I heard in passing a girl say to someone else, “Well, my unrealistic dream job is…” It seems like most people that I’ve spoken to view their post-graduation goals as out of reach.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for sensibility—it’s not wise to apply for just one job and hope for the best. But we need to stop allowing ourselves to believe that we couldn’t possibly be worthy of jobs that we work so hard to attain. All of the women I’ve met in college are incredibly driven and hardworking with resumes stacked with intense course loads, extracurriculars, jobs and internships.
It’s easy to adopt a mentality of fear. I find myself thinking it’ll be impossible for me to get a job in New York. It’s daunting to be near graduation and think that the jobs that I want are unattainable. So why is it that we keep allowing ourselves to think this way? Sometimes I don’t apply to opportunities I think that I don’t have a shot at, but why is that?
Millennials, as a generation, are afraid to take risks, according to an article by Tech.co.
“Taking risks is the best way to find out what doesn’t work, leading the way for what does. Unfortunately, millennials have heard more horror stories about failure than any other generation before it,” author Conor Cawley wrote.
It’s true that we’ve witnessed economic strife and struggles firsthand. How can we challenge the mindset we’ve been conditioned to have due to our own observation of history? In order to be successful, we must somehow get past that.
We’re lucky that we attend a university that truly tries to prepare us for the workforce. The Career Resource Center offers several different types of assistance, such as perfecting your resume, preparing for interviews or using the UF job search page.
Not to mention, UF offers the Gator Career Closet to anyone that needs a professional outfit. The closet is located on the third floor of Peabody Hall, and students can rent a full outfit for up to seven days with their Gator1.
All that being said, UF was ranked No. 8 on a list of graduate employability. The universities on this list are selected by “employers as the best in the country for preparing graduates for jobs, as revealed by the Global University Employability Survey 2016” according to the article by Carly Minsky. It’s comforting to know that we as Gators are what employers look for to hire.
I think it’s important that we remember that we are more than what we put down on a piece of paper. It’s easy to get caught up in the game of comparison. Just because someone has a longer resume doesn’t necessarily mean that they are more deserving than you are. Take chances. Don’t let your dream job be just a dream—work to make it a reality.
Photo credit: study.com