How to Bridge the Gap between Student and Employee

As graduating seniors, we can expect the transition between college and the real world to be extremely challenging at times. I’ve spoken with several recent graduates who have all made similar comments about how difficult it can be to change your mentality of being a college student to being a full-time employee. Below are a few tips to hopefully make you aware of what to expect and ease this transition.

Don’t expect only a few days or a week of training in your new job. You should expect a pretty extended training period until you are truly comfortable with the job’s duties, computer systems, and the overall business strategy. Take advantage of this learning experience and ask questions. If you aren’t positive on how you are approaching a certain situation, ask a fellow colleague. Managers would much rather you ask questions if you’re struggling than attempt, fail, and have to completely start over. No one is able to read your mind; colleagues and managers are entrusting you with your role and expect you to know what you’re doing. If you’re unsure, ASK!

Our lives aren’t split into semester-like segments anymore. Unlike in college when one poor test grade could be replaced with a high grade on the exam and you forget about it the next semester, our work completed at our job will be effected for the rest of our time with that company. It’s important to consider what actions you take on any given day will impact your future actions and success with that firm.

In college, we were constantly given feedback by comments and grades from our professors on a weekly basis. In the working world, it is our responsibility to check in and receive feedback on our work performance. Once you complete a task or a big project, check in with your manager to ensure everything was completed correctly and ask what’s next on the agenda so that you can provide assistance. The more proactive you are, the more successful you’ll be as a team member.

Realizing your actions do not only affect you but your entire organization, can be frightening. Your poor test grade only affected yourself but your failing of a project could set back your entire company from a crucial deadline. Our personal success is not only celebrated within ourselves but it also benefits our company as a whole. Hopefully these tips will give you a greater sense of what to expect in the transition between being a college student and being a full-time employee!