Graduated, what to do now?

Graduating, what a great feeling. You know all the basics. They have handed you all the skills and know-how to survive in the world. In other words, you are ready to take on the world.

But where do you begin? How do you take on the world when it seems so big? And it can feel pretty big after graduating. In this post I will describe some actions that you can do to start taking on the world.

Goals

One of the most importing things in your life to have are goals. They help you to carve out a path which you can follow to lead your life.

To get started on this the only things you need are a pencil and a piece of paper. Start writing down all the things you would like to accomplish. As soon as you have this list try to attach dates to this. For example, if one of your goals is to get a certain certificate try to place date for it. “I want to get certificate X before January 2014″, this will give you a deadline which makes it easier for you to keep. You can then use these goals to define if a certain company is the right company for you.

Learn

If you thought you were done learning you were wrong. In the business of development it is so important to keep up to date. When you are up to date you have the biggest chance of getting the job you want. Why? Because they can be certain you have the newest and best knowledge for their projects.

Keeping up to date is not the only thing you need to learn. It is best to learn extra things.
For example, you can learn to work with different frameworks, different CMS and different methods. Aside from that you could also learn extra languages.
If you take PHP for example it’s not a bad idea to also learn HTML, CSS and Javascript. In addition to Javascript you could also learn jQuery. The possibility of landing that one job can grow so much if you take the time to learn new, old and extra material.

Get Involved

Yes, throw yourself out there.
By getting involved in the community for your profession you get to meet tons of new and interesting people. Not only will you then get the extra connection you might need to land a certain job you will also have the opportunity to learn. Most of the people you will meet have a lot of experience and if asked nicely they won’t hesitate to give you advice.

So how do you get involved? Well there will be another post in the future that will go into more detail about this. In short though, try going to events, follow people on twitter and roam the internet.
Remember, a community is not only about taking, it is also about giving. So give a little, take a little.

Apply for a Job

You need a job, right?
Off course you do, the bills won’t pay them-self. So how do you get a job? One thing to do is to speak to your connections that you met before, if you followed the “get involved” action. Most of the time people will be on the lookout for new people inside the community.
Another is to register on a website for jobs.
A third option is to start sending out resumes to companies you would like to work at.

To be honest, there are lots of ways to find a job. Be careful though, not all jobs might be right for you, you can use your goals to see if a company matches you.
It is so important to have this in both ways. Most of the time companies want people that match the profile, but even though the profile might match you you need to ask yourself if the company matches you.
Do not worry though, most people do not stay at their first job. This does not mean however that you should take just any job just to build experience. Pick a job that makes you happy because if you are happy your work quality will go up.

Conclusion

These are just some of the actions you can take to prepare to take on the world. The most important thing is to not give up. There might be some hard times but if you are persistent you will get there. And if you have any other actions or tips feel free to share them. Remember: give a little, take a little.