By the time spring semester rolls around, a steady stream of LinkedIn announcements start appearing on everyone’s feed. Friends land return offers from internships, peers are finalizing job contracts and already celebrating early wins, but some are still searching.
University of Miami senior Keara Dreyfuss explains her experience, “I was looking at all these people who just had their internships the summer before and then got a return offer, and they just had a really easy year,” she said. “And that was hard because I was jealous … I didn’t have anything yet.”
Dreyfuss, who graduated from UM in May 2025 with a degree in business analytics, knew she wasn’t alone. Many seniors find themselves in limbo between the routines of college life and the uncertainty of what’s next. For Dreyfuss, the key was not panicking but pivoting.
She reminded herself, “We’re so young; nothing is set in stone.”
Like many students approaching the end of college, Dreyfuss had to hold two conflicting truths: the pressure to figure it all out and the freedom to enjoy where she was. Graduating can feel like standing at the edge of a cliff. It is exciting, terrifying and completely disorienting. With finals, social plans and the emotional weight of “last times,” students are also expected to answer life’s biggest questions:
Where will I live?
What kind of job should I get?
Will I even find work?
Becky Roth, a career coach based in Rockville, Maryland, works with students and recent graduates across the country. She believes seniors do not need to choose between enjoying their final year and preparing for what comes next.
“Some people say have fun your senior year, and some say no, have a strategy for your future,” Roth explained. “But I say do both. You don’t have to live in fear, but you can’t neglect the future either.”
Roth, who refers to 2025 as “the year of the pivot,” advises students to expect a less linear path. With a competitive job market and rising unemployment rates, the journey after graduation may involve more steps than expected. That could include taking a “bridge job,” an entry-level position that builds essential skills while leaving room to explore long-term goals.
“A lot of people are juggling three kinds of work: regular jobs that pay the bills, bridge jobs that get them closer to their goals, and career jobs they’re building toward,” Roth added.
Another spring 2025 UM graduate, Ari Morton, knows firsthand the consequences of waiting too long to start the job search.
“I didn’t really start doing job search stuff until honestly after I graduated, and that kinda messed me up,” he sighed. “Don’t stress … but also get on your shit.”
His advice to current students is simple: start early. Applying to a few jobs each week starting in the fall, he said, can ease the pressure and open more doors by the time graduation rolls around.
“There’s no reason to stress if you started so early,” Morton said. “You’ll eventually find something by the time you walk across the stage in May.”
Though he fell behind schedule compared to his friends, Morton feels lucky to have eventually landed his dream job as a talent manager at The Network Advisory. He recently made the move from Maryland to Brickell to start his new role. Looking back, he said although things worked out for him, he would’ve experienced much less anxiety if he had started preparing earlier.
The University of Miami’s Toppel Career Center is designed to help students do exactly that. Toppel offers resources from resume reviews and mock interviews, to job boards and one-on-one coaching, that many students overlook.
Caleigh Russo, a UM spring 2025 journalism graduate, said tapping into these resources early can pay off months later.
“I can’t tell you how many times people have emailed me and said, ‘We met you six months ago and I have your resume. We’d like you to come in for an interview,’” Russo said. “I didn’t even have to apply.”
Russo recommends attending career fairs, having your resume reviewed at Toppel and connecting with UM alumni on LinkedIn.
“Ask them for a 15-minute coffee chat, learn about their career path and ask them for a referral,” she said. “There’s no stronger bond than a Canes’ bond.”
Your first step doesn’t have to be your final destination. Dreyfuss had a junior year internship that turned into a potential job offer, but she turned it down.
“It taught me what I didn’t want to do,” she said. “I didn’t commit to a career I wasn’t going to like.”
Instead, she took a job in analytics at an entertainment company that better matched her interests. She knew it wasn’t her dream job, but it was a strong starting point.
“Your first job probably isn’t going to be your dream job,” she realized. “But if it’s giving you experience in the field you want to be in, it’s a stepping stone.”
Keeping an open mind is essential in a market where competition is high and opportunities can be unpredictable. Large corporations might only hire a few interns after graduation.
Startups, however, may be more flexible and eager to hire someone who is open to learning multiple roles.
“You gain skills at every job,” Roth declared. “Even if it’s not the job, it’s a job, and that matters.”
Comparison is one of the hardest parts of senior year. At a school like the UM, polished LinkedIn announcements and post-grad plans can start surfacing as early as fall semester.
Russo encourages her peers to embrace the uncertainty and recognize that no one has it all figured out.
“Your life is unwritten right now,” she said. “Have fun with it. Enjoy where you are, and start planting seeds for the future.”
That could mean reaching out to professionals on LinkedIn, applying to an internship or entry-level role or attending one career event per month.
“Be open to different opportunities,” Dreyfuss said. “You might have a very specific vision of what you want, but the first job you land might not be that.”
“And that’s OK,” she added. “Nothing is permanent.”
Her mindset going into senior year helped take the pressure off. She kept the focus on learning, networking and trying new things. She reminded herself that the right opportunity would come, even if it didn’t look exactly how she pictured it.
“You need to have confidence in yourself,” she said. “I have good things to offer, and if they don’t see that, then it’s not the right company for me.”
Senior year doesn’t have to be a choice between fun and future. It can be both.
Stay open-minded. Be proactive. Ask for help. And don’t forget to be present.
“It’s stressful and doesn’t always feel like it’s going to work out,” Dreyfuss admitted. “But I always believed that whatever job I’m meant to have, it’ll happen.”
And if it doesn’t?
Dreyfuss assures, “That just means it wasn’t the right one.”
Career resources at UM
- Toppel Career Center: Offers coaching, resume and cover letter reviews, mock interviews, job and internship search guidance.
- Career Fairs: Held throughout the fall and spring semesters.
- Handshake: The university’s job and internship platform for students.
- Alumni Network: Use LinkedIn or the alumni directory to find and reach out to UM graduates in your field.
- LinkedIn Learning: Free through UM with tutorials on resumes, interviews, networking and more.
words_mikayla reich. photo_toppel career center.
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