Dear Graduate: What Nobody Tells You About the Path Ahead

A letter to recent graduates from a career coach who's been there — on waiting, uncertainty, relationships, and why the path you planned rarely looks the way you expected.

GRADS

5/19/20263 min read

I'm writing this while watching my son prepare to graduate college and commission into the military. He has a position lined up. He worked hard to get here. And if I'm honest, I'm not sure he's entirely certain this is the path he would have chosen if you had asked him a few years ago.

I recognize that feeling, as my own story is not much different.

When I graduated, I applied to several jobs and waited. The tension of that waiting was real. My path had already changed once — I had one direction in mind walking into my final year and a different one walking out. I was living on my own, which had a way of clarifying things quickly. I needed a job. I needed income. And I had a fallback, a safety net.

I had been working at Circuit City for a while — worked my way into more senior roles, knew the environment, felt comfortable there. There were moments when the easier thing would have been to simply stay.

But I knew I wanted more than familiar. That pull — toward something I couldn't fully name yet — was enough to keep me moving.

The path rarely looks the way you planned.

What got me to my first real position was not strategy or a single defining moment. It was a relationship. I had listed a former Army buddy as a reference on an application. The hiring manager happened to know him. A conversation happened. An interview followed and then an offer.

That's it. Not a breakthrough. Not a lightning bolt. A name recognized by the right person at the right time was able to help me get my foot in the door.

I've thought about that a lot over the years. Careers are not built on single decisions or dramatic turning points — they're built on the accumulation of small choices, quiet actions, and relationships you sometimes do not even realize you're building. The Army buddy I listed on that application. The jobs that taught me what I did not want. The moments I stayed curious enough to keep going.

None of it felt like direction at the time. Looking back, it was.

Give yourself permission to not have it figured out yet.

There is enormous pressure on graduates right now — to land the right role, to justify the degree, to move quickly and confidently in a direction that feels anything but clear. The trap most people fall into is mistaking that pressure for urgency, and mistaking urgency for action.

Sending applications without direction is not action. It is noise. What actually moves you forward is staying curious about what you want, honest about what you do not, and willing to take one small step even when the full path is not visible.

Your first job is not your forever job. It is a starting point. And starting points teach you things that no amount of planning or waiting can.

Be open to the path in front of you.

My son is stepping onto a path he worked hard to reach, even if he is not entirely certain it is the right one. From my perspective, that is not a problem — that is the beginning of figuring it out. The work in front of him will teach him things. The relationships he builds will open doors he cannot see yet. And if the path changes, that is not failure. That is how this works.

The same is true for you.

You do not need certainty to move. You need enough curiosity to take the next step, enough honesty to pay attention to what it teaches you, and enough patience with yourself to let the picture develop over time.

One more thing — perhaps the most practical piece of advice I can offer: stay close to the people around you. The connection that led to my first position was not a networking strategy. It was a friendship. Relationships have a way of becoming the bridges you did not know you needed.

Be open to new adventures. Be willing to explore. And be kind to yourself — and others — along the way.

That is not just advice for a career. It is advice for the whole journey.

Now go see what's out there.

— Chris

If any of this resonated — or if you're in the middle of that uncertain, waiting stretch right now — I'd love to hear from you. Reply and let me know where you are.

If you want a thought partner for what comes next, I offer complimentary 20-minute Compass Calls — just a conversation about where you are and where you want to be. No sales pitch. No pressure.

Book here: --->

Schedule Your Compass Call

Subscribe to our newsletter for insights & reflections to help you stay inspired on your journey.

Discover Your Direction

Find your passion, find your path.