During my undergraduate years, I often encountered two types of people: what I call the library dwellers and Stretch Armstrongs. The first group had no life other than school, thus it seemed like they lived at the library. Sure enough, they would finish with a 4.0 GPA and zero job prospects. That big beautiful 4.0 only took up one line on their résumé. When working with students/recent grads I still see those resumes. The student who lists all his/her classes because all they have ever focused on is school.
I recently found a great quote by David Allen that says “You can do anything, but not everything!”
The Stretch Armstrongs were the people who joined EVERY club on campus. They joined Greek life, biology club, student government, history club, young republicans, young democrats, religious campus groups, etc! When the time came to write their résumé, they were a mile wide and an inch deep. Sure, they were in every organization, but they did not make an impact in any of them and their GPA often greatly suffered.
Although I was quite naïve in college, I did understand it was better to work smarter than harder. I knew my limitations in certain classes and didn’t waste countless hours trying to get an ‘A’ when I knew I could get a ‘B’ with little time spent. I joined organizations but always made sure to invest my time to rise to leadership positions.
Find balance in your life so you are excelling in more than one area, but not treading water in several areas. This habit and mindset will be crucial when you begin your career search in D.C. The library dwellers often focus on one specific job and become so narrowly focused that they are often doomed for failure when through no fault of their own, that specific opportunity does not work out. The Stretch Armstrongs cast such a wide net that they never put in the necessary time or effort anywhere for it to eventually pan out for them. Finding balance is essential.
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