Counseling

What the Actual Fuck — INTRODUCTION

Hey there. Welcome to the beginning of your career! Maybe you’re still hung-over from graduation. Or maybe graduation was a few years ago but you’re still feeling dazed and confused. Either way, I know what you’re thinking…

What the actual fuck. Why didn’t anyone tell me it would be like this?

- and -

Jesus Christ, is this really all there is?! I busted my ass in school for the last two decades expecting some kind of payoff. #notworthit

- and maybe even -

What are the rules here? Do I really need to make a LinkedIn profile? Will I have to start washing my hair more often? Do I need to buy a FUCKING PANTSUIT?! Because that is literally my worst nightmare.

You’ve heard a lot of shitty things about adulthood. Some of it is true — there are bills to pay and pants to wear — but, luckily, some of it is most definitely not true.

The first step in getting your career game together is sorting the truth from the life-sucking lies. Those things are tougher to tell apart than you’d think, especially when you’re new to your career. Take this doozie, for example:

Everyone else has their shit together.

Nope. Bullshit.

Total bullshit.

And yet you probably feel like this is very true — that you’re a gazillion years behind already because everyone else was given some secret playbook for adulting while you weren’t looking.

Not so.

Here’s the truth: Most people don’t know what the hell they’re doing straight out of school. And most people feel sick about it because they don’t even know what they want, let alone how to get it.

I know this because I’m a career coach. Every day I work with people who feel paralyzed on the doorstep of their career. People who feel lost, freaked out, and a little bit stabby — confused about which path to take and panicked that they’re falling behind. Together we figure out how to dial down the anxiety, decide what they want, and make a solid plan to go after it. That’s what you and I will do in the following pages too. We’ll walk through that WTF feeling of starting your career so you can get clear on what you want and cook up a killer plan to go get it.

 Ready? Let’s do this.