The transition to building a career is far from an overnight one – you don’t simply wake up one day with a briefcase waiting for you next to your desk, and an ID card to your new place of business. You accumulate some experience through internships during your college years, you take on the odd job to get more financial independence, and you most likely have a mentor you admire. All of this is slowly preparing you for a life in your profession, and life of changed responsibilities.
However, it’s more than what happens and how you adapt on the go. You can take specific steps that will help you become better prepared for your work life. There are creative and exciting challenges you can embrace, as well as habits you can build that will allow you a closer look at what it means to build a profession. Here’s what you can expect as you wrap up your academic education and start building your career, but also what you can do to make it a more seamless transition!
Building people skills matters
No matter what your job entails, the simple truth is that you will always need to work with people. That is why being able to listen actively and to communicate with different people will make all the difference in defining your success. In addition to communication, there is a wide range of other soft skills every student should develop.
For instance, every student would benefit from learning how to be proactive in problem-solving, and not just a good problem solver once someone assigns you a task – being proactive will set you apart as someone who shows initiative. Asking for help when you recognize you’re stuck is essential, because organizations are built on collaboration, but you need to recognize when you need that help, and ask for it.
Mastering a productive routine
The key skill most students need to embrace in order to make this transition easier is the ability to organize a productive routine. Remember, every single employer out there wants to know that you are reliable and responsible, and that you are able to work within deadlines and with teams. Most employers will track time and attendance with the help of software tools, so supervision and transparency are a normal part of work today.
Even learning how to work within a variety of these software tools can help you prepare for a tech-driven workplace and help you figure out the learning curve well in advance. Above all, it’s vital to prepare for a world where accountability and visibility will define your own success, since you will become a productive member of an organization, and you’ll be evaluated as such.
Managing your expectations
We all spend hours even before college imagining how our future work will look like, the people we’ll share an office with, the projects we’ll complete and be proud of. As times go by, we evolve those ideas and dreams into expectations, mostly without being aware of this subtle but significant transition in perception. However, the world is rarely as we perceive it, especially from that professional angle.
One of the best ways to help yourself adapt is to let go of your own expectations and potential bias. Starting your professional journey with an open mind gives you plenty of room to create new, fresh impressions, adapt your views, and listen to people. Making some assumptions is perfectly normal, but it’s crucial to learn how to manage your expectations so that you avoid getting into the world of business with stereotypes imprinted into your own views.
Striking that work-life balance
Whether you will work from home or you will go to the office every day, you need to remember that those night-long cramming sessions before an exam shouldn’t translate into non-stop work. Yes, you might be eager to show that you’re committed to your job, and that people can rely on you, but if you neglect your health and wellbeing, you will only burn out sooner than you expect, not achieve more.
This is your chance to start building habits in your personal life that will fuel your professional growth, too. Start organizing your weeks in advance and create a schedule that will provide you with enough exercise, healthy meals, and rest. If you need to schedule sleep, then by all means, schedule sleep!
While you’ll use all kinds of software at work to manage your milestones and your work tasks, you need to embrace a similar mindset at home to ensure consistency. Building that balance in life and work is easier when you do it from day one, rather than when you notice you’re stuck in a self-destructive cycle of no sleep and unhealthy snacks.
Preparing your dress code
Another part of your life that will slowly need to adapt to your new role, or the possibility of one, is your wardrobe. Truth be told, many modern-day employees are embracing a more casual approach to workwear, so depending on your desired profession, you might be able to repurpose some of your college clothes for the office. For example, well-tailored jeans, simple button-down shirts, t-shirts, and flats can be used for the office.
Then again, if your profession calls for stricter attire, then this is the right moment to start exploring your options and prepare your wardrobe with the right clothes and footwear. How you dress will also help you build up your own personal brand and make yourself more memorable in the eyes of potential employers as someone who is prepared to tackle the job.
Your college education is already somewhat preparing you for life, so all the knowledge and hard-earned skills can now be implemented in a different environment, with real-life results and impact. The projects and assignments you’ve tackled with your college friends have also helped you develop communication skills and collaboration.
Still, there’s plenty of room for growth, and you can use this time in your life to pick up new skills and develop old ones even further in order to make yourself a more viable candidate. Hopefully, this will also help you make this transition a smoother one, and let you enjoy your new life role to the fullest!