Identifying Job Search Procrastination Washington DC

When you're a freshman, graduation seems light-years away, so you figure there's no need to start worrying about career plans yet. As a sophomore trying to decide on a major, you might get some inkling that you're going to have to make a career choice in the not-too-distant future, but it still doesn't seem like you really need to do anything about career planning or job hunting just yet.

By junior year, reality starts to creep in, and you know you'll have to start thinking about your career fairly soon. But you decide to define "fairly soon" as at least a year away. Before you know it, senior year arrives, and you find yourself adrift in a sea of denial about the need to start your job search. At that point, you have two choices: Let panic set in and do nothing, or use those twinges of panic to motivate yourself to take action.

How did you become a job-hunt procrastinator and what can you do about it? The following are four typical excuses students give for putting off their job searches, along with a reality check for each excuse:

Excuse 1: Basically, I don't feel a sense of urgency. Graduation seems far away, and I have a roof over my head and food on my plate, so the need to earn a living doesn't seem so critical. I don't want to worry about job hunting yet.

Reality: The time will pass much more quickly than you expect it to! It's never too early to start making your career plans and laying the groundwork for a job hunt. The earlier you start, the easier the actual search will be....