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02.09

Transitioning from College to Work

By Nita Patel

Congratulations! You just graduated from college and landed your first full-time job. Now what?

Each year, an average of 1.5 million young adults will leave the relative comfort of college and enter the uncertainty of a new job. If you are one of these recent graduates, the following tips can help ease your transition.

1. Prepare Physically – You should prepare both mentally and physically for work. Adjust your lifestyle, if needed, to match normal work hours. Cut out the all-nighters and late-night social events to prepare your body for the routine of working from 9-5.
    

2. Manage your expectations – Just because you were a whiz in college will not automatically make you one at work. You might have to ease your way into the group by earning your place. Prepare yourself mentally to not know everything on your first or even fortieth day on the job. Focus on your strengths (jot them down to remind yourself) and think about how you can use those strengths to solve the problems in your new position.
    

3. Focus on familiarization – Make familiarization your objective for the first week at your new job. Meet new people and figure out who’s who. Learn the basics like where the bathrooms, meetings rooms, supplies and cafeteria are located. Learn the basics of what you are expected to be doing, who is on the team, what resources are available and what your objectives are. Learn the basics about the company, people and project.
    

4. Establish your reputation – Demonstrate good work habits, a positive attitude and dependability. Show up early, stay late and go the extra mile. Organize your work and plan out your tasks. Ask questions to help increase your understanding. Be flexible and adaptable because you may encounter changing tasks and priorities. Exhibit an inquisitive and strong work ethic.
    

5. Listen to learn – Listen 80 percent and talk only 20 percent of the time. Listen to understand the problems that need to be solved. You can make stronger suggestions and present your ideas better after listening and understanding. Listen to the feedback you will get through quarterly reviews. If the process has only yearly performance reviews, ask for more frequent reviews your first year. If you do not understand, ask questions and really listen to the answers.
    

6. Communicate appropriately – Make sure you use proper grammar and write coherently. If you need to use tools such as spell-check, do it. For important presentations or memos, ask someone to proofread or listen to your presentation before communicating the information. Practice important conversations with a friend or co-worker before having them at work. Think before speaking by pausing and quickly organizing the main two or three points in your mind before answering that question. Join professional organizations such as Toastmasters to help you improve your extemporaneous speaking and presentation skills.
    

7. Dress professionally – Most engineering jobs do not require a suit and tie. However, even if the culture accepts jeans, don’t wear them. Dress in slacks & button shirts; that is, business casual. Yes, you might stand out a bit but isn’t that what you want?
    

8. Seek a mentor – Seek out mentors both inside and outside the organization. Mentors inside the organization can steer you in the right direction. Mentors outside the organization can serve as sounding boards. When seeking a mentor, first identify what you want to learn. It’s much easier to approach someone who excels in the skills you want to learn and ask that individual for advice.
    

9. Network – Stay involved with your college friends, but also develop professional networks. Continue your membership in a professional organization (such as IEEE). Think about joining a GOLD group (Graduates Of the Last Decade) to share concerns, ideas and establish friendships. Most importantly, make sure you establish and keep an active network.
    

10. Have Fun – You will be working for the next 30 to 40 years so enjoy the journey as you continue to learn and grow. Don’t be discouraged if the position does not work out. Focus on the long-term objectives. Remember that your career will be a cross-country marathon, not a straight-as-an-arrow sprint.

Nita Patel is an IEEE senior member, and a student activities chair in the IEEE New Hampshire Section. She was a recipient of the 2007 IEEE-USA Professional Achievement Award for developing the technical workshop program and supporting the professional program for the 2007 IEEE-USA annual meeting. Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.

Opinions expressed are the author's.