TV Personality Reema Chanco’s Advice to Fresh Grads: What’s the bigger purpose?

Kalibrr asked Reema Chanco what she had to say to fresh graduates. Her nuggets of advice are below. Drawing upon my fresh graduate experiences, I know it can be an overwhelming phase. You’ve got a new set of roles and responsibilities. It’s a new set of surroundings too. Here are a few tips for getting through those first couple of work years.

1. Follow your passion. Ever since I left my first job, it was the start of me following my own passion. It was the start of me acknowledging that “I’m not going to do anything that I am not happy about anymore.”

2. Whatever you do, be good at it. One skill I’ve always liked is organizing. I make it a point to be organized. During my school days, I made sure that all my things are in the proper place – that my pens go inside the pencil case, that my notebooks go together, etc. In hindsight, being good at organizing was an important skill that prepared me for handling the finances of the business. Even the little things can pave the way for a career and balloon into a career.

3. Go out and try different things to know yourself. Try out many things. I give the same advice as part of teaching fitness. I tell my clients, “Don’t stick to the latest diet fad. Try it out for yourself if it works with you. What you feel suits you well, stick with it.” After college, I had no idea I was going to end up in the food industry. The same can be said for ending up on TV. Just go with the flow. Then something just clicks and you’ve found your fit.

4. Do not be risk averse. Taking a risk can be scary but there will come a time when you will face the choice of making one. I could have stayed in my first job for a decade more. However, I took the risk and it served me well. I know of other people who have stayed in jobs they did not like, that could have been me as well.

5. It’s not all about the money. Money can sometimes be the make-or-break factor. Should I take the job with the most money offered? How can I start being an entrepreneur without the capital? The best question to ask is, “Am I doing it for the money alone? Or is there a bigger purpose that would be better served?”

6. The bowling analogy. Stop focusing on the end result. You know how sometimes we focus solely on scoring a strike on the first try when we play bowling? Well, work or business isn’t bowling. Focus and do the things you can control. For a new graduate, they can control the actions they do daily that can contribute to a successful life, which is the goal. Your biggest foe is yourself. Do something today your future self will thank you for. “Mamuhunan ka,” as they say in Filipino.