Finding Your First Job After College: Types of Employee Benefits

You’ve graduated college, and you are now looking out at the vast canyon that is job hunting. You’re thinking about your future and trying to find a position that you can turn into a career. Now, that doesn’t necessarily always mean that there are lots of options available, but the sheer overwhelming nature of officially stepping into the role of contributing member of society classifies it as a canyon.

Finding a Job after College 

Additionally, there is also a plethora of things to consider when deciding on where to plant your career roots that goes beyond just having a degree to do a certain task. You also must consider, “What benefits is my new place of employment going to offer me?” Benefits, when offered in the right package, can be a huge money-saver for a budding young professional.

Jobs with Good Health Insurance 

The first benefit I would prioritize is health insurance. Most anyone will tell you that health insurance - or a lack thereof - can leave a person sick at the sight of high medical bills, especially if they are a person who is sick a lot. On the flip side though, if one of the first items that you look at in a benefits package is the health coverage offered, you have the opportunity to really save in that arena.

Company Tuition Assistance Programs 

Finding a job that offers tuition assistance, or helps pay off student debt, is also a great benefits perk. Not all companies offer this, but if you can find one who does, consider yourself lucky. This is an important benefit for many students because many students graduate with debt, or want to continue their education and avoid borrowing (more) student loans.

There are a variety of tuition assistance programs , and many companies have actually been working on helping their employees with these types of costs. Make sure you ask your potential employers if they offer any of these benefits.

Start investing in your Retirement

Another benefit I would prioritize is retirement. As a young professional, you may say that retirement is a long way off and that you don’t need to worry about that yet, but if you spend your entire professional life at the same place, then won’t you feel the fool if you didn’t thoroughly observe the retirement package and then you’re left struggling for money in your golden years?

Employee Life Insurance 

Life insurance is another important benefit, although I would say this becomes more prevalent depending on what you do. For example, while I want my family to be taken care of if something happens to me, and therefore I have life insurance, the risk that I run for something to happen to me is a lot less than it would be for my husband, who is a law enforcement officer. Therefore, life insurance almost becomes priority number one for him.

These are just a few examples of some of the top benefits to prioritize as you are deciding where to begin your professional life. In the beginning of your young career, it may not seem so important, but as time accrues, you will see just how much money these more consistently given benefits will save you, which then, in turn, helps pay off your student debt.