Jaime Garvey, Growth Manager
Nearly three years ago, I was like many college graduates. I was preparing to walk across the stage with a paralyzing amount of student loans, and no plans past the recessional on the graduation program.
Though I knew it was supposed to be an exciting time, I could not help but feel plagued by the looming question - now what?
Despite how this felt at the time, my situation was in no way unique. I knew that my decision on where to next have to be based on these fundamentals - focus and clarity.
Being a daughter of immigrant parents who gave new meaning and emphasis to hard work and proper planning, I knew my big dreams require big plans. Thus my instincts quickly brought my pen to my red moleskine notebook to create a gameplan. I approached the topic in bite-sized pieces and prioritized finding a starting point:

What matters to you most? Think of these as your core values. Start by listing values (e.g. family, influence, impact) that matter to you most, then choose your top 3.
What are you best at? Start by listing skills or qualities that describe you (e.g. people-oriented, communication, strategy), choose your top 3 that you are or could be the exceptional at. 
What are your goals? Considering your responses to the first two questions, list 3 major goals for the next year. Repeat this by listing 3 goals for the next 90 days, then by month.
Where can you achieve this? Now that you have an idea of your values, skills and goals, make a list of potential opportunities to achieve these. The idea is to narrow these down to a minimal viable starting point as your next step.

If these answers came easy to you, dig deeper. If you drew a blank, grab coffee with 5 people that you admire and respect to help you answer these questions.
Happy Hunting!
Jaime