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So You’re Done University, Now What?
You’ve just wrapped up your time on campus: an intense season of your formation into a fully grown adult (whoo!) and—look at you! A degree, too. Well done!
Those last few months of university are a whirlwind, thinking through what your next steps will be, let alone wrapping up all your projects and exams, and navigating what’s about to become yet another huge life transition. For this next step, we’d love to help.
The move from university into the workplace or grad school can be tricky. Life rhythms are about to change pretty drastically (especially if you are starting a 9-5), and your priorities will start to shift as you take on new responsibilities and give your life new focus. Here are a couple of tips to smooth out that transition:
1. Be intentional about growing your faith.
One of the biggest shockers coming out of university is often the lack of free time you get. It’s easy to get swept up in the current of adjusting to your new role, commuting, and the workload, and it’s easy to lose your faith rhythms. Be gentle with yourself as you transition, but try to cling to your spiritual disciplines, whatever that may look like. For a while, it might just be practicing different types of prayer or listening to the Bible on the way to work, and that’s okay! But staying connected with God and his Word will make the transition a lot easier in the end.
2. Choose the folks you are going to stay in touch with.
As awesome as it may be to stay in touch with everyone you met in uni, the reality is that your relational capacity may decrease, especially if you are building new relationships in your new role. Be intentional about choosing 3-5 friends from school that you want to stay in touch with and how often. I know this sounds crazy, but it’s common to lose touch during seasons of transition. Whether through a text, email, or hanging out in person, staying connected takes more dedication than you might realize. It’s totally worth it, though! Often we see that friends from university are often friends for life.
3. Keep serving! Even when it’s hard, keep serving.
One of the easiest ways to keep your faith strong is to serve in a local church. Not only will you be helping others, but you’ll be surrounded by people who are or have been through a similar life stage as you and can walk with you through it. University is often a time of overt faith growth: it can be vibrant and at the forefront, but adulthood is often marked with covert faith growth: it’s not always as obvious. After the resurrection, Jesus tells Peter: “Feed my sheep.” Maturity means focusing outward and giving yourself to loving others. It’s a slower process, but the fruit that comes is often more beautiful and powerful than you can imagine.
4. Tough skin and a soft heart.
It’s easy to have a hard heart in this world. Increasingly we see young adults become jaded after even just a few years in the workplace. It can be a tough grind. The secret to thriving in this season is to have tough skin and a soft heart. Here’s what we mean by that: be slow to be offended and secure in yourself (tough skin), but also prioritize kindness, be quick to listen and love those around you. This process can start with a simple prayer: “Lord, give me tough skin and a soft heart.”
We pray that the things you learned and experienced in uni are just the beginning for you. The next chapter can be daunting, but there’s good news: Jesus is with you. He always will be, that you can count on.
We’re proud of you. Now go and be a force for good in the world!
