How to politely tell professors not to ask about "next steps," or explain that I don't want to answer (as a graduating student)?
It is May. Ever since April, whenever I see a professor or staff member I’ve built a connection with, they always ask me about my "next steps." I know they mean well, don't want me to be sad, and genuinely want to celebrate my successes—but it honestly ruins my day whenever they ask.
The truth is, I don't have any next steps right now. I have been applying for jobs for a long time and have found nothing so far. I really don't like admitting out in the open that I am still looking.
To make matters worse, whenever I do mention the job search, I always get a response like: "I didn't know you were applying for jobs! I thought you'd be going for a PhD." That stings even more because I actually had to postpone my doctoral plans due to personal reasons (debt and insecurities).
So yeah... I don't know what to do. Part of me wishes I had been a "backbencher" type of student so I could just disappear from their radar and avoid these questions entirely. It's getting to the point where I don't even want to step out of my room because I live on campus and am terrified of bumping into someone.
Is there anything I can do to navigate this? How do I handle these conversations without feeling like a failure? Or should I start being cold or something if this comes up (though that has a lot of disadvantages and I <3 some of them).