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After graduation: Five real-world steps to success

Cindy Brown, author of the book 鈥淭he Girls Guide to Swagger鈥� and creator of the online community of the same name, once taught a class at the University of Colorado, Boulder called 鈥淩eal World Planning.鈥� 

It was a course formed in response to what she and some of her colleagues in the business world (and many of their professor friends) recognized as a lack of practical skills among the new graduates they saw looking for jobs. Many of these young men and women were eager and earnest, smart and motivated. But they were, well, clueless. 

Sound familiar, parents? With graduation day around the corner, I caught up with Brown to ask her what her top tips would be for new graduates going off into the 鈥渞eal world.鈥�  

Turns out Brown鈥檚 advice is pretty good for the rest of us, too.

Stephan Savoia/AP
John Fiorenzo, center, catches a brief nap during the address to the graduates at his Boston College Commencement ceremony while a classmate yawns behind him at Alumni Stadium on the university's campus in Boston, Monday, May 21, 2012. Fellow graduates Patrick Dingham, left, and Brandan Kirby, right, watch the stadium's jumbotron.

1. Find your values

Stephan Savoia/AP
John Fiorenzo, center, catches a brief nap during the address to the graduates at his Boston College Commencement ceremony while a classmate yawns behind him at Alumni Stadium on the university's campus in Boston, Monday, May 21, 2012. Fellow graduates Patrick Dingham, left, and Brandan Kirby, right, watch the stadium's jumbotron.

Brown says she always started her class with a question: 鈥淒o you know what鈥檚 important to you?鈥� 

鈥淚t was always a little risky at the beginning,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey didn鈥檛 know me very well.鈥� 

So she had her students go through a list of 50 values - everything from 鈥渓ove鈥� to 鈥渇inancial security鈥� to 鈥渃ontinued learning.鈥�  (For a list of some of Brown鈥檚 values go to her blog ). She asked them to circle what was important to them. Then she鈥檇 have them identify their top 10, then their top five, and then one by one she鈥檇 ask students to throw away different values until one, core, idea remained. 

鈥淭hink about what is in your hand,鈥� she鈥檇 say. 鈥淲hat did you keep hold of and why?鈥� 

She says she鈥檚 gone back to her own list at different career turning points in her life.

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