What to Do if You Don’t Know What to Do

Written by Lauren Smyth

If you’re a college student, you or someone you know may be entitled to emotional compensation (a cup of coffee and a pat on the back). But don’t worry; it’s a good problem to have. Because you’ve just been set before a buffet. Every food you’ve ever loved, plus a thousand you haven’t tried yet, is spread before you on silver trays.

Now, you have to choose.

Swap out food for careers, and you’ll recognize the plight of every liberal arts college graduate. We’re incredibly fortunate, and incredibly burdened, to live in a world overwhelmed by choice. There’s so much to do that it’s impossible to do it all. There’s no shame in feeling overwhelmed by the decision that must be made your senior year: Where do I go next?

If you’ve been spending the summer staring at your Career List (an actual list in the notes app on your phone, anyone?), here are some tips to help narrow the field.

Questions to ask yourself:

• What do you like to do in your free time? Don’t rule out hobbies as possible career paths. As a writer who started off scribbling “novels” with crayons on folded printer paper, I can attest that you’re allowed to love your job.
• What unique skills do you possess? Can you make instant friends with every cashier you meet? Can you turn your friend’s lemonade stand ideas into money-making reality? Those are (oddly) specific scenarios, but your skills don’t have to be. People skills, business sense, and many more are readily transferable into real-life careers.
• Have you been to Career Services? If not, you’re missing out on a powerful resource. Whether it’s turning vague interests into adult jobs, polishing a frumpy resume, or just providing a little go-get-em encouragement, Career Services can transform your job search from stressful to exciting.

Things to remember:

• You’re not a slave to your degree. Didn’t like what you studied in college? Well, lesson learned—and time not wasted. If you have an economics degree and want to go to medical school, it’s possible. If you have a physics degree and want to become a painter, it’s also possible. Especially at a liberal arts college like Hillsdale, your four years of study have prepared you well to communicate, innovate, research, and create in whatever field you choose.
• You don’t have to choose a permanent career right away. As one of my professors advised, half seriously: “If you want to start a rock band, now’s the time to do it.” The just-after-college years are the ones in which you’ll have the most freedom with the least responsibility. If you’re going to try something—if you’ve got a wacky business idea or an artistic dream—now’s your chance.
• Picking and sticking isn’t the only road to success. It’s often said that if you want to become a CEO, you have to start at the bottom and spend the next 20 years working your way up. Not sideways, not between companies—just up.

But what if you become the CEO of your own business? What if you want to be a consultant, a strategist, who’s good at a little of everything but doesn’t specialize in anything? If you can’t quash the dream of multiple careers, and if you can’t point to one skill you plan to hone for the rest of your life, know this: you don’t have to. Especially not right now.

1. Innovation can turn a profit, even in a non-lucrative career. A sleepy firefighter sells coffee for first responders, eventually getting his product onto Walmart shelves. A chatty author launches a writing course, attracting students from around the country and pocketing millions. Those are both true stories—and just samples of what’s possible when creativity meets a unique set of skills.

Don’t let financial fears stop you from trying the things you love. Sometimes, it’s not the job that pays; it’s the idea. The new thing. The you factor. The thing you can do that no one else can, that no one else has thought of, or that everyone else does differently.