Although you're throwing off the cap and gown and heading off to a corporate environment it doesn't mean you will no longer have to impress the ?instructor' ? so to speak. Now it's your boss you'll need to impress?wait a minute, not just the boss, but also a whole plethora of people in your new company.
Pretty soon you'll be dreaming about the days you used to crawl out of the sack, throw on a sack and slip in to class just as things were starting to roll. As long as you did the reading, tossed in some good essays and passed the exams you were fine.
So, now that you're not a student anymore, what's next?
1st ? show up! Yes, I mean show up for your job search. Maybe you were lucky enough to land a job while still in college, but if not this is the time that you need to put your research skills to the road. Get involved, highly involved in all things job related. Make sure you've got a well-written, up to date (fast reading layout) resume. If you're not sure about your resume have it reviewed by a professional resume writer. It is worth it. Pick several organizations to join and begin networking. Go to their meetings, volunteer to contribute your time and energy ? meet people. These connections are valuable and may be the inroad to your new job.
2nd ? make a positive impression! I know you won't go to your interview dressed like you would for a college class, or even show up for your job that way (I can count on that, right?). My point here is, be sure that you always keep your appearance one level above the current level you are in. Dress for success. Whether you're interviewing or ready to start your new job, always give the impression that you are ready to be promoted to the next level.
3rd ? bone up on your writing skills! School is one thing; corporate America is another when it comes to whom you communicate with through writing. Be professional in all your job-related email correspondence. Do not use short ?text' type messaging phrases or spelling (such as ?R' for are, or ?biz' for business, or ?U' for you). And always think about your audience before you write. Are you sending something to a coworker you know well and have lunch with everyday? Or, are you sending something to the Vice President of Engineering who you've only had a few business interactions with, if any. In either case, your writing style will be much different. Remember that your email (or memo) may be forwarded to other individuals higher than you or even outside the organization. The best practice, when it comes to your career, is to always take a professional approach with all business correspondence. Written correspondence is another area that will give people an ?impression' of Y-O-U. Just as you speak differently to different audiences, equally you must write differently too. Take time to research best practices and tips for business writing and you will be glad you did.
4th ? get with the organization's culture! This means that you need to pay attention to how things are happening in the work environment. Is it a casual, friendly environment where people come and go as needed/desired? Or, are people working through lunch and staying late and not socializing much? Is it more ?nose to the grindstone' oriented, or a ?let's decide as a team' type atmosphere? How do people present themselves? How does the company view personal calls, or use of the Internet? What do they think about eating in the work area? What are their safety policies and job performance policies? In other words, how does the company operate and what are the tastes and preferences of the organization? Know these and make an effort to adapt and blend with the cultural norms of the organization.
5th ? Dig What You Do! This is a key element to keep in mind throughout your career. It is one of the most important phrases to keep in the forefront of your mind regarding how you think and feel about your career. Since your career can pollute your personal life (and vice versa!), it is important to work in an environment you love and perform a job that makes you feel proud and happy to get out of bed every day. Not to say you won't have bad days. You will. But, if the majority of them are bad, or you do not fit the culture, or you loathe showing up for your job, then you need to reassess and possibly make a change. Don't stay in a bad job simply because the discomfort of it is familiar. Everyone deserves to Dig What They Do! And that includes Y-O-U.
Careers are discovered and evolve through trial and error.
?No one can tell you what you're career should be. It's a 50-year journey to figure it out, and like everyone, you get started and can always change later. You will whether you want to or not. The low average is four or five careers before you retire, and doubts about your choices persist throughout your career.
?What little we know about career callings is they reflect a deep interest you have in doing something, and it's not always what you do best. It's what you enjoy doing most, and you keep coming back to it for the pleasure it provides. You'll know when you're in the wrong job because it requires talents you don't have or are not motivated to use, or it suppresses the talents you have or like using.
Do what you love, but make it a priority to find ways to love what you do.
?In exchange for getting to do what you love, you have to demonstrate that you love what you do. Make a commitment to become your best, do your best, and to give more than you receive. Get any entitlement stuff out of your head and develop a mindset of gratitude, and intentionally avoid whining, complaining, or finding faults. You have to earn the right to keep what you love, and despite the love analogy, it's still business.
?Problems are inevitable because the world in which we live is not perfect and not everything is likely to go your way. Learn to recognize the agreeable middle ground in everything and everyone, and work from there. Most if not all problems are traceable back to pride and issues between people. Learn to communicate, be humble, sociable, flexible, and get along with others. Employers tend to select, promote and retain the people they like most.
Rethink expectations about job satisfaction because it's controlled by employers and used to attract and keep your nose to their grindstone.
?Realize that jobs, promotions, income, benefits, bonuses, stock options, working conditions, training and good supervision all keep you dependent on employers. They own all these things and you have to earn them. There are no guarantees and they can instantly disappear despite all your hard work and plans. Ask anyone whose been laid off, even if just once.
?Far more important is your career contentment. The things you own and control independent of any employers: You're thoughts and emotions, reasoning abilities, talents and interests, how you choose to use them, and your right to change your mind and direction any time. These are the more reliable things that give you pleasure and the independence to pursue and enjoy the jobs, careers and satisfactions you desire. You take them with you when you leave the dissatisfactions behind. Focus on these because this is what the employer wants in exchange for those illusive and unreliable satisfactions. For more information visit our website.
Despite aging, never underestimate or fail to utilize the power of your imagination.
?Near the middle of your 50-year journey, it will suddenly occur to you that your greatest accomplishments can be linked back to what you previously imagined for yourself. You lose sight of this magic as it's happening because you're too busy to notice, and when you do notice, you'll think it's too late to start imagining new things for yourself. Wrong!
?While 60% of your total waking hours will be devoted to your work or thinking about it, you'll never keep pace with your imagination, and it works for as long as you live. Always schedule and take your vacations, and use this time exclusively to play, dream and use your imagination. It affords you the most efficient and least expensive means for fueling how you feel, what you do, and also the results you achieve.
Careers flow and sometimes into unexpected directions, but the one constant between all your jobs will be your desire for contentment derived from work made meaningful by use of your talents to fulfill your callings. Your contentment is so important that you may find yourself leaving a great job to find it elsewhere, or even tolerating a less than satisfying job just for the pleasure it provides. That's because fulfilling your purpose is more important to you than fulfilling the employer's purpose, and you can't be paid enough to not want to use your talents.
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Both Robin Ogden & Jeff Garton are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Robin Ogden has sinced written about articles on various topics from Recent Graduate, Affiliate Programs and Recent Graduate. Robin Ogden has contributed her expertise in HR management, recruiting and coaching in Silicon Valley for over 20 years. She is co-founder of FiredUP Careers, a career counseling company for professionals who want to stay aligned with their careers, ac. Robin Ogden's top article generates over 1900 views. to your Favourites.
Jeff Garton has sinced written about articles on various topics from Careers and Job Hunting, Careers and Job Hunting and Recent Graduate. Jeff Garton is a career coach, author and VoiceAmerica radio host whose background includes a career in HR with the Philip Morris family of companies. He also leads the campaign to retire job dissatisfaction. For information or to join the campaign, visit. Jeff Garton's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.