13 Remarkable Life Skills You Need After College Graduation – Part 1

What are the life skills you need after college graduation? But first, congrats! I’m assuming you just graduated from college or you’re quickly approaching your college graduation.

But that means life is going to look a whole lot different for you now.

How do I find a job? Where should I travel to? What type of insurance do I need? How do I set up a budget? Where do I find a new community to be involved with?

All these questions and more started buzzing through my head as I faced college graduation.

And that’s because life is completely different after college. Adulting starts to really pick up and there is a lot to learn on your own. No one holds your hand anymore and that can be intimidating.

Now that it’s been a few years since my college graduation, I’m looking back at it thinking about all the life skills I had to learn once I walked across the graduation stage.

There are several life skills you need after college graduation but these 13 will get you started on a path to success!

You have the power to form new life habits in your 20s!

I also link to several of my other blog posts throughout this article because my blog is all about helping you, the 20-something, set up your life for success! Start with these 13 life skills but then keep digging and learning so that your 20s become a strong foundation for the rest of your life.

Let’s get started!

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1. Set Goals & Define Your Future

One of the first things you need to do after college graduation is to sit down and determine your goals.

What do you want the rest of your life to look like? You need a “why” to keep you going through the good times and bad.

It’s likely the case, which certainly was for me, that you knew the next step to take most of your life. You were told what school to go to and what class to take next, and then you probably had a good idea of which college you were going to attend.

However, now college is done and life can take you in so many directions! You may feel like you could move anywhere and do anything. The freedom may feel so amazing, but also so binding at the same time.

With so many decisions regarding which path to take in life, which one do you choose? Sometimes the decision is simply crippling.

That’s why it is so important to start the life skills you need after college graduation by defining your why, setting your goals, and chasing after the successful and joyful future you desire.

2. Find Your Hobby / Side-Hustle

After college, I found myself with a lot of time that I didn’t have before. I used it to Google a great deal of my adulting questions.

But I found myself stuck.

Stuck that there were hardly any groups, resources, or products available to the recent college graduate and young 20-something!

This was clearly a life-altering stage of my life and yet there I was left alone to navigate it.

I knew I wanted to help others as I walked along my life path through my 20s. That’s why I started this blog! To help other 20-somethings find their footing, establish good habits, and set up their lives for success.

Well, I never knew that blogging would bring me so much joy! The more and more I blogged I realized that this side hustle was so vitally important to my 20s.

It certainly was one of the life skills you need after college graduation because it creates a creative outlet, a second source of income, and a sense of accomplishment while helping others.

What side hustles can you try to stay in positive spirits as you transfer from a college graduate to a new 20-something? Would you try starting your own blog?

3. Make New Friendships

This is a vital skill to start learning as you leave the college scene.

While it is so important to stay in touch with your college friends and make an effort to stay involved in their lives, whether they are near or far, it is just as vitally important to form new friendships in your new circles of influence.

This includes your side hustle, your career, your extra activities, your church family, and everywhere else that you interact with people.

Going to work and coming home can be easier than reaching out to new acquaintances, especially if you’re an introvert. However, I encourage you to start practicing this life skill by being intentional in forming new friendships.

Related Post: 101 Things You Need To Know Before College Graduation

4. Challenge Your Career Path

Now is the time to dream big. What career path do you want to have? What are your career goals and dreams?

If you want to continue to climb the corporate ladder, then look for jobs within a company that has lots of room for growth. Or, look for opportunities to keep educating yourself and your schooling through your employer.

Whatever your long-term goal is, make sure you choose a starting job that will help you get to where you want to go. Don’t waste your time doing something outside of your ambitious career path.

By choosing the right job now, you will have more opportunities for future growth in the future.

But, be sure you are not greedy. College graduates almost always start at the bottom. You have to work your way up to the job, position, or title you eventually desire.

Be humble but don’t be scared to challenge your career path, take risks, and go for it!

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5. Set Up A Budget

If you don’t know how to handle your finances, then it can be very difficult to get your 20s off to a secure start. Setting up a budget and tracking your expenses is one of the vital life skills you need after college graduation.

If you don’t even know where to start, check out this blog post.

If you’ve started before but failed to keep up with it then it’s time to set a time and date each week when you fill out the budget. It requires intentionality and will help you start to form good discipline in your 20s.

The simple truth is if you don’t have the money to buy it, do it, or experience it, then you shouldn’t.

I love these financial books and recommend you read each one right after college graduation to get you off on the right foot.

As much as a budget sucks some days, it will immensely help you keep your finances in order. It is certainly an important skill to learn right now, so don’t put it off until later.

Let’s face it. Later never happens.

6. Join A Community

This is huge. After college graduation, the transition into my new daily routine and life slowly became more and more difficult.

In fact, I even experienced a quarter-life crisis. Did you know most 20-somethings do? It’s just never talked about.

One of the things that helped me so much in this transition was the community I surrounded myself with. The friendships and church community that I was able to be involved with helped me stay grounded in what was most important.

Any change in life has its ups and downs. The first step is to know that life after college will be different. As you grow older, the responsibilities also grow. You’ll begin to care about different things and your life goals will shift as you grow older.

A community can help you stay accountable to your goals, know the next wise step to take, and enjoy life!

Keep Reading: 13 Remarkable Life Skills You Need After College Graduation – Part 2

Let me know in the comments below which life skill struck you the most. I can’t wait to hear from you and help you with your adulting journey!

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Kelsey at GoodPointGrandma

Hey there, I'm Kelsey! I'm so glad you are here. I'm a 20-something helping you live your most fulfilling life. I hope you'll join me in this old-fashioned & simple lifestyle!

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