So, here you are. Four months from graduation and you feel your job prospects are about as promising as an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. Which is to say, not very. But fear not, gentle reader. What I’m here to tell you is that it’s not quite as scary out there as they say, but it’s no picnic either. What you must ask yourself is, what am I willing to do to prevent moving back in with my parents. Sacrifices must be made. This is the time when you really test your mettle.

First, understand that, with rare exception, the first job you land probably won’t pay as well as your student loans. In fact the first job you land might not even pay at all. More and more, graduates must turn to the internships, unpaid, of course, to get the valuable experience necessary to land that first career-type job. The proliferation of the unpaid internship is a direct reflection of the crumminess of the economy. A brutal case study of supply and demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment report for December showed a rate of 9.4 percent — and that was an improvement. If all interns who currently go without paychecks were suddenly put on the books, the unemployment rate would be something like negative 4.3 percent. It’s a sad truth, but the experience gained at an internship is invaluable when you start sending out resumes. So call some friends, get ready to do some couch surfing. You may have to bounce around for a bit while you’re getting this invaluable experience. Call it an exercise in lifestyle minimalism and accept that no one is above drinking Steel Reserve.

Next, the possibility exists that you may have to find employment in an area unrelated to your course of study. Suck it up. There is no better motivation for spending all of your free time cranking out resumes and cover letters than spending all of your working time sacking groceries or serving people food. Trust me. I’ve done it. It is incredible and disturbing how many morbidly obese people you see when working at either a grocery store or restaurant. Scratch that. It makes perfect sense. But I digress.

The point here is that when you walk across that stage in May, the friendly man handing you your diploma stops at that. He hasn’t got a job for you. Every person there watching you and your fellow alumni or alumnae, are very proud of you, but few of them are there to offer you a job. You’re going to need some experience. You’re definitely going to need some humility. And a little luck will take you a long way. But whatever your experience immediately after receiving that $40, $50 or $60 thousand  piece of paper, make the most of it. Learn from it. And use it to make the next step. Because at the end of the day, no matter how great your mom and dad are — and your mom is great — you don’t want to move back in with them. And they probably don’t want you to move back in either.

They do weird stuff when you’re gone.