"Fake It 'til You Make It"

By Aurelie Mathieu on May 1, 2012

Closed mouths don’t get fed. Well, the same thing applies to being a college student. If I did not learn anything else while being here, I at least learned a few important skills that will be useful for the rest of my life.

Photo by JetSharkLambo via Flickr.com

Communication is the key to success.

This applies to you now, as a student, and it will continue to follow you in life. Students who constantly keep contact with their professors have a higher chance of getting extensions on their assignments when they are unable to meet deadlines, and even get them the token reference letter that will take them to the next level. Don’t just wait for something to go wrong to speak to them. Same thing applies to employers and student organizations. Talking will open many doors that otherwise would not.

Practice makes permanence.

You won’t know everything automatically. Your professors can only teach you so much. If you feel like you can learn an additional skill that will be marketable in the future. I had no clue how to make a decent flyer before coming here. I went to the library, asked someone to teach me a few tricks and practiced on my own. I also found tutorials online and discovered some tricks on my own. Now I work as a graphic designer and do what I love. There are a lot of resources available to help you grow and be the best you can be on this campus. Academics are important but there is a lot of things that you can do to enhance yourself as a person and as a professional.

It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.

Networking is one of the most important aspects of being a college student. Not only can it help you land your dream job, but also it can help you in every aspect of life. Your network can be any community, from your friends, colleagues, employers, professionals, and many more. Think about it like this, imagine one of your friends is studying to be a pediatrician, another is a great photographer, one is a future engineer, and your best friend will be in law school in the fall: that is a great network on its own. You never know when you may need them in the future; keeping in contact is very crucial to maintaining a network. Even keeping in touch with people at events may be very beneficial; that may serve to your advantage in the future. You may learn all you want in class, but if you don’t go out and meet people, all potential employers will see is what the sheet of paper says.

Excuses are the tools of the weak and the incompetent.

Face it; most of the time people won’t care about your excuse or your victim story. Present yourself in a positive manner and the outcome will be greater. Everyone has had hardships to overcome and unless they are specifically looking or asking for them, do not mention any. Being late to an interview will eliminate your chances of getting the job; most of the time there are no valid excuses. If people take time out of their day to meet with you, the least you could do is to be on time. This applies to deadlines, meeting and work. If you never use any excuses, when you have a real emergency you will not be penalized as much.

You can change anything as long as you’re willing to get up and take action.

One thing I learned is that if you do not like the way something is done, you have the power of changing it. Of course it may not come instantly, it may even take years, but it’s definitely not impossible. Also, you have all the resources available at the university to help you start either an RSO (Registered Student Organization), philanthropy or service project. You want to help the world? You have hundreds of college students looking for service opportunities. All it takes is initiative, leadership in humility.

Fake it ‘til you make it

People should not be able to tell automatically that you are on a college budget when first meeting you. Present yourself well when you want to be taken seriously. Invest in the professional wardrobe that will take you to the next level. No one should be able to tell how much your clothes really cost.

Your future is in your hands. You get to make the decisions that will affect the rest of your life so make sure they are decisions you will never regret. Your college years are golden and can potentially determine who you will be for the rest of your life.

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