How To Navigate Life After Graduation
What now, you have graduated from university? Life after graduation is not always rosy for some. When you started your first year of university you were met with excitement, high hopes, dreams, some sense of direction, and possibly some anxiety. Overall you had a positive outlook on what your years at university would be like and life after that. As soon as you graduate you will go out into the world, make a difference, leave your mark, conquer the world, after all, you have a plan.
Fast forward, within months of graduating, you find yourself in a rather unsavory situation, you are unable to secure employment, and you may feel that after all the years of studying and sacrificing all your efforts are now in vain. How has that affected your mental health, the inability to find employment directly after graduating? How many of you can or are willing to admit that life after graduation is not always a smooth road?
Depression affects an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year. And one in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life. Depression can occur at any time, but on average, first appears during the late teens to mid-20s. Women are more likely than men to experience depression. Some studies show that one-third of women will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime. There is a high degree of heritability (approximately 40%) when first-degree relatives (parents/children/siblings) have depression (American Psychiatric Association)
Table of Contents
- What is Postgraduate
- Depression Fears
- Graduates Face Additional Tips
What is Postgraduate Depression?
Postgraduate depression in its simplest form is when a graduate experiences depressive symptoms after completing university or college. The onset of this can be triggered by many factors such as not finding immediate employment, being rejected at the various stages of the job-seeking process, being unable to adapt to the working world, no longer having friends around, feeling isolated and lonely, constantly being rejected in the job-seeking process, feeling demotivated, being your own accountability partner, facing financial problems, you were not adequately prepared for the con side of things, you find yourself constantly comparing yourself to your peers who are excelling, allowing others opinions to affect you, no longer being clear on what you want, realizing that you no longer want to go into the field that you studied. No one truly prepares you for the day when you complete your tertiary education and things do not go the way you had intended, I guess that this is the first step into the real world learning to navigate those challenges and learning to overcome it. You might feel like you are constantly being challenged on all levels as things are not going the way you had envisioned, this can lead to depression.
Let’s dig into some of the fears graduates face.
Fear of Uncertainty
Cause: Transitioning from academic life to the unknown and unpredictable working world.
Advice: Acknowledge and accept that uncertainty is part of life. Also, know that there are no guarantees in life, the sooner you realize this and accept it, the better. No one knows exactly what will happen in the future. Take life as it comes, the highs and lows.
Fear of Financial Problems
Cause: Your first salary is low
Advice: See your first salary as a stepping stone, as you progress and level up so will your salary, manage your expectations when it comes to your first salary. Lead a simple life, do not keep up with the Joneses, and speak to your financial providers about ways in which you can reduce your student loan repayments for a while.
Fear of Rejection
Cause: Constantly being rejected through the various stages of the job-seeking process
Advice: Learn from your mistakes, always be well-prepared for interviews, and don’t shy away from selling yourself. Moreover, I want to urge you to not take rejection too hard, rejection is only redirection.
Fear of Career Pathway
Cause: You are unsure of which way to go next, you feel directionless and uncertain if you want to go into the field you studied.
Advice: Seek out help from a Career Counsellor, a Career Coach, or speak to someone who has been in a similar situation as you. Seek help and support to help you navigate this difficulty. Moreover, have a plan of action, but remain flexible and continue to upskill yourself and be clear on what you want, I know this may sound contradicting, but be clear and flexible. Remember, life is not always a linear path and sometimes we have to learn multiple lessons before being elevated to the next level. 
Fear of Incompetence
Cause: You are in your first job and you are feeling inadequate and incompetent since there is a huge difference between learning theory and applying it in real life.
Advice: Always be willing to learn and upskill yourself, do not dread asking for help from colleagues and managers. Rather risk looking silly for that moment when asking for help than spending the next couple of months trying to figure it out on your own and being stressed, now that would be a silly thing to do.
Fear of Being Unsuccessful
Cause: You are comparing yourself to your peers who seem to be excelling and doing very well.
Advice: Firstly, think about what success means to you then reflect on these questions, for you to be successful what do you need to do and overcome? Then reverse the question, for you to be unsuccessful what do you need to do? To be successful, you need to put in the work and effort, you cannot be upset for poor outcomes if you did not do your part.
Fear of being Unhappy and Stuck
Cause: Your envisioned plan did not go the way you had planned.
Advice: Having a plan of action is great, however, it is also important to leave room for flexibility. More importantly, it is also normal and okay for you to change your mind, and be realistic and open to change. By holding on to what is not working will cause you to feel unhappy and stuck, learn to let go and seek new ways to reach your goals. Fear of Isolation Cause: At university, you had the support of lecturers, mentors, tutors, and friends to help you along, but seeking employment independently can be isolating Advice: Reach out to your family, and friends and network for support.
Fear of Career Pathway
Cause: You are unsure of which way to go next, you feel directionless and uncertain if you want to go into the field you studied.
Advice: Seek out help from a Career Counsellor, a Career Coach, or speak to someone who has been in a similar situation as you. Seek help and support to help you navigate this difficulty. Moreover, have a plan of action, but remain flexible and continue to upskill yourself and be clear on what you want, I know this may sound contradicting, but be clear and flexible. Remember, life is not always a linear path and sometimes we have to learn multiple lessons before being elevated to the next level.
Fear of Incompetence
Cause: You are in your first job and you are feeling inadequate and incompetent since there is a huge difference between learning theory and applying it in real life.
Advice: Always be willing to learn and upskill yourself, do not dread asking for help from colleagues and managers. Rather risk looking silly for that moment when asking for help than spending the next couple of months trying to figure it out on your own and being stressed, now that would be a silly thing to do.
Fear of being Unsuccessful
Cause: You are comparing yourself to your peers who seem to be excelling and doing very well.
Advice: Firstly, think about what success means to you then reflect on these questions, for you to be successful what do you need to do and overcome? Then reverse the question, for you to be unsuccessful what do you need to do? To be successful, you need to put in the work and effort, you cannot be upset for poor outcomes if you did not do your part.
Fear of Isolation
Cause: At university, you had the support of lecturers, mentors, tutors, and friends to help you along, but seeking employment independently can be isolating.
Advice: Reach out to your family, and friends and network for support.
More Advice Tips:
You will need to find coping mechanisms to help you manage your anxiety as your anxiety can put you at a greater risk of developing depression. Whilst you are in the season of uncertainty, bear in mind that it will not last forever, and take heed of the below:
- It’s okay and normal for things to not go according to plan, who knows what lesson and adventure lies outside of what you have planned. You might surprise yourself.
- Life is not always fair, but that is no reason to walk around with that mindset and it should not stop you from pushing forward and seeking out new opportunities.
- Continue to put yourself out there and do not give up on yourself no matter how tough it gets.
- Stop comparing yourself to your peers, comparison is a thief of joy. Keep your focus on yourself.
- Be kind to yourself, your internal dialogue should be friendly.
- Refuse to give up on yourself. Consistently put in the effort to seek employment, at some point there will come a yes. As the saying goes, rejection is just redirection. Be a life-long learner and always challenge yourself.
- Believe in yourself, spend time alone and truly get to know yourself, build your confidence and self-esteem. Accept challenges with an, “ I can do attitude”.
- Most importantly believe that you are worthy and deserving of all things great.
Conclusion 
Although postgraduate depression is not medically recognised, it does not mean that it should be taken lightly or that the frequency of young graduates experiencing this is limited, if you were to do a little bit of research of your own you would find that some graduates are experiencing this. I would like to reiterate that there are absolutely no guarantees in life, allow yourself to be open to accept this and to be open to change. Life is meant to be lived, some days you will stumble, other days you will groove, embrace life and all its glory, you got this! Moreso, the truth is no one coming to save you, you have to save yourself, only you can make the choice to either succumb,overcome or manage your fears and never lose hope no matter how dark it gets. Acknowledge that you are going through a transition period and it sucks. Remember that as long as you keep on pushing forward you will get to where you need to be.
Extra Read: Postgrad Depression