Black Collegian Career Center

Mental Preparation 

The most important factor in making a smooth transition from collegian to full-time employee is your having the right attitude. This begins with how you understand your role in the corporate workplace. On the college campus, you may have led a rather carefree, happy-go-lucky life. Aside from regular classroom attendance, you could regulate your hourly and daily schedule according to personal desires and social interests. Maybe you were one of the party hearty gang who struggled through the week merely to have fun on the weekends. The role of serious student was, unfortunately, less important than the persona of being the most popular and socially active brother or sister on campus. Or maybe you were caught up in some political activist-role. Championing worthwhile causes associated with gender, race, sexual lifestyle, the environment, or other politically correct issues may have consumed much of your time and energy. As worthwhile as such passionate activism may be in an academic setting, it is unwelcome in the corporate arena.

As a new full-time employee, you must conduct yourself according to the codes of your organization and to contribute positively to it. It's okay to be friendly and sociable with your co-workers and idealistic and even passionate in your work assignments but channel your energy and enthusiasm in ways that will enhance your position within the company and promote your overall success.

The appropriate role to adopt is that of a young professional whose conduct and actions bespeak discipline, dedication and determination. Having this wholesome mind set, you can then concentrate on career development within your chosen profession. 

Launching Your Career

The first three months on the job are crucial. During this so-called honeymoon, you must adjust to the corporate culture and perform your responsibilities to the satisfaction of everyone who evaluates your work. After all, many people will have a role in determining your success.

In Passport to Power, career strategist William Thourlby writes: Success is the ability to get along with and interact with others while always getting the job done. People who head corporations and other businesses tend to meet all the new people early and make their decisions about them on first impressions. Once you are in the door, it is up to you.

Here are some guidelines for establishing yourself as a valuable new employee, a person marked for corporate success:

1. Associate with winners, not whiners. Every company has its share of disgruntled workers who spend more time criticizing the organization than doing the job they were hired to do. These are losers who aren't headed anywhere and don't want anyone else to advance in the company. If you want to win, rub elbows and shoulders with seasoned employees who have contributed significantly to the organization and are willing to share their perspective and insights to help you progress. These people can become valuable mentors or sponsors to support your career. They are, after all, the ones who know the ropes and what climbing the corporate ladder without stepping on anyone's toes involves. In associating with them, learn all you can about the company, your supervisor's management style, and what appropriate career paths are possible.

2. Develop a reputation for being dependable and resourceful. Every job has an initial learning curve. As a new employee, you won't be expected to perform at the level of senior co-workers. Admittedly, you'll make some mistakes early on. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes and constantly improve your performance with a good attitude.

Having a college degree is like greasing the hinges on the door to get you inside, mentions Herschal Hill, president of Toar Consulting in Roswell, Ga. Once you're employed, you have to prove your worth over and over. Your boss is not looking for perfection, but for someone who can be counted on to do the best job possible and to grow in the position, he adds.

From day one, you establish a reputation that will follow you throughout your professional career. Do you want to be known as someone who looks for shortcuts to get by or someone who works diligently and is prepared to take on new challenges? Opportunities come to those who prepare for greater responsibility. If you tackle job assignments wholeheartedly and seek ways to constantly improve your performance, you will be a candidate for more challenging work assignments. 

3. Have a disciplined lifestyle. To some extent, it's true that what you do during non-work hours is your business. On the other hand, personal involvements that reflect negatively on your work should concern you seriously. They should be avoided or dissolved. Here's where a change in attitude is often appropriate. During college, you may have enjoyed the reputation of being the coolest jock with a nonstop social life or a suave player with the most enviable love life. In the corporate world, those can be strikes against you. You weren't hired to be a conversational cause celebre, but, rather, to be a dedicated employee representing the company well, on and off the job.

Another lifestyle issue relates to physical and emotional health. As a carefree collegian, perhaps you were accustomed to playing cards all night, sleeping until noon, and cutting class because of a hangover. Such behavior won't cut it in the corporate world. You owe it to your employer to show up at work daily keen and well-rested. How else can you expect to be focused and productive?

4. Set high but attainable goals. In the words of one poet, If you shoot for the stars, you'll at least reach the moon. Goal setting may be an important new challenge. Perhaps you breezed through school without much personal or professional direction. Maybe the biggest goal was just to graduate on time! As you start a full-time job, you must develop a sense of direction and clear-cut goals that support your lifelong ambitions. Only then can you focus your energy and efforts on worthwhile pursuits that will enhance your career progression.

5. Network wisely. Success involves more than just hard work and diligence. A key ingredient of success is making appropriate connections that will open doors of opportunity down the line. As you transition from academia to the corporate world, don't overlook important associations that can contribute to your professional advancement. Specifically, many distinguished professors and college administrators have connections with influential persons in major corporations and nonprofit organizations. Stay in contact with such people. After all, your long-term career growth extends beyond your first job out of college. By networking wisely with college acquaintances along with new professional colleagues you increase the odds of becoming aware of exceptional opportunities that otherwise would escape your attention.

Networking opens the doors into a new area of life where someone else has already found, cultivated and labeled the movers and shakers, writes Thourlby. That's the circle of influence you should strive to be associated with as a budding professional with clear-cut career goals.

Following these guidelines will help you launch your career on a positive note. However, transitioning from student to full-time employee involves other practical matters of importance.

Settling in the Community 

The excitement of starting a new job sometimes dwarfs the significance of comfortably settling in the community as a new resident. A high priority on your agenda will be finding suitable and affordable housing. Newspaper ads are an obviously logical source of what's available. Another helpful resource is the Internet. Specifically, the website www.rent.net lists thousands of rental options nationwide. In addition, it offers information on companies that provide services such as moving truck rental, furniture rental, and so on.

Perhaps the best source of housing information can be obtained through word-of-mouth referral. Don't be bashful about asking your new employer to offer some suggestions. If the company hires a lot of entry-level employees, the human resources department might be able to recommend apartment complexes nearby that have a favorable reputation for maintenance and security. A national real estate agency can either find you a place to rent or buy or recommend someone who can. Do not have another person select an apartment for you, unless that person knows you well. Apartment tastes are too personal for someone else to select for you. 

Beyond these considerations, other matters deserve careful attention such as establishing appropriate community ties for religious worship, personal services, and recreational outlets.

It's mentally wholesome to balance hard work with spiritual and social activities that develop your whole person. Such involvement helps reduce work-related stress and increase your sense of bonding with significant others. You may find it helpful in this respect to look up your sorority or fraternity sisters or brothers. African-American fraternity and sorority members will help you even if you are not a member, in the interest of influencing you to join. They can give you very useful information on the best places to dine, participate in sports, socialize on weekends, or otherwise hang out. They are more likely to know about the MEs, CMEs, AMEs and Baptists than the designated company information officer. 

Connecting with the professional community is also beneficial. For starters, investigate whether your alma mater has an alumni association in your new area of residence. If so, become an active member of the group and lend your assistance to worthwhile causes they sponsor.

Likewise, it's helpful to become involved in benevolent civic organizations, projects and programs. Examples: Big Brothers and Sisters, scouting, the United Way, high school tutoring and mentoring clubs, neighborhood sports programs, American Red Cross blood drives, just to name a few. Along with giving back something to the community, you are also advancing your professional career. How? Believe it or not, many managers look closely at such non-work activities when they hire. Community involvement of the sort just mentioned demonstrates your concern for others, a highly admirable trait. Additionally, employees who can juggle work responsibilities with civic and charitable activity are well regarded for another reason. They are thought of as more promotable because of their value-added service to the company. Employees who contribute positively to their community are definitely assets to any company, says Michael Williams, branch manager with American General Finance in Lorain, Ohio. In sales-driven organizations, it's especially beneficial to be well connected to all segments of your actual or potential customer base, Williams explains. The fact is, if you show genuine concern for people outside of work, you're more likely to win their respect and loyalty as you serve them in your official capacity on the job.

Clearly, what you do on and off the job helps establish your identity as a young professional. This fact is particularly significant in professions where junior-level employees have a clear-cut career track that may one day lead to management and even equity partnership. In such work environments, senior partners keep a close eye on those coming through the ranks who have potential for significant client development. Having strong community connections is viewed positively in this connection.

A Final Word

A smooth transition from college to the work world is possible if you have the proper mental attitude, make smart moves early in your career, and establish ties to your community. To put things in proper perspective, by all means recognize the seriousness of starting your first full-time job. But don't be mentally overburdened by trying to match the success of co-workers or other professional colleagues. However long you stay on your first job, do your best and accomplish as much as you can. Bear in mind, though, that your career is more than a single job. During your career you will most likely work with many companies in many positions. Some will be more fulfilling and challenging than others.

The success you achieve will result from the discipline, dedication and determination that you develop as a young professional. These attributes will uniquely shape your character and promote your success throughout your lifetime. For now, study hard and work diligently but enjoy life to the fullest. That's the greatest reward for the effort you make as an ambitious Black collegian.