Beyond Graduating: Being Actually Ready for the World of Work
It can be easy to think that we have everything ready for our careers upon graduation, but even if you've gone through many years of education to get you ready for your career, it's critical to remember that there's more than just the degree to ensure that you are ready for the world of work. So what should you do to get yourself ready for this environment?
Fine-Tuning Your Communication
You may have spent plenty of time socializing, but communicating professionally in a professional environment is a completely different kettle of fish. It's critical to consider how you are communicating yourself, and it's always worth ensuring you get some idea of how you come across. For example, the online English test available here is used by many businesses and organizations to test people on their proficiency; it's always worth going back to basics now and again!
Resetting Your Body Clock
If your lectures were few and far between, no doubt you've gotten used to waking up at noon or maybe a little bit earlier! The first year after graduating is the biggest shock of all because we've got to prepare our bodies for a 9 to 5 career or potentially longer. It might not be possible to instantly fall into your ideal career choice, which is why you may need to do a bit of a hard slog in the short term so you can prepare for your career progression. But if you're spending the hours of nine or five feeling incredibly sluggish and not feeling alert until much later in the day, it's a good idea to start resetting your body clock. It's a good idea to treat it like jet lag and think about how you can slowly get yourself into a regular sleep regime. This might not be music to your ears, but you will feel a lot better if you can wake up naturally by yourself when the sun comes up!
Preparing Your Professional Image
When people join an organization at the very outset, you can tell the students from the professionals because they've got a far more lax attitude to work, and the fact is that this doesn't put across the right impression. We go into a working environment to work. There are certainly a lot of organizations that are looking for graduates, and they will always have a more balanced approach to work, but when you are on the hunt for the right type of career for you, you may have to wait a little bit longer. You've got to prepare your professional image and, in effect, learn to play “the game of work.” It is one of the biggest shocks to the system after graduating, but while you may very well have to get a job that's a short stop on the way to your perfect role, any organization will demand that you are professional, and this means the little things like turning up on time and not being a loose cannon.
Making sure that you are ready for work after graduating is not just about the educational aspect of things but about making sure that you are ready for the world of work as well.