The Low Down

Welcome to the Columbia alumni community, Class of 2016!

Officially turning the tassel from "students" to "alumni" is one of the most exciting moments for new grads. But it can also be a time of uncertainty, especially for those still considering the next career move in their post-schooling lives.

You're not alone. And so we asked your fellow alumni from the Columbia Career Coaches Network to share their best post-graduation career advice to new alumni.

By Lynn Berger '84TC, '90TC of the Columbia Career Coaches Network

From time to time, all of us experience a career slump; however, it can be a meaningful experience. It allows us to identify the gaps in our work and career. Let's explore how you can identify your interests, motivated skills, personality style, and values to allow you to achieve greater career satisfaction.

So, the question is posed—“How can you overcome a career slump?” The best way to answer this question is to imagine you are creating and putting together the pieces of an intriguing, challenging, and rewarding puzzle. Each piece needs to be closely examined, shifted, and viewed from a variety of perspectives. Once you are able to fit the pieces of your puzzle together, you will have created the complete image, which in effect, will become your fulfilling career.

By Debra Feldman '74PH of the Columbia Career Coaches Network

You got where you are today by virtue of hard work and producing results. If you don’t get the strategy right and execute it correctly, a project fails. This success principle applies to your personal career: you need the right job search strategy to support an effective campaign effort. If either your job search strategy (focus or target) is wrong or your job search execution (tasks and activities) is inadequate, your job search can’t succeed. In other words, if you don’t know where you are going, then you are not going to get anywhere.