Shop Boy Explains…why “what are you doing now” are the five worst words for a graduate to hear

…why “what are you doing now” are the five worst words for a graduate to hear

“So…what are you doing now?”

Is there any worse of a sentence?

Upon graduating, friends and family are very excited for you and immediately think / hope that you have the perfect job lined up. Most of the time, people do, but there are still a lot of people who don’t know exactly what they want to do after graduation, and for them, these few words suck.

I know it shouldn’t be such a sore point, as clearly, people are asking because they are interested in your life and want you to achieve your goals. You forget this however, when quickly spiralling down into a pit of shame when you have to explain you haven’t begun your career and are stuck in retail…that is my own brand of hell.

You try your best to sell it to them so you aren’t as ashamed.

“Yeah, I’m staying in retail fulltime so I can save up and travel!”

Yep…saving. In the eighteen months since my graduation I’ve barely taken annual leave (I’m saving it for when I have to move interstate for my killer job).

“I’m focusing on building up some freelance work and I didn’t want a journalism job creating a conflict of interest for me.”

Really? Name one journo / writer / television presenter / comedian that has just one job? No…seriously.

My favourite “excuse” however is to explain, “I’m just really burnt out after fifteen years of continual study and needed to take <insert period of time here> to find myself and see what I wanted from life.”

I can promise you, I know what I want. I want to write and I want to write well. I want to use my mild case of OCD to be extremely organised in my job and kick some serious arse of deadlines and deliver perfect work. Most importantly however, I want to work in an environment where I feel like I am making and difference, doing something I love and being fulfilled.

I want my career and I value support from others, just please let me bring it up in a self-deprecating manner before uttering those god-awful words.

Unless of course you know I have scored a sweet job. In that case, ask away! I’d love to gloat!