Life After College: The Complete Guide to Getting What You Want

by Jenny Blake

Life After College is an essential manual for every graduating student and young professional. It features practical, actionable advice that helps people focus on the BIG picture of their lives, not just the details. Life After College will leave you feeling inspired, confident and ready to take action toward creating the life you really want.

In Life After College Twitter meets What Color is Your Parachute for 20-somethings. Written by popular blogger and life coach Jenny Blake, Life After College provides tips, inspirational quotes and coaching exercises for every area of life Work, Money, Home, Organization, Friends & Family, Dating & Relationships, Health, Fun & Relaxation, and Personal Growth. The book is like having a portable life coach by your side -- it is a "one stop shop" that is part journal, part motivator, and part guidebook. Life After College is a powerful life-planning tool that no twenty-something will want to be without!

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Personal Development, How To

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

Jenny Blake is an author, podcaster, and keynote speaker who loves helping business owners move from friction to flow through smarter systems, powered by Delightfully Tiny Teams. Her third book, Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business, launches March 22, 2022. Jenny’s previous book, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One, won the Axiom award for best business book in the careers category in 2016.

Jenny hosts two podcasts with over 1 million downloads combined: Free Time for Heart-Based Business owners, and Pivot with Jenny Blake to help others navigate change. After working at a Silicon Valley startup, then at Google for five years in coaching and career development, Jenny moved to New York City in 2011 to launch her own business. She loves yoga and buys too many books. Learn more and take the Free Time quiz at ItsFreeTime.com.

Reviews

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, obviously I'm biased. I think "read" is putting it lightly, seeing as I read this thing about 3,000 times while editing! But based on the effort and love that I poured into it, and judging on whether it is a book I would want to read, I'm giving myself five stars :D. I'd love to know what you think when you're done reading!

[Doniree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is going to be as important for late twenty and early thirty-somethings as it is for recent college graduates. Jenny's balance of personal stories, inspirational quotes and insight, and practical exercises help the reader identify values and goals. The book helps to clarify direction by asking questions. Jenny's experience as a Career Development Manager, Life Coach, and Yoga Instructor really come through - she's encouraging, motivating, compassionate, and her energy and enthusiasm is inspiring. Get this book!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

LIFE AFTER COLLEGE was just the book I needed to read right about now. I graduated from college in May and launched into a full time PR job in June. Life has been a complete whirlwind since then, and this book gave me the chance to really reflect on the different areas of my life and figure out what I want, and how to get it.

Broken into 10 different sections: life, work, money, home, organization, friends and family, dating and relationships, health, fun and relaxation and personal growth, this book tackled tough topics related to each of those different sections.

Each chapter featured tips from Jenny, stories from other professionals, advice from college graduates, a series of exercises, quotes, recommended reading and two cents from Twitter. The way the book was organized made it completely easy to read; great to read from cover to cover, but also completely simple to flip to any page and still get just as much out of the book.

One of my favorite parts of the book was “two cents from Twitter.” Jenny joined in an #u30pro chat and gathered much of the content for the Twitter section from this awesome Twitter chat for young professionals. I sometimes join in this chat, so it was great to see advice from Twitter names I recognized. I also loved that Jenny turned to Twitter because it shows that she really took the time to do the research and figure out how real college grads feel about these key topics.

I also appreciated that Jenny outlined several other resources and recommended reading at the end of each chapter. Jenny herself admits in the beginning of the book that she scratches the surface of each of the topics she covers, but that there is a wealth of information out there for those who wish to learn more. I loved that through Jenny’s book, I got an overview on these topics and then was provided with titles of books in case I wanted to learn more.

Readers will really enjoy the exercises Jenny offers in each chapter. The book is filled with questions and space to respond and make lists and brainstorm. Jenny asks poignant questions that will get you thinking about what you value, what your goals are, and where you see yourself heading.

Something else I really loved about this book was hearing Jenny’s stories and tips. Jenny shares several stories that show her during times of doubt and fear. She doesn’t position herself as an expert who has never experienced anything she writes about. I love that she not only provided readers with awesome tips, she also opened herself up to vulnerability and shared her personal stories that show how she got from where she was to where she is now. I especially enjoyed the chapter about health and Jenny’s story about conquering a triathlon.

My absolute favorite chapter was the one on organization. A bit of an organization freak myself, I loved reading Jenny’s tips on how to stay organized. The part of this chapter that made me smile is when Jenny talks about a “keepers” file. Jenny describes a keepers file as a “file filled with e-mails, tweets, or notes about you that make you smile from ear to ear.” How awesome is that idea? Anytime you’re feeling down, a quick read through the keeper file should do the trick.

Jenny Blake’s LIFE AFTER COLLEGE is the perfect gift for any college grad. This book reassured me that the anxiety and worries I feel every now and then about growing up and entering the real world are normal. LIFE AFTER COLLEGE is filled with practical and usable information that all young professionals can put to use NOW. Loved it!

[scl.ashx · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read before starting a hopefully great new year !!

[Lucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I think this is a book I'll probably come back to in the future so that I can finish working through the worksheets & prompts in here. I think that's where a lot of the benefit of this book comes from. I think that the worksheets I did complete were helpful and made me think. I found Blake's advice overall to be helpful overall. Although I found her advice on more practical matters (like work, money, and home) more helpful than her advice on more "emotional matters" (like relationships and relaxation).

The extra little bits in the book such as the tweets, quotes, and advice from recent grads felt unnecessary and not all that useful to me. I did like the suggested reading lists though and will be going back and adding some new books mentioned to my tbr.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most people say that this book is a must buy for anyone right out of college or in their early 20s. As a 25 year old, I would have to agree, however, I would like to add that it is a must buy for anyone, at ANY AGE, who wants to learn more about themselves, set real goals and start living their life on purpose.

When I purchased this book early in 2011, I was just gliding through life a few years post-college, in a job that was not fulfilling or challenging. Starting to read and work through this book gave me the motivation to take myself and my personal growth seriously and really helped me to define who I am and what I am looking for in life.

Thanks Jenny!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good thought organizer for someone after college or later to get coherency about what to do in life. I like the way it could get one to think about work, money , home, friends, health and more. It has exercises, long term planning helps, ways to elicit from your own mind what you really are thinking. As a retired person who has to give a commencement speech at my college for one hour in May, I thought it might give me some hints about what to say. I ended up realizing that since I am not a famous person nor a researcher with discoveries to share, that I should just talk about what I know. Now that seems simple- why didn't I think o9f that on my own?

[Alissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing! Full of great tips, tidbits, and exercises to help you determine what your passions are and how to integrate them into your everyday life.

[Rosie Nguyễn · Rating 2 out of 5]

A badly written book. Despite its usefulness.

Jenny, appreciate your ideas and suggestions in this book. But next time, find a better way to convey your messages.

[Matty Mclain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book and the way that it was set up. It has a wealth of knowledge and is very helpful for recent graduates.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide to finding yourself, finding out who you want to be, and figuring out how you're going to get there after college. I know I'm doing pretty well for myself considering my circumstances, but this book was full of plenty of tips and tricks to improve myself, and things to start implementing for the future.

I wish I had actually bought this book, instead of getting it from the library - that way I could actually fill out some of the questionnaires and lists, and keep track of my answers. But instead, I think I'll add this book to my goodreads "wish-list" shelf so that I can purchase it when I move out in the future, and have it on hand when I'm figuring things out on my own.

Four stars - great guide, great advice (from the author as well as other graduates going through the same thing), and a comprehensive list of read-alikes and where to go for more information.

[Duchess_Nimue · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a well intended book on the most basic get-yourself-together kind of advice. It's a feel-good type of a book. I didn't feel it was exceptionally insightful, or helpful. A lot of the advice seemed to be just generic, didn't even feel as good reminders. Blake divided the book in 11 chapters;
1. Life: Your Big Picture,
2. Work,
3. Money,
4. Home,
5. Organization,
6. Friends & Family,
7. Dating & Relationships,
8. Health,
9. Fun & Relaxation,
10. Personal Growth,
11. Closing Thoughts.

Every chapter has little exercises to help you work through what you want, or who you are, but nothing too grand. They also have tips from college graduates about the real world, and advice gathered from Twitter.

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Motivational drivel from a woman that won't shut up about how she loves cupcakes and running. I don't know what I expected from this book, but it was a gift, so I felt compelled to read it. Honestly, the advice is nothing you don't already know. The main problem with the book is that it offers no advice on how to find a job after college, or work through grad school.

However, if you enjoy books where you get to fill out narcissistic personality surveys, you might enjoy this one. Otherwise, DON'T BOTHER. Ugh.

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very comprehensive in covering work,money, home, organization, friends & family, dating & relationships, health, fun & relaxation, and personal growth. There are a wealth of relevant quotes and various exercises within each section. There are ten or so recommended readings at the end of each section for further exploration. A good reference guide.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! Jenny is really nice and I enjoy her website and her Google Drive templates. I have done many of the exercises in the book but I will always keep this book and work on different sections as needed. This book has something in it for everyone. I even bought my brother a copy!

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read for anybody about to start or just finished college. If you're life is pretty much together and know most of what is being mentioned in this book, it's still worth the read. It brings up a few good points I never thought of before on stuff I already knew.

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved all the different aspects of life that she touches on as well as the different formats of information (quotes, her personal experiences, the lists of tips, the workbook sections, etc.). Useful read for anyone trying to sort this whole life thing out.

[ChaChanna Simpson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives you everything you need to get what you want after graduation. There are plenty of exercises to help you look at the big picture of you life and not just focus on the details.

[Jennifer Grayeb]

This is a must read for every twenty-something. Period.

Go buy it, I promise you will not regret it.

[John Muscarello · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are in your early or late twenties, this book is a must read!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! I love that she give templates for you to download from her website!

[Royale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous book for my adult/college kids! Personal growth, life planning delivered in a way that appeals to young adults. Wish I had this book 20 years ago for me:)

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Didn't get a chance to read it from cover to cover, but I did make note of the journalling sections. An engaging and inspiring read.

[Tiffany Pan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super duper helpful advice!! Need to review it

[Staci · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book, with a nice balance between things written by the author and quotes/tweets from others as well as exercises. The format of the book is actually pretty helpful although it seems confusing at first when you first get to that page at the beginning that details what each symbol means -- ignore that, only going back if you get confused or want to know what each subsection is supposed to focus on, just going through and reading the book will help you figure it out. The combination of both tweets and quotes is nice because you get the quotes from the more famous (but also more likely to no longer be living) people and the tweets from those who were in your shoes not too long ago to show that yes, this is useful for life TODAY. The recommended reading sections at the end of each chapter are also nice and don't feel like free advertising: a number of the books were quite well known long before Blake's book came out. The chapters are not all evenly sized but none of them felt like afterthoughts. Overall, a solid book for those who got (or are getting) out of college only to realize that they STILL don't feel prepared for life.

[Lauren Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

"This book is not a narrative; it is a compilation of tips, quotes, and exercises trimmed to the essence, divided into chapters for every major life area" (11)

I thought this book had some great tips and ideas. I found it really came from the lens that you have a good relationship with your family, have a lot of debt and get a job right away. I Learned quite a bit from this book.

This book was a medium read, as I read it in about 3 days!

I would recommend this book to anyone recently graduated!

[Catarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The must read book for every college graduate and university student who’s finishing their studies, in my opinion ☺️
It was such a wonderful read, and packed with valuable advice!
I’ll definitely be gifting it to my friends as a graduation present

[Iris Frani · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very helpful to read this book because it is like a diary where you can write and have your owns thoughts. There are questions that you will answer and will help you to evaluate yourself.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This will be my new go-to book for my college graduates - such a great and practical book from one of my favorite people, Jenny Blake!

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading through this book and taking notes on all the good tips, quotes, and exercises. It was helpful, especially for one that is looking for a job/being interviewed/living at home/working on relationships/etc.