Things I wish someone had told me about life after college

I suppose that's sometimes true. However, some people in certain situations might receive unsolicited job offers, without ever even creating a resume or submitting an application, right?

The point I was trying to make is that, I'd encourage young people to follow-up after sending out a resume. It will help you gain 'chops' for future calling/prospecting that may be required. Also, it's professional to follow-up with a phone call after sending an email to someone you've never met or spoken to before.

I get a lot of unsolicited resumes sent my way. Hardly anyone ever calls to follow-up. My thought is, I'm a busy person, and if the person really truly wants to work with me, they won't give up. I want to see persistence.

I bet that Amazon, Google, Facebook and Microsoft all have very well-thought-out recruiting programs. I'd imagine that young college grad's could be hired for a lower salary than older, more seasoned software engineers. Those large companies are probably more flexible with young recruits. Everything in life is a trade-off. Why would those companies "shower" kids fresh out of college with job offers? I'd venture to guess that they are interested in hiring them because it's cheaper than hiring someone else with more experience. Or maybe that's how it is in the software job market. But as I see so many Americans out of work, expecting someone to 'create jobs' for them, I think it's important to highlight what it takes to get a job that you want. I'd consider your example of software engineers being "showered with job offers" as an exception to the rule. Most people have to actively pursue what they want in life. Plus, in 25 years you don't want to be one of those people on TV begging the government to 'create jobs' for you! So my advice is to learn how to get what you want by asking.

Quite a few people find a life partner and/or a best friend or two during college -- if you're lucky, these people won't go down the same career path that you do, and you'll have an automatic link to new potential friends that way.

It's important to find ways to expand the people you meet, though, and nurture the connections you value even though you may move to a different city, etc..

Getting new real friends as an adult is trickier than at university -- most of the other adults you meet already have their circle of friends, routines of interaction, etc., and even if you click, spending time with you would mean spending less time with their existing friends and activities.

Obviously, if you want to live as a simple cog there's no one stopping you. :)

I agree with you. I began my corporate career (explained a few posts below) with the mentality that if I worked hard and worked smart, I would be rewarded. Well, I worked for 3 years, and was only promoted once. That promotion just moved me from the first level to second level developer (in a big company, a promotion essentially just means a raise and title change from I to II). That promotion came with a slightly higher salary, but it also came with ineligibility for overtime pay. As a result, my overall pay-per-hour kinda sank. I didn't care though. I still thought doing a good job would pay off well in the end.

Well, one day I asked my manager for a private meeting and asked for a promotion. I was performing at the level of people several levels above me, and I thought I brought more value to the company than I was being compensated for. What he eventually said echoes in my mind: "Sometimes it's possible for you to grow too fast in your career." The idea that there was some sort of meritocracy came shattering down, and it started dawning on me why they had mediocre software even with so many developers. For those of us doing the actual work, there was no real reward for being the guy with the solution. There was no motivation. This wasn't a place for anyone who expected to be appreciated for hard work. They probably just looked at me and thought, "Hah, that's cute that he's trying so hard."

So I ditched the corporate world, took a slight pay decrease, and now I work for a great startup. The end. ;)

Look for other people who are new -- new to town, new to the company, etc.. They'll probably also be more open to new connections.

The trouble with everyone else is that they already have their daily routine, their set circle of friends, possibly spouse & kids... they may well find you interesting, and even good friend material, but they'd have to shuffle up their lives to make space for someone new.

Lots of people live their entire lives in one area -- they may have best friends they've known since they were 7 years old. You're not going to displace something like that, and that has nothing to do with who you are.

Be patient & don't go negative -- it certainly takes more time (and more looking) than making friends in a university setting, but it happens just the same.