Networking with fellow graduates, alumni important

By Mallory McKnight | Originally Published: 04/30/09 9:14pm | No comments

You walk across the stage and take the piece of paper as your name is read. You toss your mortarboard in the air and watch it fall back into your hand. You’ve just graduated from college. Now what do you do?

The transition from college life to “real” life is something many students meet with a sense of dread. It’s the end of a chapter of your life and a goodbye to your adolescence.

On the bright side, you are not the first to experience graduation and many MSU alumni can offer a preview of life after college.

With more MSU graduates heading out to live in the big cities across the country, Neil Shah, a 2008 MSU graduate, utilized Facebook and MSU connections to make friends and network after graduation. Shah moved to Denver after graduation to work for TeleTech Holdings Inc., a firm that manages call centers around the world.

Although the job market is tough, Shah said there are opportunities everywhere for people willing to work hard and stand out.

“We’re young,” Shah said. “Right now is the time to take big risks and make big plans.”

Shah stressed the importance of networking to find a job. Oftentimes, it’s not the person with the best credentials that gets the job. It comes down to people skills and making an impact, he said.

“I was going up against guys with degrees from Michigan, Yale and Harvard for my job,” Shah said. “Knowing how to talk to people and make an impression got me the job, not a piece of paper.”

All the social skills learned from late nights at MSU can come in handy when interviewing, but they also make for a rude awakening after graduation.

Ryan Lang, a 2008 MSU graduate, said adjusting to the pace of the work environment after living the college lifestyle was difficult to handle at first.

Working 10-hour days for Command Transportation in Chicago makes you miss having classes that start at noon, he said.

Lang moved to Chicago in March and has adjusted quickly to the fast pace of city life, he said. Although he misses MSU, he credits his experiences during college with his post-graduation success.

“Your college degree is just a ticket to the big show,” he said. “It’s really your experiences and the people you meet that make you successful.”