Enjoy Drinking while You’re Under-Age
…because it’s not as fun after you turn 21. Don’t we all miss the times when we borrowed someone else’s I.D., hoping that the bouncer will let us get into the club or bar? Your heart is pounding because you’re not sure if you’re going to get a bouncer who is strict or someone who would let a minor into a club. What are you going to do if the bouncer doesn’t let you in? Leave your friends and go home by yourself or argue with him with the risk of further embarrassment?
Enjoy the times when you had to memorize every detail on the I.D. that you’re using to eliminate any suspicion that you may not be person pictured on it. Hey, it is suspicious enough when you’re 6 feet tall, a female and you’re trying to get into a club with an I.D. that pictures you as a male and only 5 feet tall.
Also, we all deserve a round of applause for being able to rapidly remember and recite the address and birthdate on those I.D. cards. How do you even pronounce “Kerlerec St” and who knew that we were able to retain eight digit numbers and zip codes under all that glaring from the bouncer?
We definitely weren’t this diligent when we were memorizing formulas for calculus or the names of historical figures for world history class. But then again, who cares about getting good grades. It is worse to not be able to get into a club when your other friends can.
Want a job after you graduate? Get one now
If you have not gotten an internship for the past two years, then get one now. Do whatever you can to get one and one in an industry that you want to work for after graduating college.
Start your search early. Ask your older friends, friends of older friends, and friends of friends of older friends if they are aware of opportunities that fit you, if they can give you any insider tips or if they get manipulate the application process so you can get an internship with little effort.
A peer of mine wanted to go to law school so it was only logical for her to get an internship relating to law. Her friend advised her to submit her résumé to the top 100 law firms to maximize her chances of getting an internship. Out of the 100 resumes she submitted, she received three interviews but only one offer. So, I guess you can say that her success rate was 1%.
But, it does not matter how low or high your success rate is because you are only one person so all it matters is to get that one, solid, substantial internship. This is very important and your college administration should emphasize this from day one of your junior year, if not earlier. My college administration didn’t emphasize this enough. Maybe it is because they already have their own full-time jobs so they could care less about what happens to me after graduation. After all, they have already secured themselves with monthly interests from the tuition that I owed them.
Keep in mind that job recruiters prefer someone with related internship experience over someone who did nothing during their summer. But hey, I hung out at the basketball courts during my summers instead of getting internships. Now I am working for the NY Knicks by ordering them new basketballs every now and then.
Your college classes may teach you things but they seldom teach you how to get a job.
Run for leadership positions
Just like when you applied to colleges, employers and graduate school admission officers like to see that you have had leadership experiences. Now don’t go crazy and become leaders of five different organizations just because you think doing so will increase your chances of getting into a good graduate school or getting hired. Being stretched too thin and not being able to focus on your academics are counterproductive to those goals.
Run for leadership positions not because getting one will look good on paper but because you really want to improve the organization. I see people getting themselves into leadership roles for the wrong reasons and in the end, they become unhappy and want to quit.