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Alumni Panel Offers Advice to Students
By Laura McKenna '10
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

There were many topics covered by the nine ’05 and ’06 grads from SBC that spoke at the “First Year Out” panel on March 25 at the Wailes conference center. 2005 graduates Samira Hosssain, Hilary Cooper, Casey Knapp, Joyce Scott, and Mindy Wolfrom joined with Kate Dobie, Jill Frier, Katharine Vaughan, and Joanna Wood, all ’06, to share their experiences about the first year out with students, alumnae, and faculty. Following are some examples of the valuable advice they offered:

Money, something a recent grad always seems to be lacking. Therefore, save as much and as soon as possible. Start a 401k along with your first job, many jobs will often match the amount of money that you put into the account. Ensure that you have the ability to pay for personal items, such as: prescriptions, contacts, food and gas. Figure out all of your expenses: rent, utilities, cable, miscellaneous, gas and food. Take that number and then increase by ten percent to give a baseline minimum of what you need to make in order to survive. Make sure your salary will be able to cover this minimum.

“It’s not about what you know—it’s about who you know,” said an alumna as she discussed her job search. Networking can get you the job that you want. Don’t be too proud to use people that you know. Alumnae are some of the best avenues to use in order to get connections with other people in different fields.

Getting your first real job can be intimidating. Use career services, they advise: it’s there for a reason. They can help you find the job you are looking for and help. Keep your resume or business card on hand at all times, give people your information and possibly use them as connections when furthering your career search. Don’t take the first job that is offered to you. Keep interviewing, it could just be for practice or you may receive a better offer. Keep your first job at least a year. Do as many internships as possible and use them as a way to gain experience and decide on a definite career pathway.

Don’t get consumed by your job. Your quality of life is more important than a paycheck. Weddings, funerals and birthdays are irreplaceable events that should not be sacrificed to vocational demands.

Look at a job as a different experience that you will gain. Take the one that you could learn the most from and use it as a tool to give you and the upper hand in many different fields.

The panelists also gave helpful advice for grad students. Budget your time and money. Discipline yourself and schedule your time, because teachers and parents aren’t there to take care of you. Once again, budget your money, when receiving student loans, the amount of money in your bank account in the beginning of the semester, which seems to be an astronomical amount, will be almost nonexistent by spring break.

And a few little things never to forget: Test the water pressure before you rent or buy a place. Don’t forget the extra unmentioned expenses; turning on the water, electricity etc. Hand write thank you notes, it will show your dedication to the employers and will help them to distinguish you amongst other candidates. Don’t furnish your new apartment to the extreme—after all, you just graduated college, it’s the one time in your life that you can get away with it. Learn to negotiate. If you need help ask, people will be willing to help those that ask.

Finally, they say:“ Never date your coworker.” It doesn’t have the best results.