Congrats Grad! Now Let's Get You Hired!

After mentoring hundreds of college students and helping them make their transition from hourly jobs to salary, from part time to full time, and even from contract-based into full time permanent jobs - there's something universal that happens to all of us in this transitionary period upon graduation: Burnout Recovery.

As excited as you may be that you're done with your capstone, practicum, or thesis - there's something that keeps dragging or following you.. it's this 100 pound gorilla named Masters of Public Health and it's still on you top of you even though you finished your finals. It's this feeling of vertigo or dare I say - a collective post-pandemic hangover? Maybe even sick of zoom and ready for more in-person action?!.. And now that you're done with school all together, suddenly you find yourself asking "what do I do with all this time back?"

Job search of course!....

Nope, wrong. 

Here's what I tell all my mentees who are graduating from Bachelors, Masters, and Doctorate degrees and possibly carrying around school trauma, regret of degree choice, resentment, frustration, exhaustion or lack of clarity:

First, take time to decompress and let go of the stress from attending college. Write it out, celebrate your wins, take a trip, do something new, or find ways to laugh and be silly. You’ve been through a lot and you deserve to give yourself space before you jump into an intense job search for a public health job. 

Secondly, assess your understanding of your background without touching your resume. Do this assessment by downloading the FREE key terms guide and answering these prompts:

🖤 What skillsets have you demonstrated in past jobs?

🖤 What focus areas have you experience in (if any)?

🖤 What type of interventions or level of intervention have you provided? (one-on-one, groups, company systems, policy, etc.)

🖤 What populations have you served? (be specific!)

🖤 What institutions or industries have you worked for or collaborated with?

🖤 What are the titles of the people who’ve worked with inside companies or with partner organizations? 

🖤 What software are you familiar or proficient in? 

Essentially, all this will benefit you when you're ready to buckle down for the real job search. Through all this journaling and writing, you will assess your literacy level of the public health language and your preparedness to find a job that suits you. This is a game changer for recent grads cuz it’s an opportunity to check your own understanding of how to talk about your background within the context of public health.

Now after you complete this assessment, write out your dreams. Dream jobs come true at Public Health Hired, so dream big! Don’t just stop at the focus area you want to become an expert in, but also ask yourself the following to help you manifest a lifestyle you love:

🖤 How do I want my days to feel like?

🖤 What kinds of meetings do I want to be in?

🖤 What environment do I hunger for?

🖤 What kind of boss and colleagues do I want to learn from?

🖤 What are red flags and green flags in potential employers and companies I apply to?

🖤 Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

Congratulations again on graduating!! You are on your way - but first enjoy this recovery period. You deserve it. 

If you’re ready to jump from graduation to employment in public health, don’t miss out on the Graduation Bundle, available only May 1 - 31, 2023.