From college to first job : 5 things you should keep in mind

Getting hired for that first job is an experience we all cherish. From the freedom that is financial independence, to having achieved the first step towards our goals, we begin to daydream about all the possibilities in front of us. As is the case with most people, during this time we are almost at the ‘finish line’ of graduation. Having been through maybe fifteen or sixteen years of schooling, we think we can handle the professional world.

‘I’ve seen all kinds of people during my schooling period. I know how to handle them’, ‘Nothing could be worse than my high school or college experience. All the bullying, failure and depression I had to go through! I made it through all that! I’m the toughest nugget in the world. Let’s do this!’ If these resonate with some of your thoughts, boy, are you in for a surprise! On what basis am I saying this, you ask? I was a fresher who became part of one of the largest organizations in the world as part of my first job. These are just some things I realized with a little more than two years of experience and I hope it can provide perspective.

No one will bluntly tell you this, but the professional world, is a 180 degree turn in life. Earlier, the money flowed from your side to the school or college. Now, the direction is reverse. It’s all about what you can bring to the table.

Now, that that’s out of the way, let’s get to the core of this article.

1. Learning with books and tutorials, is replaced with learning by observation and ad hoc thinking.

Studying for that upcoming test on the previous night just to pass the exam is replaced by studying something end-to-end for multiple nights to reach perfection. Observing the work environment, the dynamics and the people can teach you most of the things you need to know about your life at work. It is also important to learn how others come up with designs or solutions to a problem and this may require you to shed all your ego and approach them to learn the absolute basics. Some will gladly teach you all they know and wish for your success, some will tell you just a few pieces of the puzzle and let you figure out the rest and some will not help you out at all. Perfectly normal. Don’t let yourself be bogged down by self-doubt or anger. Time is the best teacher after all! I suggest taking a look at the ‘Conscious — competence’ learning model. It gave me a lot of insight as I’m sure it definitely will for you too!

2. Teachers were our only gurus. At work, everyone can teach you something.

That’s right! Starting from your liftman to the janitor, everyone can contribute to the person that you are. Let me give you a personal example. During the first week when I had just joined the organization, it was difficult for me to navigate through the large office space. On one such afternoon, I had a meeting scheduled at 2:00pm. My friends and I had gone to a nearby place for lunch. Having mentally calculated that I need to leave from there at least by 1:45pm, (taking into consideration the probability that I might get lost), I had a wonderful meal and was ready to come back.

1:48pm: I was doing pretty well. I had reached the basement car park.

1:50pm: Found the turning to the B Wing

1:52pm: Took an elevator to the 3rd floor.

1:53pm: Elevator doors open and I understand that I’m in the wrong building or at least wrong side of the building.

1:54pm: Took the elevator back to the basement. Asked a security guard there for directions.

At first, he started to talk really fast in the local language, which I had no idea about since I had just moved there two weeks ago. When I requested him to explain it to me in a language I’m familiar with, his facial expression changed to irritation and I could tell that I needed to get out of there.

1:56pm: Found another person from the maintenance team and explained my situation.

1:57pm: He agreed to help me out. We rushed towards the elevator. He made an exception for me and let me use the service elevator so that there is no waiting time. I thank him and leave.

1:59pm: I’m in the meeting room.

This man guided me all the way to where I had to go even though he was heading to the building in the direction opposite to mine!

Need I say more?

3. Teachers and professors wanted you to succeed, colleagues and peers may not really want that.

Throughout our academic life, we were guided by our teachers and motivated by them to learn and grow. They wanted their students to do well in tests and in life. We fondly remember some our teachers many years after we pass out of school or college and make an effort to keep in touch. Talking about school and college makes most of us nostalgic. In our work environment though, we may face non-cooperative work mates, a distant boss and unsupportive peers. Getting your project or assignment done school was solely your responsibility and could be done if you were diligent enough. The workplace requires communication, cooperation and has dependency on other teams to deliver a product as per client satisfaction, which can often lead to a negative mental energy being built in you, if things don’t go smoothly. The fierce competition for ratings and hikes is another story altogether. I’m not all about the negatives, just a heads up here for situations that may arise.

4. Unlike the need to be part of the ‘gang’ at university, making friends become a selective process based on how it impacts your well-being.

Simply put, those who bring you happiness, peace and understand the way you work stay in your life. Negative energy, drama, politics and unnecessary social façade stay out. Once you achieve this ‘Nirvana’, sometimes you will laugh at yourself thinking back on all those times you cried, doubted yourself, hated yourself, thought something was wrong with you because someone you looked up to said so or whatever else it was. True self worth will lead to self liberation!

5. Most importantly, at work we can decide whom we want to learn from and grow into as opposed to most schools where there is no say in choice of tutor.

I want to really stress on how crucial this is. For the longest time at work, I thought this one person X who was in a really high position, someone who offered advice to other teams, someone who was tasked with speaking to the business and someone who I thought everyone looked up to in general, was ‘THE’ person to be. Though X was an extremely knowledgeable person, I didn’t like the way X looked down on other people, brought X’s ego in everywhere just to show that X is in control, ignored other’s achievements and magnified their mistakes. Even then, it seemed like the world glorified X and I was an outcast. With time, however, I realized that they never glorified X at all! They just agreed with X and then went about doing their own things so that they wouldn’t have to deal with any conflict. No one really liked X as a person. X was never a part of anything that made us human. Meanwhile there were so many others around me who may not have been geniuses but were genuine people and were ready to step into muck together, in order to accomplish a task. They were who I started to look up to.

I hope at least a little bit of all this made its way into your heart. The transition from student to working professional is a journey that is customized for each person. Always remember never to compare your journey with others. Enjoy your unique journey and cherish all the good times and bad. On retrospection, it will make you smile and fill your soul with the gratitude that comes with growth.