Planning for the Post-College Transition: A Guide to Preparing For Success

By Paige Horrie

Spring 2024

Setting attainable goals for post-grad involves careful consideration of your aspirations, skills, and resources. The best time to prepare for life post-graduation is now, while still in college.  With how much uncertainty preparing for life after college can bring, making a practical plan is a surefire approach to success. Planning where to go after college can be daunting, especially with the competition we face in the job market. While having a job lined up immediately after graduating college is a wonderful plan, the reality is that a large number of students will be graduating into the unknown. This is why planning is so important, as it can help to relieve some of the stress we face while planning our future. Melissa Pittaoulis, Doctor of Philosophy, states “today’s generation of young people is ambitious but directionless. Despite having high educational aspirational dreams of professional aspirations”, yet many lack plans to achieve their goals. We may have big plans for our futures, but the question is, how do we get there? Achieving our goals for the future begins in the present.

This article will show you how to:

  1. Assess your own skills and interests

  2. Set clear goals for yourself

  3. Begin taking steps towards success

What Are Goals?

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a goal as “the object to which effort or ambition is directed; the destination of a journey… An end or result towards which behavior is consciously or unconsciously directed.” Conscious goals are those which when actively pursued can make the difference between effective performance, success, happiness, and wellbeing in our work and non-work life. A study done by Dian Sawitri states “career goals function as forerunners to actual career choices and action and later career and life success.” When thinking about goals, we are typically more focused on an immediate outcome, but goals can also be used to enhance our expertise in a particular area for good performance in the future. Reflective Goal Setting, mentions the eight criteria for success when setting goals, we are going to discuss the first four criteria.

  1. Goal Specificity: Broad goals do not have the same effect that specific goals do. Setting specific goals is easier to measure and helps us to focus our attention on these goals.

  2. Proximity in time: We need to monitor our progress towards the goal to enable timely reflections

  3. Degree of Difficulty: More challenging goals will promote more personal growth

  4. Self-Generated: Goals that we create for ourselves help us to stay more committed

  5. Congruence Between our Goals and Others Goals: Aligning our goals with those who play a significant role in our lives, we are less likely to have our goals challenged

  6. Level of Conscious Awareness: When setting goals on new skills or areas requiring development, our conscious awareness is needed to improve.

  7. Process or Performance Oriented: Process goals are powerful when it comes to personal development

  8. Hierarchically Organized: Smaller goals are the foundation of the achievement of the larger goals 

The thing about setting goals is that they are a great motivational technique, they help to remind us that we are working towards something important to us. Typically, as college students, the last thing we want to be thinking about on top of our busy schedules is what is in store for our future. Taking the time to slow down and write out some goals that are important for us to achieve can really help us to see the bigger picture. Having goals that are important for us to achieve can be very motivating, but above all our goals need to be realistic. Setting unrealistic goals for ourselves may lead to disappointment in the future. Bailey Bushman, the Executive Director of Career and Professional Development (CCPD) at North Central College, states, “It is great to think about where you want to be in 10 years… but now, what are the steps to getting there? I’m here, I want to be here, so how do you backwards plan and figure out the steps to get where you want to go.” Working backwards, starting at your end goal is very beneficial because, as mentioned above, “smaller goals are the foundation of the achievement of the larger goals.”

Why Goals are Important

According to Reflective Goal Setting, goal setting is a key element of self-regulation and behavior change. The act of planning and strategizing /can set students on a path of self-regulation. Monitoring our progress towards each goal will allow us to gain the most from our goal setting. This also works as motivation for goal setters. Being able to visualize the progress we make, will help us to keep pushing forward with our goal. Frontiers says that, “Setting high and specific goals is linked to increased task performance, persistence, and motivation compared to vague or easy goals.”

Goals should be challenging, yet attainable in order to encourage more personal growth. It was best described by Reflective Goal Setting, “Difficulty is something that you dread the thought of doing. But my word, it is rewarding when you achieve it.”

Assessing Personal Skills and Interests

The route you take after graduating college heavily depends on your individual goals and interests (along with other circumstances). Taking a step back to weigh out all your options can be really beneficial to your future self. As previously mentioned, there is so much uncertainty when preparing for the future. The current job market is not ideal, as we are dealing with so much competition. Realizing that there is a possibility of not getting hired into a full-time job right out of college can be terrifying for some students. Other students, on the other hand, may not have plans to search for a full-time job any time soon. And that is okay! Everybody has different skills to apply in different places, along with having different interests.  

College is the perfect time to explore your interests and brush up on any skills that need improvement. Bushman says “Being a student is this magical thing… working professionals love to help students, they love to help our learning and early engagement.” Taking advantage of the resources available to you through your campus is a great way to improve skills and/or explore your interests. Being a student is also a great opportunity to find a mentor as they can be helpful to give you feedback on areas you need improvement says Bushman.

The route you take after graduating college heavily depends on your individual goals and interests (along with other circumstances). Taking a step back to weigh out all your options can be really beneficial to your future self.

Setting Clear Goals for Yourself

Writing our goals in detail is more effective than creating lists, it will also help our goals seem more concrete as opposed to abstract, according to Reflective Goal Setting. Bushman offers some great advice about setting long term goals. She says, “It can be easy to catastrophize when you know your long-term goal, but know that it is a long shot or a long way away, so I am just going to keep doing what I am doing. It can be easy to fall into this complacency when you think it's fine, I will just figure it out later.’”

Bushman offers some great advice, “You might see the whole staircase, but you need to take it step by step. You’re not going to jump 3 or 4 steps at a time. That won’t help you get prepared for the next thing. Setting small goals that are time bound in some way will help keep you on track for that next destination you’re hoping to get to”.

Instead of writing “Find a job after I graduate” as your goal, try writing “Secure an entry level position within 8 months of graduating college. To do so, I will research job openings, attend networking events, customize resumes and cover letters to each position. In the meantime, I will refine my interview skills, seek feedback on my resume, and make use of my school’s career resources.”

Will Bruno, current college student at Lewis University, states, “The biggest challenge I may face is finding a job that I love, where it doesn’t feel like I’m ever at work.” To address this challenge, he plans to try different things to find his true passion.

Finding your passion does not necessarily need to align with the major you are currently pursuing. This is why it is so important to get out now and look at the different career options and what they look like on a day to day. “One of the big things for me”, says Bushman, “is when thinking through opportunities you might want to explore, think about areas you need to develop skills”. Kaleigh Nimrick, 2022 University of Illinois graduate, found out during college that her passion didn’t really align with her major. While in College, Nimrick also worked a full time job that she really enjoyed. She had the opportunity to continue growing professionally in her job, so she decided to continue with that job after graduating. Nimrick is thriving in her current position, which she would have never found had she not reached outside of her comfort level to explore that opportunity.

Right now, being a college student, is the best time to explore options and to plan for them. Waiting until after graduation to go out and begin your job search is not always the best plan. Unfortunately, the reality is that finding a job could take many months, even up to a few years! ISAC says that, “Finding the right job takes preparation, confidence and determination. It can also take some time.” Planning for after college now is the best way to prepare for any setbacks life may throw at you.

What Are Steps You Can Take Now?

  1. Network: According to Journal of Vocational Behavior, “Scholars have shown that networking is an important career self-management strategy associated with career success”. College is the perfect place to start networking because as previously mentioned by Bushman, “working professionals love to help students”. Adding professionals to your network through any way possible (e.g., LinkedIn, Handshake, a phone contact) will be beneficial to you in the long run. You should always be working on building your network, regardless if you plan to begin working in 2 months or 5 years

  2. Build a strong resume: This Guide To Resume Writing describes a resume as “generally a one to two page summary of your skills, accomplishments, experiences, and education”. A strong resume may ultimately be the reason for getting an interview, this is why it is so important to take plenty of time on it. Having your resume completed in college is beneficial as to gaining more experiences such as internships to help narrow down options for the future.

  3. Develop interview skills: It is almost inevitable that at some point in our professional career we will be involved in an interview as either that interviewer or interviewee. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis states, “Obtaining a job as a college graduate is partly dependent on interview performance”. Using the resources provided in college, we can perfect our interview skills which we will most likely need to use for the rest of our lives despite whichever path we wind up on.

  4.  Explore all paths: Internships are a great way to be able to explore certain jobs. This may help you decide what you really like or dislike. College is a great time to take part in an internship. Bruno said that to explore what his major has to offer, he attends tours, workshops/meetings, and career fairs. These are amazing eye-opening experiences, but they can also be useful for networking! Another path that is common after graduating college is taking a gap year. Gap years are most valuable when taken for self discovery. After four years of college, some people may experience academic burnout and they need to use a year or so to get to know themselves better outside of school. Many gap years are used to travel and gain experiences in other cultures, and while this is a great plan, it may require some planning in advance. It is important to look into a gap year prior to graduation, so that you can be sure to financially prepare, secure opportunities, and to maximize personal growth.

  5. Seek guidance: Having a mentor or career counselor in college is a great way to see what options you have after graduation, and how to start preparing for your goals now. Nimrick said that she had a mentor, which was an acquaintance that previously went through the same program as her in college. Her mentor helped to relieve some of her added stress about continuing on to a masters program. Nimrick felt like if she was going to get her masters, she needed to get it right after graduating college, but her mentor did not go on to get their masters until a few years after graduating college. This mentor helped Nimrick realize that it is okay not to continue with your masters right away, she has time to think about it. In the Goal-Setting Theory “Feedback is also needed for people to decide whether they should put forth more effort or change their strategy”. Not only do mentors give us feedback on our personal skills and areas of improvement, but also finding somebody who has similar experiences to us can be beneficial to our growth.

Time To Put Goal Setting Into Action

Overall, navigating that post college transition can be really difficult and requires planning. Setting attainable goals using self-awareness can help to make that transition less challenging. Understanding what proper goal setting entails, then following through with proper goal setting and tracking will ultimately lead to success whatever that may look like for each individual.

College offers a unique opportunity to explore your options, and to take advantage of resources made available to specifically college students. Using time and effort now, planning for post-college, will save you time and stress in the future.

Paige Horrie is a junior at North Central College. She is studying Marketing, with a minor in business management. Paige is passionate about real estate and all things home design. She plans to continue being active in real estate after graduation, and hopefully one day manage her own brokerage. In her free time, Paige enjoys spending time with her family or going for walks. As a first-generation college student, Paige embraces the opportunity to chart her own path and has relentless determination to succeed.