Seniors will be graduating soon. While some have jobs lined up or plan to go to graduate school, others are asking themselves: What’s next? Graduating seniors and Hegi Career Center counselors advise students to plan ahead.

Katie Stoller, a senior Information Technology and Operations Management major, knows where she wants to work and what she wants to do. She just doesn’t have a job.

Another senior unsure of her plans after graduation is Alison Bandy, a Corporate Communications and Public Affairs major. “I want to relax and travel for a year, but I have to get a job and start paying for myself and my loans,” Bandy said.

Christopher Bader, a Student Clinician, recently held a Brown Bag to discuss the transitions from school into the working world. Bader said that these transitions are often an emotional experience. People can suffer from fear, confusion, anxiety, depression and loss of identity.

“My biggest fear is that I will get to the other end of the line and realize that there is something major that I forgot to do or neglected to do or gave up on,” Stoller said.

Bandy also shares similar fears about post-college life, which she said have made her feel trapped and stifled.

However, there are things students can do to help them with these transitions. They can get academic/career counseling, personal counseling, skill development and organizational support, Bader said. Students should be positive and excited about the change. He recommends that seniors go to the career center and get an assessment.

And Hegi Career Center Director Jerry Alexander couldn’t agree more.

“It’s not too late for seniors graduating in May,” he said, advising seniors to go through the career assessment process.

Alexander said that it’s a stressful time for seniors and that they can face some uncertainty if they have no clear vision of what they are going to do. He believes that many times people can overcome a bad bump in the road.

“Use us as a resource,” added Alexander, “We’re here to facilitate your transition to the next thing that you are going to pursue.”

Bandy has been to the career center for help. She looked at jobs, went to an information session for her major and plans on going back for a meeting with her counselor. It has helped, but she still fears the possibility of not finding a well-paying job.

Elke Arnold, a counselor at the career center, talks to students about their assessments, dream jobs, their majors and tries to help them figure out who they are and what they want to do.

She tries to help them find a stepping stone job to help pay their bills and student loans, while preparing for the career they eventually want to go into.

“Job searching is different for different majors,” Arnold said. She says that companies come and recruit students with business majors and that students with non-traditional majors have to go find the jobs. Most of the non-traditional students get their jobs from internships and knowing people.

Alexander suggests that students start looking to alumni who do what they want to do, and network with them.

“Exploring options, talking to people and gathering information will help students make better career choices,” he said.

“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done as a graduating senior, it’s what you can do in the time that you’ve got left.”

Advice from graduating seniors to underclassmen

Stoller advises students who are not yet seniors to take the initiative and look into job ideas early. 

“I’m not saying that you need to figure out what you want to do,” Stoller said. “But it’s a good idea to figure out what types of things you’d be interested in because there are just too many different opportunities to sort through them all in a short period of time.”

Bandy advises sophomores and juniors to plan ahead. “Do your resumé now, look at jobs now to see what’s out there and what kind of job you want,” Bandy said. “Ask your professors questions; they are an untapped resource with a lot of information.”

This year the career center is giving all seniors access to their job posting without requiring them to take their workshop. The alumni association is also giving access to the alumni career network on Peruna.

For more information visit the Hegi Family Career Development Center on the main level of Hughes-Trigg at or online at http://www.smu.edu/career/.