What's Next? How To Help Someone Answer This Question After Graduation
It’s graduation season. Your students, interns and mentees are walking across that stage, flipping their tassel and looking out into the wide-open future. You can bet that one of the main questions they will hear over the next few months, from grandmothers and professors alike, is … what’s next?
How can you—as a professional mentor—help a new grad best answer that question?
Maybe the student in your life already has a job lined up and knows what’s next. Or maybe she is still interviewing. Maybe he is thinking of taking a few months off to travel through Europe. Regardless of where they are, they need to be able to succinctly and simply tell people about their plans. After all, you never know who is asking. It could be a potential contact or someone who is going to remember their daring plan to hike the Appalachian Trail and be ready to offer them more adventures when they return.
How can you help prepare someone for this question? First, you want to make sure they don’t bore their listener or come across as unsure, even if they are unsure. This is one of those instances when crafting a story with business impact can be helpful.
Here’s are some tips for putting together a brief and brilliant response.
Don’t say “I don’t know.”
Don’t list off a boring new title.
Don’t act embarrassed—this next step is what they’ve been working for.
DO use a hook and say something unexpected. Someone heading off to law school could say, “I’m going to stand between people and prisons.” The newly minted computer programmer could say “I’m going to change the way the world communicates, one zero at a time.”
If the student in your life doesn’t know what they will be doing after graduation, have them think about what they want to do. Do they want to get a job? In what field? Do they want to go back to school? Do they want to have an adventure? Now, have them think about the things they have done so far that might contribute to attaining that goal. List out five things. Which one stands out? Did they have a great internship? Or travel abroad on vacation?
Okay, now comes the part where you help them craft a story. Have them think of the specific moments they remember from the experience? Maybe the first day of the internship was torture, but in the end they had a great time and learned a ton. Maybe when they got to Finland they realized it felt more like home than home.
Have the student tell you their story and then make a connection to their future goal. Perhaps they tell the story of the horrible first day as an intern and then say, “Can you believe this is still what I want to do for a living? Even that couldn’t dissuade me. Now I’m looking for a fulltime job in that field.” The person listening will remember the story of the horrible day much longer than they remember a pat answer that describes what kind of job the student hopes to get.
The key is to help students think of the question “What are you going to do after graduation” as an opportunity to tell whoever is asking more about themselves and what their goals are in a fun and interesting way. The question shouldn’t be something to avoid or an imposition. It is a time to shine. Because, soon, what’s next will be what’s here and it should be the best possible start to a career.
If you need help figuring out how to guide someone to tell their “what’s next” story or how to instruct them through the interview process schedule a free consultation with us! And sign up for our resources newsletter packed with information on free events, tips and coaching sessions.
Photo by Jim Larrison from Creative Commons.
