Your First Job After College

The semester leading up to graduation can be bittersweet.

You’re excited about reaching another milestone and embarking on a new adventure. But you’re also anxious about all the unknowns on the journey ahead.

Read on for some helpful tips to keep your head above water and make this transition as smooth as possible.

Know Your Strengths

When you’re figuring out your next steps and crafting a career plan, ask yourself three things:

• What are you deeply passionate about?
• What can you be the best in the world at?
• What drives your economic engine?

Make a Venn diagram of your answers and find the ones that overlap across all three questions. Using this method, known as the Hedgehog Concept , can help you determine what jobs are a best fit for you.

Consider Skill-Building Opportunities

While you might feel a lot of pressure to land that “perfect job” once you graduate, know that you may move around positions a few times before you find the right fit. Go into every new opportunity with an eye for skill-building:

• What are some new skills you’ve learned?
• What can you add to your resume?
• What have you learned about yourself and what you like/don’t like?

Be Aware of Benefits

Benefits are something you probably haven’t had to think about too much until now. But now is the time to really think about benefits! These can be as important (if not more) as the starting salary. Possible benefits include:

• Insurance (Health, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability)
• Paid Time Off
• Remote Work Opportunities
• Retirement Plans (401(k), IRA, pension)

Be clear on the benefits provided by an employer before you accept a job offer. While some of these elements may not seem important right now, they will be in the big picture.

Don’t Forget About Tax Season

Once you’re on your own and working a full-time job, there’s one more adult thing you can’t forget to do come April: paying taxes.

Here’s your quick start guide to preparing for tax season:

• Find out if you need to file
• Collect tax statements and W2s in one handy spot as you get them (usually in January)
• Ask for help if you need it, whether from a trusted family member or an accounting expert

We have even more tax time tips if you’d like to go more in-depth.

This is an exciting time! You’re starting a new chapter in your life and so many new experiences are coming your way. Revel in these next few months of college life, and refer back to these tips as needed to help you stay grounded for what’s to come¹.

UW Credit Union is a financially strong institution, committed to providing financial education and supporting our members and communities in building their financial well-being. We offer free learning seminars, confidential credit consultations and, through our partnership with Banzai, an impressive catalog of financial education resources.

Here for Every You.