I heart my career.“Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life”  – Confucius



It’s sage advice – but almost cliché at this point. How do we take this simple piece of profound wisdom and make it our reality – it can be tough; but if you stick it out, you may never have to work again.

Let’s explore how you can get from a college graduate to a happy and fulfilled full-time employee.

Presumably, your major is something you’re passionate about and plan on pursuing in the future. But your major may cast a wide net; with so many different options, what avenue do you chase for ultimate success?

The first piece of advice we have for loving your job is to recall what you’ve loved all your life; something that’s always excited you from as far back as you can remember. According to
Entrepreneur Magazine
, you should reflect on what you loved as a child in order to find what you’ll continue to love as you mature in the workforce. Often times what we felt most connected to during childhood is where our truest passions were before life, worries, and peer pressure got in the way.

Now, think back to the classes you’ve taken throughout your college career; what class was your favorite? What class within your major stood out to you? If you’re a Psychology major and the class discussion on childhood disabilities roused your interest, that is a topic you should explore deeper. If you’re a Strategic and Corporate Communication major and your research methods course stood out to you, you should look into market researching or governmental social research. Often the courses or topics within our line of study that most stimulate us, are the ones that can help dictate what we’d love to do best as a career choice.

Finally, find a mentor. If you enjoyed your International Political Science class and your professor had a previous career in international campaign development, you should invest in creating a deeper relationship with that professor and see if he or she will mentor you. A mentor can help show you different careers in the field of study that you already enjoy. As an added bonus, you might develop a close friendship with a mentor. He or she might know you in ways you might not know yourself. Thus, they can help point you in new directions. Mentors can introduce you to potential employers, help you ignite a business of your own, and support you as you go down the path they once went down.

Taking the leap from student to full-time employee is no doubt a scary transition. However, if you land a job that makes you feel fulfilled, this transition can be an incredible one. There are many online resources that can help you bridge the gap between what you love to do and a career.
The Myer Briggs Personality Test
can help you better identify how your personality and career options overlap. Don’t pressure yourself with finding your “life’s purpose,” the journey is just as important as arriving at the destination – just make sure not to loose your passion on the ride.

Sources for advice on this topic: