WASHINGTON — This is the height of college commencement season, and students at a number of local colleges and universities will be getting their diplomas this weekend. But after all the ceremonies and celebrations, a lot of these new graduates will probably be asking the same question: “Now what?”
Jattu Senesie knows the scenario only too well. She is a physician-turned-life coach with Essence of Strength, in Rockville, Maryland.
After six years as an OB/GYN, she walked away from the job she had prepared for through college, medical school and residency. For her, medicine was stressful, exhausting and perhaps most importantly, it left her with little balance in life.
Now she encourages new grads to prepare for a big transition as they leave university life and move away from the structure of classes and professors setting the agenda.
“When we get out of school and there is no one telling us what we should do and when we should do it and we are left to our own devices, we flounder a bit,” Senesie says.
She says start by taking stock of your life and asking hard questions, such as: What is your unique purpose in life? What are you here to do? What are you here to bring to the world?
Senesie says the answers to those questions are especially important as graduates seek their first post-collegiate job and can help them develop a career path.
She urges them to be flexible from the start and realize that often a first job, while far from perfect, can “help you get to the place where you want to be. …
“Rather than thinking about it as lowering your expectations, think of it as doing what allows you to be purposeful in your life.”
For those who just aren’t sure what job their best suited to work, Senesie advises seeking help from a career or life coach rather than making a decision that may turn bad down the road.
She also emphasizes that everyone — not just recent graduates — should reassess their jobs and lives on a regular basis.
