On-going list of accomplishments
- On-going list of volunteer experience (this is important)
- Mission/Vision (subject to change)
- Laptop (or access to one)
- Wifi (or access)
- Cell phone (you can get this painfully cheap too)
- 1 nice pair of pants, 1 nice pair of shoes, 1–2 nice dress shirts
- Reliable transportation (key in metropolitan areas)
- Strong interpersonal skills (don’t have them? Work in consumer facing jobs first: cashier, brand ambassador, recruiting, direct sales, retail sales)
- Leave your personal problems at home (sorry — no one cares)
- Be organized (if you aren’t — start practicing now — it’s expected)
- Practice the ability to be simple and straight to the point (immensely valuable)
- Start reading more than you watch (aka cut TV and buy some books)
- Start creating more than you can consume. (gets you into the entrepreneurial mindset to start thinking on your feet)
- Start practicing the art of frugality. (Create weekly challenges for yourself to cut costs with your lifestyle. It will help when you get into higher roles at work.)
- Find out/experiment with music types to learn how each affects your work efficiency/creativity. (This will help you get into mindsets quicker.)
- Integrate 30 minutes of exercise into your daily routine
- Learn how to type without looking. Then after, continue to improve your words per minute rate.
Resources Worth Mentioning
- Salary.com — compensation data (learn the standard ranges)
- LinkedIn.com — professional network + search/apply for careers
- 8tracks.com — playlist site (can put on in background, learn more music)
- Gmail.com — most used email service
- Twitter.com — build your personality, interests, passions; builds credibility for you and whatever you choose to do (strive to be an expert even if that’s unrealistic — learn everything you can)
- Instagram.com — tell your story, use this as an accountability buddy (stay on track, be present, don’t waste your days away — get out there) and network
- Barnes and Nobles — seriously instead of partying on a Friday night, head over to B&N (not as crowded those days) and learn about topics you want to focus on for your future/career
- Overstock.com — find expensive things at a discounted price
- Angelist — start-up jobs and professional network
- WeGreenlight.com — post ideas, validate, get feedback, launch, resources
- ProductHunt.com — discovery of great products to use for productivity/work, resources
- TheMuse.com — learn about cultures, search/apply for careers/jobs
- Glassdoor.com — review site, search/apply for career/jobs
- Indeed.com — review site (minor), apply for career/jobs, get discovered
- Bit.ly — make your own small personal links to track for career/job search
- Nimble.com — track every email, build a social database (includes email, social media contacts) (Use if you have the $$)
- Medium.com — news, stories, culture, personal development
- bit.ly/findyournextjob — aka AlbertsList.org, hands on group to find positions, meet recruiters, and chat with other job seekers. (15k+ network)
- Canva.com — don’t have photoshop? no worries. Use canva to create any type of graphic you need from resumes, social media widgets, blog covers, card designs, banners to print, etc (for FREE)
- IFTTT.com — automate some of your processes in life, job search, productivity on the job, etc
- Lean Startup Method — knowing this will create an advantage for you as an employee or entrepreneur
- The Sales Blog — getting into sales or thinking about it? Sales will elevate any career you are in as you get to know the basics of effective/productive communication.
- TalentCulture.com — learn about how recruiters think/work/standard, understand business from a different perspective, will provide an advantage in the workforce
- Tally App — manage, optimize, and reap the max benefits of your credit cards
- Craiglist.org —jobs/temporary/housing/roommates/career search ; be careful of scams but there are many gems out there
- Ulyngo.com — sell anything to your college campus mates (university email required)
- Meetup.com — network, meet cool people, learn new skills, experiences
- Eventbrite.com — A listing of events that may not be on Meetup.com
- Jobr — The Tinder for job hunting
- Shapr — The Tinder for networking
- Way of Life/Coach.me — Creating useful long-term habits (alternatively, journal with “The 5 Minute Journal”)
Any resources you think we missed? Comment below and we’ll include it!
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