What Every Recent College Grad Needs to Know About Their Professional Identity
Graduation is near...how Do YOU support recent grads?
What does every “soon-to-be recent grad” need to know before they graduate college? It’s how to introduce WHO they are after they lose their “student” identity.
I'm a firm believer that the identity term "student" is detrimental. The reason is that it's the only way adolescents know how to describe themselves from grades K-16.
What happens when they lose this label and are no longer students? They actually don't know who they are. They've never been shown to think about this question on their own terms. We assign them a label and it sticks with them for the first two decades of life.
ASK A COLLEGE SENIOR TO INTRODUCE THEMSELVES
Go ahead, ask a college senior, “How will you introduce yourself after graduation?” And be ready for two things:
The look of shock, surprise and/or uncertainty cross their face
The scripted response of “I’m a recent grad who studied X.”
They’re literally not prepared. It’s scary to think about, but nobody has taught them how to introduce themselves effectively. YET, we say networking is one of the best ways to land a job! 😳
I know this because every year I ask this question to college seniors, and I get the same responses, year after year.
It’s a big deal.
I’ve worked in higher education and taught undergrads, so I’m sensitive to their state of mind as they hang on the precipice of life after college. And, I care about giving them practical, confidence building tools they can actually use to effectively be SEEN for their uniqueness, beyond being a “recent grad.” Professional identity training is the solution.
What Every Recent grad needs to know
First, teach them about professional identity
We need to teach college students about the existence of professional identity, and show them they have a “pre-professional identity.” This is how they see themselves besides being the label of a student, even before they’ve entered the workforce.
A pre-professional identity is what they aspire to be blended with what they’ve studied and been doing the past few years.
I start by asking them what their major is. If they studied bioscience, are they a bioscientist? Do they want to be seen as a bioscientist? If not, that's okay. What do they want to be known for instead? Just a scientist? Maybe a researcher? What about an investigator?
The word choice doesn't matter too much at this stage. It's the act of choosing a pre-professional identity label so they can start to "try on" who they are and want to become. This is a radical step for recent grads to call themselves "I am a..." It's important they start practicing and testing their identities to learn what feels right. They won't know their true professional identity until they've really entered the workforce.
Additionally, most students carry many pre-professional identities. This is a brainstorming exercise. Who else are they? What else do they want to be known for? Generating this list is a big deal, and then narrowing it to their top two or three identities (For instance: I am a leader, researcher, and environmentalist) is what helps them sound clearer and smarter when they introduce themselves to strangers, potential employers, and future colleagues.
This way, recent grads won't be rambling a host of things they like to do or are interested in. That makes everyone confused on how to help them. Using two or three pre-professional identities during an introduction shows power, confidence, and self-knowledge. It changes the intro from "I'm a recent grad and I need a job" to "I know who I am and have a sense of what I'd like to become."
Second, show them how to talk about their intersection
We need to give college students better templates and practice on how to introduce themselves to delete the script of “I’m a recent grad.” They need stronger language so strangers/recruiters/hiring managers hear a clear pitch that makes them stand out (without jargon, of course) and shows they know (or have some sense of) who they are and what they’re striving for.
MY TOP TRICK
As always, my simplest trick (and super effective one) is to demo to recent grads how to say, “I recently graduated in X , but I’m interested in working at the intersection of A, B, and C”.
For instance: "I recently graduated with a degree in bioscience, but I'm interested in working at the intersection of leadership, research, and environmental issues."
Doesn't that feel compelling and inspirational? Imagine being on the receiving end when a recent grad says this during your first conversation!
The word intersection is a critical signal of their desired space. It is a space between disciplines, degrees, and interests that defies language and categorization. They don't have to know what kind of job or job title they're trying to get (nor should they). By defining their pre-professional identities and converting those into domains and then saying they want something at the intersection of those domains, there is a a clear sense of action, ambition, and acknowledgement of intention. It's a game changer.
I could say so much more on this.
What do you think?