我如何度過畢業憂郁期

Ifinally have a job， 18 months after graduating. It hasn’t been an easy path. In fact， at times， it’s been 1）downright miserable. The howls over statistics about graduate unemployment and 2）dole claims may already be fading from memory， but for me the graduate blues went much deeper than the 3）snappy headlines suggested.

After years of rigid structure and clear linear progression through institutions， I was finally 4）left to my own devices to find a job. As I slowly began to comprehend the vastness of the world and the many roles I could assume within it， I was at times reduced to a nervous wreck.

Economists， editors and parents have been quick to blame the statistics on the recession， but in all honesty， I didn’t know any different. In my case， and the same was true for many of my friends as well， the real problem was the 5）mentality I had when I graduated.

Having gone to a good university， and with a reasonable idea of what I wanted to do next， I graduated and began looking for the perfect next step. It felt like the first real test of who I was and what I could achieve. The pressure I put on that decision， needless to say， was immense.

Equipped with only a 6）rudimentary knowledge of the options open to me—in my eyes a major failing of the current university system—I stumbled blindly but stubbornly in the direction I thought was best.

This， initially， was fashion journalism. I wanted to write and I liked fashion， so at the time nothing seemed more obvious than 7）securing as many internships at relevant publications as possible. After a few weeks of being “workie” Devil Wears Prada-style， I was having some serious doubts about my 8）nascent career plans.

Eventually， after a bit of head-scratching， I changed tack. I figured that while fashion wasn’t my world， journalism was， so I emailed the other departments at the paper I was at， applied for experience at completely different magazines， and even looked for internships abroad.

A year later， I had tried everything， from freelancing and subediting to photography and documentary filming. I had written about the arts， politics and social issues. During that period， I lost count of the number of times I felt like giving up on journalism altogether， especially when it felt like I would never get a job and was simply banging my head against a brick wall.

My way of dealing with that feeling was to keep moving. The combination of the sudden freedom and the absence of any framework in which to make decisions can be a 9）paralysing one， but I guarantee that the lost feeling disappears the moment you have something， anything， to get you up in the morning and keep you busy during the day.

Of course you want to do something that is a step towards your dream job， but it doesn’t pay to be narrow-minded about how you are going to get there. If one thing isn’t working， shifting the emphasis slightly can open a door you hadn’t even thought about.

While I was helping a freelancer with research， he offered to teach me how to use a video camera. I had previously ruled out a career in film and television， for reasons I can no longer remember， but not only did the experience open my mind to other possibilities， I also really enjoyed it. Filming is now something I’ll be picking up again in the near future， and a skill I’m thankful to have 10）under my belt.

Of course， I’m not alone finding these choices difficult. One of my friends was so overwhelmed by the number of different directions to go in that she decided to jump straight into a marketing role without stopping to consider what she actually wanted to do. A year on， although sick of her job she also insists she doesn’t regret her choice at all. I’m inclined to believe her. She is not only a year up on me in terms of practical work experience， but she also has a much better idea of what she wants from her next position.

My point is that there is no use getting 11）bogged down in grand ideas of how your career should start off. It’s natural to feel like the rest of your life depends on the steps you take now， but in reality， most people change careers several times throughout their life. That sense of desperation and loss between graduating and finding what you want to do is normal， but not unmanageable.

I tackled it by making sure that every day I did something to work toward my final goal of a job in journalism， whether that was work experience， talking to someone in my field， or just applying for jobs and seeing what happened.

Despite how it may feel， very few land their dream job straight away. If you stay flexible about how the next few years 12）pan out， you may be pleasantly surprised by the consequences. If not， you can always quit. After all， it’s only a job.

畢業18個月后，我終于找到了一份工作。過程充滿了艱辛。事實上，有時候，情況非常糟糕。有關畢業生失業和申請失業救濟金的分析數據雖然讓人抓狂，但已漸漸被遺忘，而我認為畢業時的惆悵比本文簡練的標題還要深刻得多。

經歷了幾年固化的學習模式、在學校按部就班的生活后，終于到了要靠自己找工作的時候了。我漸漸明白了世界是如此之大，我在其中可以扮演的角色如此之多，這使我不時感到躁動不安。

經濟學家、編輯、父母都急著抱怨經濟衰退的數據，但說實在的，我不知道那對我有什么影響。對我和我多數朋友來說，真正的問題是我畢業時的心態。

我就讀于一所不錯的大學，對自己接下來要做的事情有著合理的想法，畢業后我開始尋找完美的下一步。感覺那是第一次經歷“我是誰”，“我能做什么”的真正考驗。不必多說，做那樣的決定讓我感到巨大的壓力。

我對自己能選擇的工作只是略懂皮毛——在我看來，這是目前大學教育體系的主要問題——我盲目地、跌跌撞撞地、固執地在我認為是最好的方向上前行。

最開始涉足的是時尚新聞業。我想寫作，喜歡時尚，因此，在那時，眼下要做的事當然是盡可能多地在相關的出版社獲得實習機會。我變成了《穿普拉達的女王》那樣的工作狂，幾周后，我對自己不成熟的職業規劃感到深深的憂慮。

最終，經過一番苦思冥想，我作出了改變。我明白了時尚行業并不適合我，但新聞業的方向是對的，因此，我給當時所在的實習報社的其他部門發郵件，申請到一個完全不同的雜志編輯部實習，甚至在尋找出國實習的機會。……