Staying Grounded After Graduation - Karam Kanwar

The World’s Moving Fast—Here’s How to Stay Grounded After Graduation

You have to reinvent yourself every week—but it does mean staying adaptable matters more than ever.

It’s okay to feel overwhelmed. But don’t mistake that feeling for failure. Most people are in the same boat—they’re just not posting about it.

The First Job Doesn’t Have to Be the Right Job

There’s a lot of pressure to “get it right” on the first try—especially if you’ve worked hard through school or carry high expectations from family or peers.

But your first job is less about nailing your life direction and more about figuring out what you don’t want. It gives you data—on your preferences, your work style, your boundaries, and your strengths. That data is valuable, and it compounds over time.

You don’t need a 5-year plan. You need a sense of where your curiosity is pulling you next.

How to Make Career Decisions When You’re Unsure

There’s no one-size-fits-all, but here are a few ideas that help in moments of uncertainty:

• Choose direction over destination. Focus on roles that align with what you want to explore, not just what sounds prestigious.

• Prioritize the people. A decent role with a great team will teach you far more than a big title in a toxic environment.

• Think about systems and skills. Ask yourself: “What will I walk away from this job knowing how to do better?”

• Reflect regularly. Every few months, check in with yourself: What’s energizing? What’s draining? What do you want more or less of?

This reflective habit is what turns early career “trial and error” into growth.

Staying Grounded in the Middle of All This

What helps most is building a sense of rhythm outside of work. Whether that’s journaling once a week, learning a skill for fun, staying active, or talking to people in the same stage—it helps you stay connected to your own pace rather than getting swept up in everyone else’s.

Mentors, or even just peers a couple of years ahead, can also offer helpful context. They’ve been through the same post-grad confusion and usually come out the other side with more clarity—not because they had a perfect plan, but because they kept moving and adjusting.

Final Thoughts

Your early 20s aren’t supposed to look polished. They’re supposed to be experimental. You’re learning how to work, how to live on your own terms, how to adapt—and sometimes how to completely change your mind.

The world won’t slow down, but that doesn’t mean you have to move at the speed of everyone else. Your job isn’t to have all the answers—it’s to stay open, stay aware, and make decisions that are honest to where you’re at now.

You’re not late. :. You’re building something—and that takes time.

About me

Hey! My name is Karam Kanwar, and I am a final-year finance student at UBC Sauder. 

I have a background working with startups, consulting firms, tech companies, and non-profits, and I enjoy working across industries and disciplines. Most recently, I was employed by a software company, where I got to design and implement internal scalable systems.