5 Tips to Congratulate and Guide Optometry Class of 2020

Congratulations, Class of 2020! You are officially a Doctor of Optometry!

Now that you have finally graduated, you are no longer a student.  You are now facing the world as an appropriately qualified Doctor of Optometry! Way to go!!!

As a new grad, there’s a world of possibilities out there, and succeeding in the world outside of Optometry School means learning how to navigate it.

While Optometry Schools are great at preparing students for their careers, there are many first-time situations young doctors will find themselves in that they won’t know how to get through until they finally experience them. Here are five tips to help guide you in this new chapter of your life:

1. Enjoy the moment

Congratulations! You did it! You are officially a doctor! No more mid-tems, no more finals, no more practicals, and best of all no more burning the midnight oil. You will never be in this place in time again, so do everything in your power to take it all in. Celebrate! Celebrate! Celebrate!

2. Rediscover You

Over the past 4+ years of school, you’ve spent most of your time preparing and studying for exams. Now that you have some free time, make a point to rediscover yourself. What are your goals? What are your dreams? You finally got the degree, now what?

The path to the success you desire begins within you. Use this once in a lifetime opportunity to begin the journey the right way. Spend time in mediation, prayer and visualization. What is you mission in life? What is your vision? What is your purpose? The answers are there and will come to you when you seek them. Click HERE to get more tips.

3. Do an inventory of your hard and soft skills

According to Wikipedia:

• Soft skills are a combination of people skills, social skills, communication skills, character or personality traits, attitudes, career attributes, social intelligence, and emotional intelligence quotients, among others, that enable people to navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals.
• A Hard skill is the ability to perform an action with determined results often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Hard Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. An example of hard skills is your ability to perform a refraction.

You just spent the past 4+ years developing your hard skills. Congratulations!  But remember, every other Optometry graduate had the same training and knowledge as you.  What will set you apart? Do an inventory of all your skills, especially your soft skills, and determine which ones will help you stand out from the pack.

4. Get your digital footprint in order

If a potential employee were to google you and/or look you up on social media, what message would they receive about you right now? Is your digital footprint promoting you as the professional that you are now? Or is it filled with not-so-flattering information/pics from your last escapade?

Whatever message you choose to tell the world about yourself on social media is your choice. Just make sure it’s the message you want the world to see. If it’s not, it’s time to update your digital footprint.

5. Think outside the box

Due to the pandemic, you will be entering a fiercely competitive job market. But don’t worry, you are just as fierce. The past 4 years are proof that you have what it takes to succeed.

When you start looking for work, be prepared to hear a lot of “No’s”. In fact, plan for them.  However, don’t let a failed interview get you down and certainly don’t give up.  If you aren’t able to find work in this post-pandemic era, consider a residency to bolster your hard skills. Or consider volunteering locally or abroad on mission trips to improve your soft skills.

Here’s a mind-boggling one… Agree to work for free for 3 months to prove yourself. Most employers will not say no to that!

We are living in a new normal.  What helped last year’s class succeed, won’t help you.  So be prepared to think outside of the box. For more tips on how to increase your professional value to potential employers, click HERE.

Congratulations again on your success!

My goal here was to give you some tips to help get you started in the right direction. However, If you need help, we at Optometry Divas are here to help you.  Email your questions to [email protected] and we’ll do our very best to help you in any way we can.

On behalf of the entire Optometry Divas community, I wish you all the success in this new chapter in your life.

Congratulations to the class of 2020!