“You don’t need to have it all figured out” – What the Class of 2024 Wants You to Know About Life After Graduation

As the Class of 2025 prepares to graduate, a few things are inevitable. One: you will be asked, repeatedly and without warning, what you’re doing next. Two: you will probably not have a satisfying answer. Three: you will start wondering whether you’re the only one still refreshing job boards at 2am.

The good news is that the Class of 2024 was in the exact same position this time last year. We asked recent graduates what they wish they had known before finishing university. Their advice cuts through the noise. No grand wisdom. No “live, laugh, love” energy. Just practical thoughts from people who were also once avoiding their dissertation by Googling “how to write a cover letter.”

Here’s what they had to say.

You’re Not Behind. You’re Just at the Beginning.

Post-uni life can feel a bit like a race no one told you had started. Some people get grad schemes in November. Others move abroad. Someone you sat next to in seminars is apparently now a “brand consultant.” Meanwhile, you are staring into the void of LinkedIn wondering what “early career” even means.

“You don’t have to make every decision at once,” said one graduate. “Start small. Take steps. Things come together slowly.” Another added, “Don’t wait for everything to fall into place before you make a move. That moment might not arrive. Just start.”

The Job Market Is Weird. That’s Not Your Fault.

You may have noticed that the job market is slightly chaotic. There are more graduates than ever before, everything requires two years of experience, and the most popular graduate schemes are harder to get into than medicine.

Then there’s the AI panic. You might have heard that artificial intelligence is coming for all the jobs. Or none of the jobs. Or maybe just the jobs that involve typing. Or possibly the ones that involve thinking. No one seems sure, but there are a lot of people online offering very confident opinions.

Here’s the truth: AI is changing things, yes. But it is not replacing you. It is not replacing everyone. And it is definitely not the reason you didn’t hear back from that publishing internship you applied for two months ago. That’s just the normal chaos of hiring.

“Just because things don’t happen straight away doesn’t mean they won’t,” said one graduate. “Be patient. Keep trying.”

Your Career Will Probably Look Messy at First

The idea that careers begin with a perfect job and progress in a clean line is a myth. More often, it looks like this: one internship, a few unrelated roles, a period of confusion, a side project that becomes something more, and then eventually some direction.

“Go with the flow,” said one graduate. “The job you land first probably isn’t the one you’ll stay in.” Another shared, “Even if an interview leads nowhere, it’s still useful. You’re getting better each time.”

And in case no one has mentioned it: your university probably still offers career support after you graduate. Use it. You’re not annoying them. That’s literally the job.

People Will Help You. But You Have to Ask.

One of the best pieces of advice from last year’s graduates was simple: ask for help. Not in a grand, dramatic way. Just reach out to people you know. Most people are surprisingly willing to talk, especially if they remember what it was like to be where you are now.

“Speak to everyone you can,” one person said. “Friends, tutors, old colleagues. People want to help, but they can’t read your mind.” Another added, “I asked my dissertation supervisor for advice and he ended up connecting me with people he knew in the industry – it meant I felt much more confident about having commercial conversations when going in for interviews.”

You do not need to network like a corporate robot. Just be curious and willing to send the email or ask the question.

Friendships Shift. They Don’t Disappear.

When you graduate, your friendships change. Everyone moves to different cities. Some people get busy. Some go quiet. It can feel like everything is drifting apart.

“I work shifts, so I lost sync with everyone,” one graduate shared. “At first it felt like everything had ended. But eventually it calmed down. I moved closer to a few friends again, and things picked up.” Another said, “I was worried leaving university would ruin my friendships, but actually it made me realise which ones were worth the effort.”

The bottom line: adult friendships take more organising, but they’re still worth it. Make the time. Book the train. Answer the group chat. You don’t have to keep everyone in your life — but the ones who matter will stick.

Nobody Is Actually Crushing It All the Time

This might be the most important point of all: the version of life people show you, online or in person, is usually the edited one. Graduates said they spent a lot of time thinking everyone else had it together, when in reality, no one really did.

People don’t post about the rejections, the boredom, the loneliness or the existential spirals over whether they chose the right degree. They post the wins, the new jobs, the aesthetic coffees on their way to said job. Just remember that those wins are real, but they are only part of the picture.

One graduate put it like this: “I thought I was the only one who was a bit lost. Then I spoke to my friends and realised… we all were.”

So if you’re looking around and wondering why you’re the only one not thriving, you’re not. You’re just seeing the highlights.

Do Not Panic if You’re Doing Something Different

After graduation, it feels like everyone else is living in a neat sequence: graduation, grad scheme, flatshare, relationship, dog. If you are not doing those things in that order, it can feel like you’re doing it wrong.

But here’s the thing: everyone’s sequence is different. Most people just don’t post the confusing bits online.

“Just because your friends are doing something different doesn’t mean you have to copy them,” one graduate said. “Your life isn’t late. It’s just yours.”

And yes, you will still meet new people after university. No, it is not just downhill socially from here. You’re not banished to the void.

Final Thought: Lower the Stakes

The best advice? Lower the stakes. You do not need your dream job right now. You do not need a five-year plan. You do not need to be thriving immediately. Take the pressure off. Apply for the thing you’re vaguely interested in. Talk to someone about their job. Say yes to something that scares you slightly. It does not need to be perfect. It just needs to be something. The first year after university is often confusing, sometimes boring, occasionally exciting and generally nothing like what you imagined. That’s fine. You are not supposed to have it all figured out.

You’re not behind. You’re just starting.