College is a time for personal and professional growth. However, with growth, generally comes some mistakes. As long as you learn from those mistakes and make sure they don’t negatively impact a professional career down the road, you’ll be just fine.
Here are some behaviors and mistakes you need to stay away from to ensure a bright future and great job out of college:
1. Depend on dangerous remedies to get through rush-hour. Whether it’s studying for the big exam tomorrow or pulling a trans-nighter to write your thesis, nothing is worth depending on dangerous remedies or drugs to get you through it.
Avoiding crunch time altogether is your No. 1 solution to this problem. Develop good prioritization and time management skills while you’re in college so you don’t have to worry about this in a professional position.
If crunch time is inevitable, learn how to be as efficient as possible and pick up some healthy strategies to keep your mind fresh. Caffeine in moderation is a great way to keep yourself awake and alert, and consistent breaks can help bring fresh air to your body and stimulate your mind.
2. Forget about your health.
Once you’re away from home and don’t have a routine built yet, it’s easy to make poor decisions that will end up affecting your health.
As you build a routine, be mindful of decisions you’re making that can keep you healthy and successful in your college life. Think about what you eat and drink or how much time you set aside for exercise. Doing this early in college will give you the ability to maintain a healthy lifestyle later in life when you have even more responsibilities to juggle.
3. Share too much on social media. It’s fine to have fun with your social media channels and use them for what they’re intended: socializing. However, making smart decisions in college about what you post on your social channels will greatly impact your outcome of finding a great job out of college.
Use a more private channel to share some of your crazier memories, like Snapchat, but leave all your inappropriate images and comments off any major social channel. This will ensure any bad behaviors from your college days won’t dampen a bright future.
4. Miss out on side projects that can showcase your skills.
Expanding your soft skills is critical to become a desirable employee. Colleges provide many opportunities to get involved with things beyond just classroom curriculum, including clubs, pre-professional organizations, and even study groups. Stop avoiding these and take advantage of them.
These side projects will allow you to meet new people and expand your network and build your soft skills. They also look great on your resume. Just because you’re a college student doesn’t mean employers don’t expect to see some kind of initiative to grow your skills in a professional or collaborative setting within the industry you’re applying.
5. Let your hobbies fall to the wayside.
It is easy to lose sight of the things that mattered a lot to you before college. Whether it is a hobby, sport, or activity, keep it up in some capacity. You may not be able to begin doing it right away, but as your routine solidifies, you will be able to carve out time to get back to what helps you decompress and maintain a sense of familiarity.
Hobbies and personal interests are also a great way to identify with those in the professional world. They give common ground to find conversation and show that you are a well-rounded person outside of work or school.
6. Obsess over failure and miss out on fun.
You have enough going on and plenty to worry about so there is no reason to be obsessed with what may or may not happen a couple years down the road.
Give yourself some slack and enjoy college. Always focusing or worrying about the future and never enjoying the moment will make you lose friends or lose out on forming new relationships. This can stunt your growth and could be a detriment to making powerful connections in college that will help drive your professional path.
College is a great time to let loose, have fun and learn about yourself. There will be bumps in the road as you make your way to the real world, and that’s ok. Just keep in mind what your ultimate goal for college is. Also, steer clear of the bad behaviors and habits that could negatively impact your future and the chance to land your dream job
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