If you are graduating this year or you have just left school last year, congratulations. Many will tell you that entering the workforce is very much different from going to school, they are not wrong, however, today I am going to do the opposite and point out what are the similarities between the two and hope you find comfort that workforce isn’t as daunting as you think it is.
Find the right job Finding the right career for you is pretty much the same as you find the right course to take in your school. There will be trials and errors. The dream job is not what you think it is like after you get your knees deep in the water. That dreadful job you never will think that you will ever work in sometimes ended up the best job in your life. So never be quick to judge what works or doesn’t work for you until you waded through the muddy waters.
The Right Company It is like choosing the right school to go to. Every student wants to go to Stanford, Yale and Havard so does every adult wants to work at Google, Exxon and Apple. However, it doesn’t guarantee a good job if you graduated from top schools. Same goes for you having experience in a top company, doesn’t guarantee your success in promotion and pay raises. True that it will increase your chances but hard work and smart moves pay off more than going to the right company. You may want to read this to determine the right company for you. So it is not the end of the world if you can’t get into any of the Fortune 500 companies, just like you’ll do well without going to MIT.
The Bosses Bosses are like teachers, they are mentors but they are humans too. Whereas teaching is a self-sacrificing profession, but we all have our own share of bad teachers, those who doesn’t care how you turn out as long as you turn up for his lessons. You may argue that teachers are graded through their students’ grades. It is not far from how a boss is being appraised too. The more successful his team grows, the higher he climbs. Frankly speaking, I rather have a good boss than to go to a good company. I learned more from a good mentor than I would in a good environment in the long run.
Peer Pressure You would have thought that there are no more geek and jock cliques after you left school, I’m sorry to pop your bubbles. Cliques are still a commonplace in the workforce. Now it is more like who clicks with who or who works with who. It might not be as tight knitted as the school playground but it is there. Just have a look around during lunch time and you’ll find out who hang out with who most of the time. My advice is not to stick with any of the cliques but to move around and expand your network in the company, you might never know when you will need the other person’s expertise to help you complete your projects or work. And yes, bullies exist in the workplace too.
Watch out for Part 2 of this article. If you know someone who is graduating this year or your workplace has a new employee fresh from school, forward this article to him or her. Let’s do our part for the younger generations and ease them into the workforce.
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