Survive & Thrive: A Graduate's Guide To Life After University

This is the book that every final year student and recent graduate needs to navigate life after education, which can be – in equal parts – exciting, daunting and stressful. It will guide you through all the things people seem to expect you to already know when you leave university.

Graduation is supposed to mark a new beginning, one that’s full of opportunity. But the months after leaving the university bubble can feel surprisingly overwhelming. So much so that many will experience the graduation blues, AKA the Quarter Life Crisis. It’s a time of massive change and uncertainty: relocating, leaving your friends, adjusting to life back home with your parents, finding paid work, choosing a career, all while working out how to become financially secure and living off a tight budget without student discounts.

Graduates might shine academically, but most leave university with limited life skills, ill-prepared for these real-world challenges. And there has always been an information chasm: students are not taught how to navigate the jobs market or rental market, and basic personal finance is rarely on the syllabus.

Grads tend to rely on family and friends for guidance, who themselves lack confidence to advise on careers and recruitment procedures, finances or rentals. Or they turn to the internet, where advice can be confusing, inaccurate, biased and agenda-pushing. A big part of the problem is graduates don’t know what knowledge they lack, and you can’t find the answers if you don’t know the questions.

And that is why we wrote this book! The perfect graduation gift for a university leaver or final year student, it’s packed with useful information to ease the transition from higher education into working life. It’s also a fantastic resource for careers experts working with students and graduates.

From career choices and job applications to sorting out finances and looking after your mental health, this book will help readers to devise a plan of action, execute it, and keep positive along the way.

This book…

• Gives practical tips for managing uncertainty, helps you see the ‘big picture’, set goals and make plans to keep you motivated.
• Explores the many options after university, from grad schemes and entry-level roles with businesses big and small, to further education, travel, entrepreneurship and self-employment.
• Shows you how to stand out in job applications: from CVs and online profiles to cover letters, tests and interviews, as well as how to nurture your network and get more out of work experience.
• Covers need-to-knows about student loans and bank accounts, how to budget and live within your means, tips for saving and navigating the rental market.
• Encourages you to tend to your physical and mental wellbeing – spanning fitness, food, stress and sleep – because staying healthy will make this period of change much easier to handle.

About the authors

Mother and daughter team, Julie and Sophie Phillipson, founded student/graduate site HelloGrads.com in 2016, when Sophie and friends began to navigate adult life, hampered by a lack of life skills and resources. Through the website, social media and events, they have helped thousands ease into life after university. The authors consulted all sorts of experts, from CEOs of multinationals to entrepreneurs of successful startups, recruiters, business advisers, careers services, youth counsellors, banks and property agents, as well as many graduates who have been through the uni-to-work transition. This helped them put together a rich source of information to show graduates the many possible routes to success and fulfilment.

For a life stage that’s full of change and uncertainty, this graduate guide – written by graduates, for graduates – will help you take control and feel confident and upbeat about your future.