The world is a scary and frightening place right now. The future is full of uncertainty, with a possible recession looming. Many of you are frightened and scared, and you have every right to be. Some of you are getting ready to graduate and job prospects look scarce, if they currently exist at all.
I understand. I feel your pain. While I didn’t graduate during a global pandemic, I did graduate at the time of the Great Recession (late 2000s). There were very little job prospects for people my age. At my graduation ceremony, the commencement speaker “lifted” our spirits with a comment about entering one of the worst job markets in America’s history. It was true. there were hardly any jobs, especially in my chosen field of teaching at the time, and what was available was heavily sought after by experienced teachers that had been let go due to financial reasons.
My friends and I are now in our 30’s. Many of my friends are now working in fields that have nothing to do with their major in college. Many of my friends are just now being able to buy houses. Many of my friends are just now having children. Many of my friends are just now becoming semi-financially stable and I’m a bit afraid what will happen to them if we enter another recession. I consider myself one of the lucky (and privileged) ones with savings, a good job, and a house. The savings came from living with my parents for way longer than anticipated, the good job only came in 2017, and the house came this December.
I don’t write these things to be depressing. I don’t write them to scare you all with a dismal future. I write them to share advice from what my generation has learned.
Don’t get hung up on what life should have been. This advice is a good general piece of advice, but is especially important to generations shaped by recessions. Life will be different than what you planned – it was going to be whether or not we had the pandemic/recession. The more you hang on to a preconceived notion, the more you miss out on opportunities to move your life in a positive, albeit different, direction. The greatest parts of my life are ones that were never part of my original plan.
Learn how to market your skills. You might be unable to find a job in your field. Figure out a way to take the skills you’ve learned to market yourself for a new field. For example, I need to be able to communicate effectively when I work with people at the reference desk. I can translate that skill set to any customer service oriented position. In fact, I have. I worked for a short while as a front desk clerk at a hotel.
Don’t be bitter. It will just weigh you down. It’s okay to be angry and frustrated, but don’t let it consume you.
Accept the situation you are in. The people who survive crises and traumatic events are the people who are prepared. They are the people who swiftly move out of the denial phase and accept the situation they are in. They can react to situations so much faster than others because they don’t deny it is happening. That, in turn, puts them two steps ahead of the rest. Be two steps ahead.
Hope. Don’t lose it and don’t give up on it. It will serve you well in the future.
I’ll leave you with one last piece of advice I received from the amazing Dr. Daniel Payne my sophomore year of college. Every test is just an opportunity to succeed. We’re all being tested right now. Seize on your opportunity to succeed.
