Culture > Higher Education

Advice for All the New Graduates

You’ve got your degree. Now what are you going to do with it?

John F. Di Leo | June 4, 2026

Congratulations!  You’ve finished your high school, college, grad school, or trade school experience, and you’re being rewarded for your work with a diploma, certificate, or degree.  Well done!  Now what are you going to do with it? 

In the workforce, just doing your job “okay” might keep you in an entry-level role, but it won’t help you advance.  And when there are layoffs or plant closures, the employees who were just “okay” might be the first to go, and they’ll have the toughest time finding new jobs in a tough economy.

Since your first job won’t fund the lifestyle you want, you need to strive for excellence, so that you can get — and deserve — promotions throughout your career. 

So let’s get some of the basics out of the way, and then address the issues that most people haven’t told you until now. 

First, the job hunt probably doesn’t work the way you expect.  Apply for a hundred jobs or more, with a completely honest, carefully written and proofread résumé using lots of buzzwords.  This is serious: In most cases, human eyes don’t see a résumé until it’s already been selected, and computers are programmed to look for certain words to prove qualification for a role.  For example, I spent my career in transportation, which some people call logistics, some call shipping, and some call traffic.  Which of these synonyms would the hiring manager have programmed into his system as a requirement for consideration?  If I guessed wrong, no human being even saw my résumé, so I made sure they were all in there.  The same goes for every talent, every specialty, every qualification. 

Next, once you get your first job, start saving for retirement.  Don’t think you can put it off until you’re making more money.  If you learned nothing else from math class, learn this: The magic of compounding interest is most effective if it starts early.  Start your retirement savings as soon........

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