4 Super-Crucial Things Seniors Need to Do Before Graduating College

OMG, you’re nearly at the finish line of your college life! It’s almost time to say goodbye to all-nighters doing your papers, 7 AM classes in your sweatpants, and the professors who email you while you’re watching another true crime documentary.

However, before you wear your gowns and stoles, you’ll want to prepare for what happens after graduation, AKA looking for and starting your first job. 

We get it: you're already stressed about exams, ensuring all your graduation requirements are prepared for your university to let you graduate, etc. To take some of the mental load off you with figuring out everything you need to do before graduation, we’re listing some suggestions for you!

1. Make or refine your resume

Make sure your resume is up to date, especially if you recently had an internship or part-time job that you haven’t added there yet. If there are any experiences or skills that you don’t think are relevant to the jobs you’ll apply for, edit them out.

But, if you don’t have a proper resume yet, you can quickly hop on to Canva and choose a template that best fits your personality. Their templates also have sections that can guide you on what info you should include. Your university also most likely offers free resume writing help through their career services office. Take advantage of this before you’re an alum! (You’ll regret it if not. Trust me.)

Pro tip from HR professionals: Don’t measure your skills with graphs or charts. They’re very arbitrary and don’t actually explain what you are capable of. You can either elaborate on what you can do on your resume, on your cover letter, or during the interview.

2. Transfer your accounts from your school email to your personal email

Depending on how your university admin does it, your school email might get deactivated a few months after graduation. If you have accounts on platforms that you still need after you graduate, it’s time to change your access to your personal email ASAP.

Even if your university lets you keep your college email, having a personal email for most of your accounts after graduation is still a smart move. But if you can get away with using that college email for access to student discounts… we’re not saying you should, but we wouldn’t blame ya if you did. 

Oh, and if you're still using the personal email you made in 4th grade (looking at you soccer.queen2005@gmail.com), now is a good time to do that. 

3. Network and strengthen your college connections

Graduating doesn’t mean you have to cut everyone out! Your connections on your campus can still help you as you take on the real world. For example, your favorite professor might be willing to be listed as your character reference for your CV, so keep in touch with them.

If you haven’t put up a LinkedIn account yet, now’s the time for it. Set aside a day in your weekend to register. Set up your profile (psst, here’s a past blog we did where we gave tips on how to set up your LinkedIn profile) and start searching for your classmates, org or chapter members, and professors!

4. Start your vacation plans

When we interviewed Valerie Tran, our former CM-turned-Assistant Merchandise Planner at Abercrombie and Fitch, she mentioned that vacationing after graduation helped her relax from her busy college life. Not only do you deserve that break before you dive into the busy life of working and paying taxes, but you also deserve to celebrate surviving college!

Organize a road trip with your besties, go to the beach, or even plan a mountain hike. Whether you do it with your family, your friends, your boo, or just by yourself, take that much-needed relaxation! You’ll wish you had once you see that first-year PTO plan. 

With these four things locked down before graduation, you can focus back on putting energy into your finals, saying bittersweet goodbyes, and obviously planning for your graduation fit. Preparing early saves you from the stress after graduation. Good luck and congratulations!