The following is a guest post by Aileen Pablo.
It’s a big step to go from winning your frat’s beer pong championship to dealing with rush hour traffic on your daily commute.
College is supposed to prepare you for the real world, but it’s also your last hurrah before adulthood, so sometimes that jump into your first adult job can be a bit of a rude awakening in terms of how you need to behave and interact with your coworkers. How so? Well, for starters, chances are you won’t be wearing shorts and flip-flops to your job, showing up at 11am, or heading home for a nap between assignments like you’d do for classes.
Many recent college graduates find that first job out of school to be exhausting mentally, physically, and socially, so I thought I’d pass along a few simple tips I’ve picked up along the way to hopefully make your transition easier:
Give yourself a reasonable bedtime. I know, I know, this makes it seem like you’re a little kid again, but trust me when I say you’ll regret staying up like you’re still in college if you’re working a 40-hour week. And be prepared for that number to be pretty conservative. Everyone knows that doctors and lawyers work crazy hours, but there are lots of industries where it’s just as bad that don’t get as much publicity.
And even if you’re “only” working 40 hours, don’t be surprised if you find yourself exhausted. You no longer have the luxury of napping between classes, and while some people try to do this at lunch or in their car on breaks, it’s not going to look good if someone sees you. Reasonable doesn’t have to mean 8pm, but finding something consistent that works for you and keeps you from passing out during the day is a smart idea.
Buy a new wardrobe. This won’t apply to everyone, but most of us aren’t going to be able to wear many of the same clothes that got us through college. And even if you’ve got casual stuff that mostly sort of works, you’ll do a lot better to buy clothes that are a step up so you look the part of a professional (even if, in actuality, your professionalism is still a work in process). Hopefully, buying “adult” clothes will not only make other people see you in a more professional light, but also give you a psychological nudge and cause you to conduct yourself in a manner that befits the wardrobe.
Set alarms and pad your drive time estimates. Lots of professors are fairly lax about you walking into their classrooms a few minutes late, and some lecture classes these days are so large that you might not be noticed anyway. Unfortunately, the same is probably not going to be true of your new job, so you need to do whatever you can to make sure you’re up and ready early enough – including planning for that long morning slog through traffic. Being late can be one of those things that make it more likely for you to get passed over for promotions – or, you know, fired.
Learn your place quickly. College might have been all about showing that you know how to think for yourself and proving that you’re on an equal intellectual playing field with other adults around you – even your professors – but the workplace doesn’t necessarily work that way. In all likelihood, you’re going to get a job in some kind of subordinate position, which means that it’s often more important to obey your boss and keep your head down than try to show how smart you are by coming up with a better idea. This doesn’t mean you can’t propose changes or offer suggestions to improve productivity, but you need to find tactful ways to do it so it won’t seem like you’re trying to rock the boat or leapfrog over someone with more seniority.
In general, you need to learn how to behave like a professional, responsible adult and understand that you’ve left the fantasyland of college where your actions often didn’t have very dire consequences. To the rest of the world, you are now a fully capable human, and if you behave in a way that seems immature or inappropriate, the reaction will likely be more than a tiny slap on the wrist.
What was the hardest part about transitioning from classroom to cubicle for you? How did you overcome it? Share with us below!
About the Author:
Aileen Pablo is part of the team behind Open Colleges and InformED, one of Australia’s leading providers of distance education. When not working, Aileen blogs about education and career.She is often invited as a speaker in Personality Development Seminars in the Philippines.If you are interested in featuring her works in your blog, you can find her on Google+.
