Things I wish people told me after I first graduated

What you studied for is not always the direction you end up going in (and sometimes that’s a good thing)

As someone who initially signed up for information technology, but quickly changed to studying multimedia technology instead, this really hit home for me.

In many cases, chances are huge that you won’t get a position in a field that you studied for simply because the market is fickle and availability of jobs within an area you are searching for is scarce.

Added to that is the fact that so many jobs require a certain number of years’ experience.

However, sometimes when you steer away from the field you’ve studied in, you end up in a career you didn’t know you wanted, needed or would end up loving.

Paid internships are your friend – and don’t let anyone tell you any less.

There will be a lot of people out there who will take advantage of the fact that you’re freshly graduated and looking for a job. Most courses do offer internships as part of your studies, but for those that don’t, using an internship as a way into the industry is always a good start.

The thing is though, that many will tell you that you should take an internship even if you’re not being paid, but frankly, that’s a load of crap.

Unless you have a lot of financial support you won’t be able to survive on the gratitude of being offered the chance to gain experience and any company who thinks they can get away with offering next to nothing to an intern, should probably not be offering internships in the first place.

The results of your studying efforts is worth more than gaining experience in exchange for free labour. Never forget that.

READ MORE: 5 things I wish I’d had in my work toolkit when I was in my 20s

Being out of your depth is a feeling you should embrace

I don’t know why, but there’s this idea that’s been implanted in my head that, with my first job, I should automatically be good at what I do. But actually, it doesn’t work that way. Getting your first job is exciting, but it’s also scary as hell.

And what no one tells you is that even though you’re qualified for the position, you will still feel like you don’t know what you’re doing.  What I wish people had told me back then, was to actually ride this feeling out – to embrace it and to give myself permission to be a little afraid.

Embrace it and learn to do things even though I’m terrified. Allow room to make mistakes because most reasonable employers would certainly not expect you to get everything right the first time. To operate under this assumption, is to do yourself a disservice – one which will only see you place more pressure on yourself.

WATCH: 18 Things I Learned After Graduating College

Some of your friends will be more successful than you

In this culture of insta-envy we’re living in, it’s hard not to look at an image that displays someone who is living their best life. And sometimes, even though you shouldn’t, you can’t help but compare yourself to that person and wonder just what it is that you’re doing wrong that you haven’t achieved that level of success.

It’s normal to feel that way. The thing is, we don’t know what that person has gone through to achieve that success. What can sometimes look to us like instant success could be the product of dealing with years of struggling to get there.

I have to constantly remind myself of this whenever I see someone in my feed showing pics of them living it up in some exotic locale – a reminder that I try and take comfort in the fact that I’ll get there eventually.

What are some of the things that you wish someone told you or prepared you for after graduating? We’d love to hear from you.