Congratulations fresh
graduates, Universities stuffed lots of valuable knowledge into those
beautiful brains of yours, but they didn't properly prepare you for life
after college. Feel like you've been through the wringer? Then take a moment
to read through these tips. It will take you five minutes and it won't cost you
any tuition.
NO TIME FOR NAPS:
welcome to labour market, where there is no time for unnecessary naps. Unlike school
days when all you had to do was attend classes and take breaks whenever you feel
like. Be ready to cut down on your sleep and alcohol intake if you want to be
up and doing and also be as productive as possible in the labour market.
NO EASY CHOICES: in
school, you might be opportune to choose the courses you offer or the classes
you attend. In business, you will be forced to work with people who
challenge you to be your very best, people who may intimidate you and
people you might not even like. Learning how to collaborate in pursuit of a
shared goal simply is part of growth.
DRESS THE PART: in
college, it didn’t matter if ladies wore yoga pants and a boyfriend’s
extra-large hoodie. Once you step into the business world, you need to dress
the part you wish to play. An increasing number of offices trend
toward more casual, but you can be both trendy and well-dressed. Be ready to invest in a few well-made
items to start building your professional wardrobe.
STAY ON YOUR FEET:
Looks can open doors in business and in life. It's not fair, but it's
true. Fortunately, there's another trait that can take you much further:
intelligence. There's nothing cooler or more impressive than someone who
can wow you with the ability to think. Spend ample time building your mind
during and beyond the work week. Join focus groups and professional organizations,
read books, read more books, find mentors, listen to podcasts learn, learn and
learn.
CLEAN UP YOUR PROFILES:
As nice as it felt to get 300 likes for your Instagram selfies, your boss
doesn't want to see your funny or ridiculous pictures with unprofessional
captions. Ridiculous captions will not get you promotions. Not everything needs
to be documented on social media. Practice having fun without telling everyone
about it.
HAVE A BUDGET:
inculcate budgeting into your habit, be conscious you no longer have parents to
bail you out from time to time. You are now all that you’ve got, so make
budgeting crucial and spend sensibly.
START SETTING GOALS:
start creating your own goals and means to measure your progress. Success
in business and life depends on growth. Define fitness,
relationship and work goals, and then outline real steps and milestones to
reach them.
LEARN TO SAY NO: back
in school, almost all routine could work for you. You could easily meet up with
friends at bars and drink into the night, you could afford to do sleep overs as
much as you want. As you enter the labour market, you would have lesser time to
spare for trivial things. Learn to say no to ideas and routines that would not
benefit you and your budget.
DO SOMETHING FOR
YOURSELF: If you don’t have a side project, you're doing it wrong.
Figure out other ways to direct your energy and make money outside of your
steady gig. It might be starting a blog or an online store.
Maybe you work part-time as a bartender or take cooking classes. Work to get
better at things you're passionate about, and it could one day become your
9-to-5.
DONT MEASURE YOUR
SUCCESS: Chances are one of your classmates absolutely will kill it during
their first year in business. Don’t get in the habit of measuring your own
success by someone else's paycheck or set of wheels. We all get our own
ride in this world, and we all "arrive" at different times.
Concentrate on improving yourself and cultivating your own happiness. Why should
you care what your friends are making? They aren't you.
Regardless of what you
have heard in the past, there are opportunities out there and you can make it
if figure it out on time.