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Congratulations to anyone who is graduating from college or trade school. You are on your way to your career! But now you must become “career ready.” So what is career ready? The key answer is that you must learn what your career and employer expects out of you. Let’s talk about the differences between school and the workplace. You probably think that you have learned a lot in school, but in reality you don’t know much about the workplace. The education you got in school is a good foundation to start your career, but you have a lot to learn. In college you can get any grade that is possible as an individual. When you are in the workplace, every one of your peers is your competitor. And unlike college where anyone in the class can make an “A”, very few companies give out high pay increases to everyone. Usually only 1 or 2 people in your entire department will get “good” raises. In college you frequently worked on your own, at your own pace and time. You did not have to depend on anyone else. In the business world you are part of a “team.” You must meet and communicate with them on a daily basis. In the business world things change rapidly. The time frames to get things done are shorter and you usually don’t have all the data that you would like to make decisions. Many times you have to change direction quickly and give up the three weeks of work you put in because one of the dynamics changed. You must work with the people you need to get information from so you can complete your task, but these people will give you the wrong information or no information at all and you are responsible for your outcome! To become career ready you must learn the basics of soft skills, which are, verbal communications, workplace relationships and written communications. When starting a new job, don’t pretend you know it all because you have graduated from a great college. The business world is completely different. It is fast moving, has corporate politics, and can get away from you in a moment’s notice. It is important that when you join an organization that you keep your ears and eyes open. Ask questions when you do not understand something. You must keep a positive attitude and volunteer for special projects when they come up. Start building your “network” with your first job. It is important to start a positive reputation (and maintain it) as soon as possible. Your reputation will follow you where ever you go. Even if you change jobs or industries your reputation will be known. Have clear and concise communications with everyone you work with. Never “guess” at anything. Be sure it is accurate before you “put it out there.” And finally, never burn any bridges in the workplace; it will always come back to you! Good Luck! Jim Stedt is a partner at The Business SoftSkills Company (GetSoftSkillsNow.Com) located in Santa Ana, California. They provide job readiness and workforce success videos for education, business, prisons and individual use. Training is available online, on DVD, or through an affiliate program. These products are the most complete and concise soft skills training packages now available for the price of an average college textbook.
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Career ready, job ready, soft skills,
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