Oftentimes I get questions about what resources are available for finding yourself (and your calling). I recommend the following books, not in any particular order - they give you frameworks to think about yourself in different ways and to get valuable information out of yourself.

1. "Designing Your Life" by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans
   I think this book is suitable for undergraduates - it gives you frameworks to think about what you want in life, holistically (not only careers). It has some exercises that are definitely worth trying out. My favorite exercise was the 5-year planning in 3 different possible worlds.
2. "Strengths Finder 2.0" by Tom Rath
   (Disclaimer: this book is part of an assessment that you do online, and I haven't done this because I borrowed this book and the access code was already used. So I haven't experienced the whole shebang, but I still found the book valuable.)
   This book may give you some clues as to what you may want to pursue / what role feels right for you at work. This book has 34 different characteristics (Strengths) with different work styles and personalities. It's likely that you'll find a Strength (or multiple Strengths) that is (are) literally YOU. In case you were curious, I see myself as: Achiever/Discipline (in terms of how I work), Maximizer/Significance (in terms of my goals), and Harmony (in terms of personality).
   Update: I realized that you can actually take a sneak peak into all the Strengths online for free here!
3. "Pivot" by Jenny Blake
   A practical piece for those who already have a job but are itching to change things up. It walks you through the steps of how to switch from one to another, and also has exercises that get you thinking about your affordances (e.g. how much runway do you have if you stopped working and lived your usual vs. frugal vs. extravagant lifestyle?).
4. "The Pathfinder" by Nicholas Lore
   I see this book as a really REALLY dense, rich version of "Designing Your Life" - there's definitely overlap in the concepts covered, but this book has a tremendous number of exercises. If you actually sit down and work through all of them, it would probably take somewhere between 3 months and a year. I haven't done all the exercises but that may be something that I slowly do over the next several months (to a year!) for fun.

Have a book recommendation that's not on the list? Let me know in the comments! I want to grow this list into a big repository.

Recently I was asked the following question: If you could redo everything post-graduation over again, what would you have done differently?

My short answer would be: ​I would have said NO a lot more. ​

I recognize that student life is stressful - you constantly get judged. Although marks are not everything, they cannot be trivialized either because they could matter for some things (e.g. getting into a program, getting into graduate school). You get tested on things all the time, and chances are you won't get perfect marks. Although that is an indicator that you can learn more and improve, it is easy for us to beat ourselves up if we don't do well on an assignment or an exam. So if you've been in that judging environment for 4 or more years, it may take a toll on your self-esteem.

As a fresh graduate, my self-esteem was so low from facing uncertainty and rejection that I was willing to do more than I was actually willing to do. I fell for the short-term gains (mostly money) instead of the long-term impact.

Let's say you get a job offer after applying for many jobs. It can be very tempting to just pounce on it - maybe because you've been rejected so many times before and you really wanted this position. But before you make the leap, make sure your gut isn't telling you that something is off at the time you get the offer. If your gut says something is awry, DO NOT IGNORE IT. Stop and listen carefully before you make a decision. Here are a couple of examples:

• Does the offer sound like you're under the employer's mercy? If your gut tells you that the employer is hiring you out of pity, then politely decline the offer. It's not worth working for an employer who does not understand the true value you can bring to the organization. If you say no, it's really their loss - not yours. Drop that mic and move on.
• Does the offer sound strangely flowery? If your gut tells you that it sounded more like a sales pitch than an offer, then politely decline the offer. If the offer sounds unbelievably great, think about why it sounds unbelievably great and why the employer is making it sound that way. Is it actually unrealistic? Is there evidence that the employer is desperate for people to the extent that they would try to lure you into the company, only to show you what the reality is after you signed the contract? Beware.

Your relationship with your employer is a two-way street (it's surprisingly similar to dating). An abusive relationship with your employer is going to come with a cost - it can literally shave years off your life, and restoring your mental health back to normal can take years (or longer). So say no if you know that something is off.

Lastly - if you are in circumstances where you still need to say yes although you know that something is off, know what your limits are and start planning for your next move before your mental and physical health starts declining.