Navigating Life After Graduation: Tips for black graduates entering the job market

You have made it here and none is prouder than yourself. You are in the ‘free world’ now, you get to direct your life in a way you have never been able to, armed with your newly minted qualification. However as many will, unfortunately, find out this year that ‘qualified’ does not mean ‘educated’. Your degree is valuable in many industries but the world has changed in the last 10 years and more so since you have left high school.  If you are like many black graduates out there hoping to land that life-changing job this year then this article is for you.

TICK, TALK AND THE CLOCK

If you are not those trust fund types that take gap years to work overseas with some charity while your parents pay for your lifestyle then you should not wait for anything. Already, jobs are scarce so waiting while time ticks by will only make things worse for you. No! you are not exhausted you are fine, and you will do better when you get a job and rest on your off days knowing you are getting paid at the end of the month. If you can drink and talk all night you can hold down a day job and kill your side hustle in the evenings. Any time you are waiting is missing shots that could have landed.

SHOOT YOUR SHOTS

Many graduates will send out CVs once in a while and in between binge music channels and social media. You are playing yourself hard. At that rate you are not applying at all. You are either not looking enough, doubting yourself or being too specific in what you are looking for. Search wide, apply even though it looks like you are under qualified. Open yourself up to other jobs outside of your qualification. What could be a lucky break as an odd job could be a career. 

A JOB IS NOT THE SAME AS A CAREER 

If you are the type of person that believes that you are too qualified to do menial and low paying jobs while your life depends on your income then quit that real quick. More often than not, the very same people that overlook opportunities like these are the ones that end up there anyway but later with financial and mental states far worse than when they were new graduates. Any Job is an opportunity to learn about an industry where you can probably start as a petrol attendant. You need to change what your mind thinks about responsibility and doing the job you need to do.

YOUR MENTALITY IS YOUR ALLY OR ENEMY

So far you have been learning about academically and did well, evidently. Now it’s time to learn about the school of life. Soft skills like communication, self-awareness, empathy and relationship nurturing could be the difference between unemployment and success. But, it starts internally with the mind. Your mind is the first to try to betray you. It will convince you that you are far more than you think you are now that you are a graduate compared to other people. It will also tell you that you ain’t shit when things do not go as you anticipated. This is could the beginning of depression and anxiety when that happens. Protect yourself with habits. 

YOUR RITUALS DETERMINE YOUR FUTURE 

All you have in mind right now is making that money so you don’t want to hear anything about exercise, eating healthy and meditation. Are you thinking what does meditation got to do with you securing bags? It’s everything, and so are health and exercise. Things will get tough when you not getting that call or get the call but into a toxic work environment. What you eat determines your energy throughout the day and affects your focus. Lack of exercise slows down your brain and some challenges that couldn’t have killed will now bury you. Meditation is the skill you will need to calm your mind when everything seems to fall apart around you. That’s how you duck shots of anxiety. Check your rituals, those are habits that will save you when the time comes.

STARTING A BUSINESS COULD BE A MISTAKE 

Some will start that business while the graduation hat is still in the air and some will wait till there is no other choice left. Starting a business when you are desperate will cost you the very little mental health and money you may have. You are likely to make mistakes you won’t recover from and who knows, you might even end up taking drugs. Many of the youth end up on drugs because of dreams unrealised more in the current South African economic climate. Nomayini : The Mentality You Need Before Starting Any Business is a book that enables you to make the best career, business and life choices possible early. Learning how addicts make money every day can change the way you look at how you spend your day